Is Facebook Killing The Blog?

Hi Jeff:
It’s not Facebook that’s killing the blog – it is time and resources. Blogging is very hard work (as you know).

I think companies are the ones that have really missed the blogging boat. They seemingly bypassed blogging in favor of social network. On the surface, Facebook and Twitter appear to be much easier to manage and create content for than a blog.

But blogs are second behind search engines as the number one place people turn to for information about products and services. By not investing in blogging, companies are missing a huge opportunity to influence buying decisions.

For more stats on why blogging is the way to go for business, please read this: http://bit.ly/drdQ0Y

Great topic to explore!

Concur with the first comment. Truth is, unless there is passion, folks have found that blogging – like many other things in life – is hard, time-consuming, and requires some thought. Facebook is an easy way for most folks to post thoughts, comments, observations, etc. Another platform that is likely going to take users from Blogger and WordPress is Tumblr. Easy to use and blog-esque, I suggest more folks will be migrating that way. There will always be blogging; however, it will likely become the domain of folks truly interested/passionate in their chosen subject matter and are committed to expending the time and effort into creating thoughtful content that exceeds 144 characters.

I believe that blogging is not dying it is evolving as you stated. People are still confused on what is the most effective way to express themselves online , Facebook might be one of the easiest ways to do so but it is not the best way.

My observation is that other social networks like twitter are helping people to become more aware of the significant of blogging, because a high percentage of the tweets are linked to blogs.

Great (and uncomfortable) question, Jeff! I definitely believe that Facebook is not killing blogs, so much as weeding the weak blogs out and making the best blogs even more visible. Facebook is yet one more way for readers to curate content and share what they consider “quality” with their network. Like Twitter, our blogs have never had such an opportunity to infiltrate new networks, niches and audiences! Thanks for posting this one, Jeff. Another great read!

I have to admit that I have been very impressed with the community some people are able to generate on simple Facebook posts. They’re not long, they may not be too deep, but these nuggets can do the job and even generate business.

I think blogs are still vital for many runique easons but have to conclude Facebook is a legitimate forum for engaged discussion too!

Great read! And great comments so far. I think it’s the combination of Twitter and Facebook that’s resulting to the stagnation of traffic for WordPress and Blogger. “Regular” people no longer need to really open a blog to express their thoughts. And as you pointed out, it’s much easier to manage your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

On the other hand, though, I don’t think blogs will be killed completely. Enlightened businesses (and even individuals) should understand that blogs are a better way to manage your online brand. For me, for instance, as a future professional, I can leverage my blog to ensure that I have some control over what potential employers see when they Google me. Blogs will always have a place in the digital era — at least until a more direct substitute (other than Facebook) comes along.

Completely agree with your point on branding. Although Facebook offers some ability to add branding, readers are still on Facebook’s site. It’s not a true “hub” of your brand’s content. Great discussion so far!

Jeff,

Great post as always. Based on your comments, what would you or your readers
suggest to someone who is looking to enhance their business brand & drive more traffic to their website – I’m describing myself of course! I am very active on LinkedIn and Twitter but only somewhat active on Facebook and my goal for Q3 is to start a blog. Should I press forward with this strategy or simply increase my Facebook posts instead?

Thanks in advance for your feedback
-Ken

Great discussion. As a following up to Deana’s comment, I think Facebook lacks the depth and unique branding that a blog has. Developing an effective blogging strategy takes TIME and effort, however if your audience is well targeted and the content is of value the long term impact will be a lot more effective. The social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Linked In are the “glue” to your branding strategy. My feeling is that in time, businesses will see the value of having an effective blog, in fact, I think the blog could be even more important than the companies website.

Well put, Todd! I think that blogs will become more important than companies’ websites, as well–at least for holding on to visitors from social media sites. The site can hold the marketing content to tell visitors what they do. The blog can house the “meat and potatoes” and allow the company to *show* what they do…and, frankly, how they’ll interact with customers. I like to think of the blog as the social media “hub” of content: http://bit.ly/dqMw0j

Wow, Jeff, I’ve always loved your blog…but now I find that I’m liking the commenters, too. A smart bunch! I gotta hang our here, more often!

Deana,
Totally agree. It is weeding out the weak blogs………Facebook is my number 1 referrer after Google…….the two work really well together. They compliment each other.
I would say though that having facebook and twitter available has forced me to write in a different way.
Kevin

[...] Is Facebook Killing The Blog? Published: June 29, 2010 Source: Jeffbullas's Blog People love to publish. They publish photos, images and videos… it could be on Facebook or it could be on their blog. Twitter allows you to write very short stories (140 characters) and MySpace is for publish… [...]

Is Facebook Killing The Blog? – http://ow.ly/25z1n

RT @goldasich: Is Facebook Killing The Blog? – http://ow.ly/25z1n

Is Facebook Killing The Blog? | Jeffbullas's Blog http://bit.ly/du1Z23

RT @goldasich: Is Facebook Killing The Blog? – http://ow.ly/25z1n Good post & comments -

Is Facebook Killing The Blog? http://bit.ly/9PsEjA

[...] http://jeffbullas.com/2010/06/29/is-facebook-killing-the-blog/ [...]

Why didn’t you credit your source?

http://www.economist.com/node/16432794

I found the Nielsen data for Facebook and Twiiter referenced in The Economist article last week, but not the data for “Nielsen research is showing that traffic to to WordPress and Blogger the two major blogging sites is stagnating.”

RT @jeffbullas: Is Facebook Killing The Blog? http://bit.ly/b3hAAQ

RT @jeffbullas: Is Facebook Killing The Blog? http://bit.ly/b3hAAQ

Before reading, I was going to say "No." But you have a point. RT @jeffbullas: Is Facebook Killing The Blog? http://bit.ly/b3hAAQ

RT @jeffbullas: Is Facebook Killing The Blog? http://bit.ly/b3hAAQ

Is #Facebook Killing The #Blog? >> http://bit.ly/b3hAAQ

With Facebook’s explosive growth something has to give and it’s going to be the blogs that are going to suffer, especially since FB is trying to create a pseudo-blog environment. But those of us who have been around the block long enough know that FB’s growth will peak. Blogs will never go away but the hard core bloggers will survive, and when blogs get more socialized I can see a lot of beginners wanting to trade up to something more robust, open and secure.

Hi Jeff, great conversation. I believe that having a blog is critical for two reasons: it serves as your “social” landing page from your social media engagement, and you OWN the content. With Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, not only could these networks change but you don’t own your space there, you’re just renting it. Utilize the social networks as a part of your marketing funnel and syndicate your content there, but strive to drive traffic back to your blog in order to capture leads.

I personally believe the Ipad could really revive blog consumption due to the awesome “reader” applications! It will be interesting to see.

Interesting perspective, but since I work in fashion I do see the growth of blogging for my category. You can’t post relevant content for fashion without a blog. You can’t write about the current trends or have longer articles or gorgeous high res photo on FB that are required for our community…I know I tried to upload a High Res large image the other day to FB and it wouldn’t go. Either way I think blogs are fantastic for certain brands and they should be used to create content that is publishable on social media. I see a lot of bloggers that use social media to drive traffic to them because without content what can you post to FB? It would get boring unless you say Ashton Kutcher and people want to see that your eating cheerios otherwise people want relevant and newsworthy and I think blogs are perfect platforms for that.

Plus large businesses bypassing the blogs are the ones that can pay FB over $100 grand to drive traffic to their pages so really why would they need the blogs when they have the cash flow?

As others have pointed out, it takes hard work to create and maintain a (quality) blog. Of course there will be more users in facebook and twitter, because they are used to communicate, create personal profiles etc.
They are easier and quicker to use, but that doesn’t mean they’re ‘killing’ blogs.
People love to ask is this *** the new this *** or is this *** killing this ***
Great discussion though.

Excellent question raised by Jeff, and an equally excellent discussion.

Our society seems to be always striving (hurtling) toward brevity, a trend that has only accelerated as we move forward, particularly in communication and entertainment. It used to take days (or more) to get a communication delivered; now it’s instantaneous. We used to write letters to each other or have meaningful discussions; now we text or email or FB each other. We used to sit through plays for entertainment; now we watch 40-second You Tube clips.

In a world where it seems we are all subject to a little ADD, Facebook and Twitter impacting blogs strikes me as inevitable. But, I tend to agree with Deana — it’s those who are on the fringe or weaker (less dedicated), which may be the reason for the WP and Blogger stagnation.

At the same time, there are still great novels being written, great essays, great documentaries and great observations…all being created by dedicated, skilled people who are committed to their craft and have more to say than what or where they are eating dinner. I have a hard time seeing Facebook kill off all those blogs many rely on for information, insights and entertainment beyond the cursory or banal (“OMG…what a cute picture of Fluffy!”). And, If FB helps scrape off those who are creating the chaff maybe we’ll all find it easier to harvest the wheat.

Thanks for a stimulating post!

Ted
@tedlsimon

I think Blogs will continue to evolve with social branding. Bulletin Board Forums is what I see being hurt in this shift. It appears that traffic is shifting over to Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs.

Hey Jeff,

I don’t think Facebook is “killing the blog” per see. I think blogging is and individual action. Those who are into blogging and writing will take the time. Those who don’t won’t. Facebook, Twitter and Social Media only enhance a blog and help syndicate its reach across the Net.

For those who just want to share but don’t want to go through the act of blogging, both Twitter, Facebook and for that matter Tumblr and Posterous are great options for less formal sharing.

Just my take.

-Seth Goldstein
Blogger at Addicted to Social Media (a2sm.com) and SethGoldstein.Net
Creative Director at Goldstein Media LLC (goldsteinmedia.com)

[...] Jeff Bullas on his blog addressed an interesting thought: Is Facebook killing the blog? [...]

To me this is simply a sign that the blogging gold rush is over and that the space is reaching maturity – chances are that whatever topic you have passion for is already covered by a number of established blogs, and this is something of a barrier to entry.

My guess is that evolving behaviour will trend towards sharing blog/news/social picks through social networks, but I don’t see facebook playing a big part here because, at least in my experience, facebook is orientated towards friends and fun rather than contacts and business.

friendship a personal space

As for facebook, I doubt that commemy experience is that thi

Oops pls disregard last two lines

I wouldn’t say that Facebook and Twitter are killing blogging, but cleaning it up. Like you mentioned Facebook and Twitter is incredibly easy to post on, which allows any one to create a blog with no experience at all of HTML at all. Which is a good thing, it allows for a great experience when using the internet, and I feel that social networks give that. But I also believe that those who want to blog will, and people who used to use blogging as there ‘what I had for lunch’ diary will have move over to social networks to carry this on. So in turn given the blogging world a bit of spring clean.

Yet it is a good talking point and some of the responses have been very interesting to read, which is what a blog post is there to do, incite discussions. Good work!

Ryan

[...] excerpt from “Is Facebook killing the blogs?” by Jeff Bullas [...]

Well, I might be a late entrant to this conversation. But, I don’t see any reason towards calling Facebook killing BLogs. In any which case. Blogs will always contribute a major part of the content to search engines, whereas facebook will never be able to do it what blogs could do. We should remember that our profiles or pages appear on search engines not because of our efforts. We get listed because of facebook’s Authoritative votes given to each one of us. Where the actual challenge in Blogging is you do everything from scratch, it could be promoting, content building, search engine listing etc. Blogs are much more serious and a matured platform. As it still offers control to the admins. Whereas, no one know when would Facebook take over all our data for its use. Lets face the fact and think realistically. There is no way that a Social Networking can still be compared with evolving Blogs. To put it in a shorter way. Facebook & Twitter still acts as a stop gap solution for conversations for people who are always on the move. whereas, Blogs still offer you to plan, think and express yourself in detail. It has all the flexibility!

I don’t believe Facebook is killing blogs for corporate brands or for anyone seeking to carve out a thought leadership position, though it has certainly given personal bloggers a much easier way to publish their opinions and ideas. I see the social networks as ways to extend the reach of your blog, not compete with it.

Thanks to Twitter, this blog post has stayed alive for five months!

Facebook is blogging lite. Although I find the Fan Pages to allow for more of a blog setting as it can be more topical and not fluffy as the standard FB profile. Personal bloggers may opt for FB as there is not the same amount of commitment as there is with a “traditional” blogging platform. Interesting topic for sure…

It is easier to use Facebook and I get great interaction on the site to things I share. But then again, when I started a blog, I didn’t build a community on the blogosphere but just marketed it to my Facebook friends.

For branding and selling, I use my own blog, for readers and interactions, I’m on Facebook, a nice working relationship.

So far, I still prefer to blog than posting on Facebook or similars.
Of course it depends on HOW designed is your blog. If it has some specific topics, subjects is better than generic ‘full of everything’ stuff on FB and similars.
Besides that, on blog you can have more privacy, and control discipline better. In the other hand, in order to be read, you need to promote your blog. FB you dont need to promote anything, just be there and people will find you sooner or latter.
Anyway, I suppose there´s space still for both: blogs and FB.
Up to users to choose.
For my personal behaviour, I prefer blog, but fully respect those FBers.

Seasons greetings for all!

.

I don’t think that Facebook is killing blogs. At this stage they are still being used for different things. I agree with most of your points, but I also believe that if FB homepages become bombarded by too much information, people will get frustrated. The nice thing about blogs is that you voluntarily take the time to view that content. The only other place an update might come is to your inbox. On Facebook however, I can see the status updates, links, pics, etc of all of my friends. While I want to know what my friends are up to in a social way, I don’t need to see their freelance writing. Having said that I think Facebook is a fabulous place to submit one’s blog links. Why not use your existing network to generate visits after all?

Hi Jeff,
Firts of all great post and a really interesting question. I to am a blogger so my answer may be slightly biased. I don’t think Facebook is killing the blog. I see it as survival of the fittest. For example if people start a blog and then give it up to use other platforms and channels such as Facebook then Facebook is essentially helping to weed out the content which may now be irrelevant. Anyone can start a blog but not everyone has the dedication or commitment to keep it fresh and updated. Facebook and Twitter enable the sharing facility as ultimately there is no satisfaction in writing a blog if no one reads it.

Please check out my blog
http://www.l-robinson.blogspot.com
My latest post ‘The best way to predict the future is to invent it’

I just posted an answer to this question on my blog, but whatever. I don’t see how Facebook could “kill” blogs, since :

1) Content on Facebook is usually poorer than what you can find on blogs. (How much do you actually learn from your news feed ?)
2) Facebook gives exposure, but it’s not sufficient. Reaching people on Facebook is actually harder than it seems.
3) It’s hard to build credibility through Facebook. It just doesn’t look professional.
4) Facebook still has lots of privacy issues and, well, “personal blogs” are personal. Some bloggers are not willing to risk overexposure.

Plus, blog platforms like Tumblr are more popular than ever, and blogs are becoming consistently influential, so… Yeah, I really can’t see how Facebook could “kill” blogs.

I think the only two types of blogs that will survive (and even grow) in future are the opinion blogs and frequent news source blogs. Facebook and blogging are in fact incomparable if it comes to getting authority. Since ‘new’ media are evolving rapidly the roles will differ aswell..
Nice trend report about these media in a social contect is to be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp16_xzF5xc

Thanks for the comment Cynthia. I totally agree with your approach and a blog should be treated as your homebase or hub that you own and your social media properties as your distribution points and outposts where your other readers hang out.

I think Facebook can be a form of blogging, but one meaty aspect of what’s being SHARED on Facebook is the blogs themselves. 

Yes, people who are passionate about blogging and their topic will probably succeed more at blogging than someone who’s trying to blog just to make money easily. 

I’m someone who enjoys all the behind-the-scenes aspects of blogging.  I’ve been doing it since 1999 (the same year the term “blog” was first coined) and really nothing else could compare to being able to complete control the entire site your content is published on.  I reckon that people like me will ALWAYS exist and there will always be people who prefer to have a site and a blog about things that interest them.

They’re still way more popular now than they were even five years ago.  Good post, but I don’t think blogs are going anywhere!

[...] aren’t dying and Facebook has not certainly not killed off the blog, they have just evolved into a platform that you may not have originally [...]

I genuinely believe that without a three-cornered approach, (facebook, twitter, blog), you will be missing out. So, no, I don’t think that facebook is killing the blog. If facebook provided a blog platform that could provide the functionality of WordPress and truly integrated the purely social stuff with the the fiction that I write, then facebook might take over; but facebook doesn’t. And every change facebook makes seems curiously wobbly and full of faults. Until facebook offers exactly what I need, I will be sticking to blog, twitter, facebook.

I genuinely believe that without a three-cornered approach, (facebook, twitter, blog), you will be missing out. So, no, I don’t think that facebook is killing the blog. If facebook provided a blog platform that could provide the functionality of WordPress and truly integrated the purely social stuff with the the fiction that I write, then facebook might take over; but facebook doesn’t. And every change facebook makes seems curiously wobbly and full of faults. Until facebook offers exactly what I need, I will be sticking to blog, twitter, facebook.

I don’t necessarily agree that Blogs will always contribute that much to the content as blogs are a mere way of presenting information. It’s just what Jeff was trying to say, I think, that it would make no sense for users to start a blog if they can get all the advantages from a social network.

Never.