That’s a question I find myself considering more and more.
I blog for two reasons. The first is, hopefully, to reach a certain audience with good ideas. The second is to discipline myself as a writer. Regularly putting ideas into words is better than sporadically sitting down to right.
Most of what I read suggests that a very few blogs matter, at least in terms of readership size, and that most are clumped in the massive middle of the bell shape curve and read by only a few friends and relatives.
The question of what “matters” in life, blogs or otherwise, is an important one. Nobody wants to spend precious time and energy on activities that don’t count for something to somebody somewhere. The true artist is often content with simply creating what makes him or her happy. Others use a more commercial definition of success, or what matters.
Do blogs still matter? And if so, which ones? You tell me….
In the case of your blog – I’d say “yes.”
Blogs do matter. When people write about important topics for which they are passionate, people find them and their network — and therefore influence — grows.
Mark, your blog is one of about 15 that matter very much to me. Keep up the great work! -Michael
I really enjoy your blog, Mark. It’s a breath of fresh air sometimes. You say what I often think (referencing back to your entry about service and the rude people at the hotels, etc.) and since I travel a ton for work, I can totally relate.
I also enjoy techie blogs – helps keep me informed of new gadgets, etc.
Since I’m on a plane quite a bit, I find myself reviewing my feeds offline as well.
Keep up the great work – and thank you!
~Colby (in Seattle)
I think that I would answer in the affirmative – blogs do matter. That is – they matter IF (and only if) they matter to the writer. The discipline of writing (or other forms of posting) compels us to think things through and to share our persepective.
I’m not convinced about the importance of large readerships, especially if the writer tries to please their readers rather than sharing what matters to them.
All of the comments so far are from bloggers. If we sat down a non-blogger and forced them to comment on this post they might write, “Blogs don’t matter.” My goal is not to get non-bloggers to blog, but rather to have something available to those who are seeking encouragement, (And if nothing else to encourage myself).