Is Blogging The Future Of Publishing?

Written by Jeff Bullas - View Comments
Categories: Blogging, Publishing


Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are growing so fast that the numbers are a blurrrrrrr…….The future of blogging

If you want to look up something to buy or research you will Google.

What if you are passionate about technology, politics, fashion or cycling and you want to find out the latest trends? You will quite often find yourself going to a blog where the author or tribe of authors are also passionista’s… or maybe just slightly obsessed. They will be genuine, authentic and maybe opinionated but you will be confronted in most cases with the latest reality of that particular niche or micro niche.

So asking the question, “What is the future of Blogging?”

Some say it is fading in the face of the social media tsunami and it is passe. I think that in fact the social media universe just amplifies and spreads the influence of blogs through the Digital “World of Mouth”.

Blogging is publishing, it is content, and that can be a video, images, text or all of these. Blogging is about niches and  allows those that are passionate about their interests to start publishing and sharing online and through promotion drive traffic, eyeballs and then revenue.

Before the development of the internet and mass media, people gathered in clubs that met in agoras (town squares), school halls and community centres to share their knowledge about their interests and hobbies. We now gather in front of screens to learn, share and collaborate in the “Global” town square. The small niche in your village or town could be counted on the fingers of one hand. That niche globally could be in the millions.

Here is the monthly traffic graph for the worlds “Number One” political blog, The “Huffington Post” (37.6 Million hits for the month of March, 2010)

Huffington Post Blog Traffic March 2010

The “Huffington Post” is certainly a blog superpower but the numbers for blogs in some other niches is certainly significant. A niche magazine would give their right arm for this many eyeballs viewing their pages every month (Here are the traffic figures for March, 2010 for the blogs listed below).

  • Mashable – 5.16 Million views (Technology Blog)
  • Nymag.com -  3.4 million views (Entertainment Blog)
  • BoingBoing.com – 3.1 Million views (Cultural curiosities and interesting technologies Blog)
  • Businessinsider.com – 2.8 Million views (Business Blog)
  • Inhabitat.com – 656,000 views (Environmental Blog)

Blog Traffic for 5 of the Top 100 Blogs

Blogging is the democratization of publishing. It allows anyone to publish easily and freely and at low cost and it is becoming a serious business. Blogging is becoming the niche  powerhouse of publishing and advertisers will pay good money to market to a tightly targetted and qualified market. What will this publishing landscape look like in 10 years?

What do you think?



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  • http://www.virginbloggernotes.com Jean Sarauer

    I definitely think blogging is the future of publishing. As a writer, I’m seeing print markets shrink and fold all the time now, and some excellent writers are skipping that whole route and going straight into blogging. And why not? No editor to cramp your style, immediate publication, direct interaction with readers, and the ability to create your own products. I don’t see this going away anytime soon.

  • http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com Through a New Lens

    I would agree. No longer do you have to have the backing of a publishing house to get your content viewed. It almost resembles and anarchist system of publishing and I don’t mean that in a bad way, just that anyone can post anything they want and everyone starts out on their own. Do I still think there is a place for hard copy newspapers and magazines? Of course. But do I also believe that blogging is becoming a true form of publication and renown? You betcha, just ask Perez Hilton.

  • http://lovehateadvertising.wordpress.com DevineLines

    Absolutely. And the number of writers who have had books published as a result of their blogging efforts continues to grow. Thanks for the good work, Jeff.

  • http://www.businessesgrow.com/blog Mark W Schaefer

    Agree with the other commenters. I can’t really fathom an argument for the death of blogging. If anything, it’s becoming more interesting, more entertaining, more pervasive and more important from almost any corporate or personal perspective.

  • http://digitalproductions.co.uk Crosbie Fitch

    Yup, blogging is the future.

    It’s journalists publishing their intellectual work directly to their readers – missing out the publisher, no longer needing to charge the reader for printing, distribution, retail.

    However, there’s still that 1% royalty in the other direction. That’s what I’m working on – a way for keen readers to pay the blogger a penny per post, i.e. http://1p2U.com

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    [...] Is Blogging The Future Of Publishing? Published: May 12, 2010 Source: Jeffbullas's Blog I know Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are growing so fast that the numbers are a blurrrrrrr……. If you want to look up something to buy or research you will Google. What if you are passionate about technology… [...]

  • http://www.agirlsgottaspa.com/aboutshannonnelson Shannon Nelson

    Jeff, when I started blogging back in 2005 I heard the same thing…everyone said the blogging bubble would burst… Instead it evolved and that is what we are seeing as publications lose their physical shells and opt for digital ones. So in the future will everything be a blog? I honestly believe the way we know blogging today will continue to evolve over time, but almost certainly digital journalism will be the only way at some point.

  • http://barrydewar.wordpress.com Barry Dewar

    Blogging is becoming a lot more focussed. Before the birth of social media, blogging was the only way for non-techs to get their content online. It led to a proliferation of inane and pointless life-blogs which were way beyond even micro-niche. Finding good content was exceptionally difficult.

    Now we have semantic tools to sift the wheat from the chaff as well as social networking sites where people can life-stream in a much more direct way. These people have left the blogging space and it’s now rammed full of good writers with a passion an knowledge around their subject.

    Maybe the term “blogging” should be retired. What we are seeing now is the tools that were once used to create simple weblogs being expanded to become fully-featured Content Management Systems. It’s no longer just blogging but a much wider type of “web publishing”. Weblishing anyone?

  • http://www.severninternet.co.uk Paul

    This is extremely interesting from my perspective..I am working on a project where we collate some of the most interesting blog posts into printed format. Blogging has clearly come on a great deal..in terms of the quality and relevance of the content. Highly skilled writers now have a genuine shop-window to air their talents to a global readership..previously nigh on impossible.
    Just because you don’t work for the London Times for example, it does not mean that you cannot write a Times quality article,and then disseminate it in the same way as the Times do. This is powerful, and will only grow. I believe it will seriously put pressure on newspapers.

  • http://www.katie-walters.com katiewalters

    As a writer-turned-blogger, I certainly hope this trend continues…It’s a perfect way to share content, spread your message and reach a much larger audience.

    I’m just sorry I didn’t jump on the bandwagon sooner!

    Katie Walters

    http://www.Katie-Walters.com

  • http://jeffbullas.com/2010/05/17/12-blogging-mistakes-to-avoid/ 12 Blogging Mistakes To Avoid « Jeffbullas's Blog

    [...] a week or 5 times a week. It is publishing and just imagine if a weekly newspaper decided not to publish its weekly sunday newspaper. your readers would start not showing [...]

  • http://jeffbullas.com/2010/05/18/how-did-a-blog-reach-2-6-million-followers/ How Did A Blog Reach 2.6 Million Followers? « Jeffbullas's Blog

    [...] along with the political blog Huffington Post are evidence of the mainstreaming of Blogs into the global niche digital publishing arena with both companies providing a great example of best [...]

  • http://www.gabymenta.com.ar/how-did-a-blog-reach-2-6-million-followers/ How Did A Blog Reach 2.6 Million Followers…? | GAby Menta

    [...] along with the political blog Huffington Post are evidence of the mainstreaming of Blogs into the global niche digital publishing arena with both companies providing a great example of best [...]

  • http://dougahay.com doug hay

    I think blogging has transformed the media. The #1 blog in the world, the Huffington Post, is not owned by any big “traditional” media company. Blogging is great communication and ongoing market research all rolled into one. A business can provide useful information to its readers (community) on an ongoing basis – thus creating trust which is critical to move them to become customers. The business can also keep a pulse on the business sector by noting customer reactions and interest to various posts thus giving ongoing market research. Love it.

  • http://jeffbullas.com/2010/06/29/is-facebook-killing-the-blog/ Is Facebook Killing The Blog? « Jeffbullas's Blog

    [...] allows you to write very short stories (140 characters) and MySpace is for publishing music and music videos.  LinkedIn is for publishing information about yourself and to encourge [...]

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  • http://www.olivierkrieger.com Olivier Krieger

    Hi,

    Interesting article & I would say that blogging is the future of publishing. Some of us have a need to communicate with other about their passion. Blogs have enable all of us to become writer, make it simpler to share our vision or ideas about certain subjects. You can see how big blogs like Gizmodo or Engadget have became very prominent & influencial in their industry.

    -Olivier

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  • http://rafaelmarquez.me/just-wow/2-6-million-followers-on-a-blog/ 2.6 Million Followers On a Blog? « Rafael Marquez Online

    [...] along with the political blog Huffington Post are evidence of the mainstreaming of Blogs into the global niche digital publishing arena with both companies providing a great example of best [...]

  • http://www.flavordesigns.com Franziska San Pedro

    Blogging, the future, yes.
    In 10 years? I believe that some brands will stand out just like apple managed in the past 10 years, therefore branding is for sure a topic to talk about next.

  • http://blog.wiredadvisor.com/with-online-marketing-focus-on-what-you-can-control/ With Online Marketing, Focus on What You Can Control | Wired Advisor e-Marketing Blog

    [...] is the new marketing. Blogging is the future of publishing and producing your own unique content IS something you can control. Your success will be directly [...]

  • http://www.stephaniesammons.com/social-media/with-blogging-and-social-media-focus-on-what-you-can-control/ With Blogging and Social Media, Focus on What You Can Control | Smart Social Pro

    [...] is the new marketing. Blogging is the future of publishing and producing your own unique content IS something you can control. Your success will be directly [...]

  • http://socialmedia2020.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/focus-on-what-you-can-control/ Focus on what you can control « Mazzaware

    [...] is the new marketing. Blogging is the future of publishing and producing your own unique content IS something you can control. Your success will be directly [...]

  • http://derekoscarson.posterous.com/ Derek Oscarson

    Blogging is part of the future of publishing, for certain. It’s a great home base for sharing info and discussion. When people want to see what I do and have done, I send them to my blog. It’s current and has all my contact info and links.

  • http://runea.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/diigo-bookmarks-weekly-3/ Diigo bookmarks (weekly) « rune@
  • http://tkc767.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/how-did-a-blog-reach-2-6-million-followers/ How Did A Blog Reach 2.6 Million Followers? « Six Figures From Home For Life

    [...] along with the political blogHuffington Post are evidence of the mainstreaming of Blogs into the global niche digital publishing arena with both companies providing a great example of best [...]

  • http://asiaisbackon.tumblr.com asia

    It’s probably going to start closing a lot of print media. I love holding real books and newspapers in my hand, but with the way things are going, unfolding a newspaper is not going to be something I’ll be doing during breakfast anymore. Sad.

  • http://tabaratotaqui.blogspot.com TABARATOTAQUI

    De fato é bom lembrar que muitos disseram que os livros iriam acabar também e ai o qu mudou?

  • Barbara Graver

    Sometimes a social media snippet is enough but I think that most people will opt for a blog entry on an interesting topic.  In general social media helps bloggers more than it hurts them, at least per my stats.  I used to work for a newspaper and yes it is sad that the print industry is taking a hit but, having a background in layout and design as well as writing, I really enjoy the visual aspect of multimedia blogging.

    http://TheMysticReview.com

  • http://www.blissfish.net Bliss Fish

    Seems inevitable. Once viewed the demise of print as negative, but now I’m not so sure. The demand for narrative remains as strong as ever. We’re just changing the vehicles.

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