Are Blogs Declining?

This is by no means scientific; I'm going largely on my subjective interpretation of what's going on around me. But it seems to me that the popularity of "regular" blogs is declining somewhat, with many formerly avid bloggers and blog readers instead flocking to other Internet networking magnets like Facebook and Twitter.

I see many more references to Twitter on television nowadays. Why this switch? I believe it has a lot to do with the fact that people in general have a very short attention span and don't have what it takes to either patiently follow more lengthy blog articles or to consistently invest the time to compose them. There may also be the "herd instinct" at work here; Facebook and Twitter are currently "where the action is". And finally, these two sites speed up social interaction on the Web considerably. This contrasts with blog commentary, which is slower paced.

Personally, I greatly prefer the slower and more thoughtful pace of blogging. I don't understand how anything of substance can be expressed on Facebook or Twitter, and I like having the time to mull over any comments I receive on my blog before possibly responding to them. I can put any pictures or videos on my blog that I could on Facebook, and my articles can be easily searched by topic on Google. Having written this blog since April 2007, I also quickly learned the extreme importance of establishing a well-founded context that backs up any potentially provocative statement of mine that could be misinterpreted. This context is often lacking on Facebook postings and is virtually nonexistent on Twitter (due to its imposed text limitations).

I think I'll just stay on my blog, thank you. I just hope that, even with this (possibly imaginary) decline I'm perceiving, those companies providing this wonderful opportunity for self-expression will recognize its enduring value and importance for our society and continue this tremendous public service.