Andrew Beaujon, of poynter.org call it blogpocalypse, this phenomenon based on the news that The New York Times is axing several of its blogs.
As someone who writes a daily blog, I read this with interest, and with some questions: is the blog as a storytelling genre in danger? If the venerable Times kills many of its blogs, does that mean that they are visionaries, and already know that blogs as we knew them are on the way out?
That gives me reason to pause. But, wait a minute, why is the Times killing some of its blogs?
According to Ian Fisher, an assistant managing editor at the Times:
“Blogs got very trendy about seven or eight years ago as a new way of storytelling. To be successful, they require voice and constant feeding.”
Fisher went on to say that blogs are "labors of love" (I can testify to that), and that "a blog is an animal that is always famished.” Amen to that, too.
What reassured me, as a daily blog writer is something else that Fisher said:
"A real blog is one that reflects one voice, is essentially unedited and causes the writer to experience butterflies of anxiety as he hits the publish button."
True, although I am not so sure about the butterflies of anxiety part. I confess that, while I take my daily blog writing duties seriously, I don't suffer much anxiety as I hit the publish button, knowing that I can always correct and/or delete all or parts of a blog post.
I am also quite aware ---and this is my own teddy bear of reassurance, perhaps--that it is not everyday that one can be smart, authoritative, profound and surprising. But, the good news is that at 5 a.m. each work day, I sit in front of my Mac hoping to be all that. The feeling lasts about five to seven minutes, at which point I tell myself that it is better to have a daily blog, than to wait until something smart, authoritative and profound suddenly hits me. I hope my blog readers agree.
For now, it is also reassuring to know that some of the Times' best blogs, such as DealBook, Well, and Bits, will stay in place.
The storytelling genre called "blog" will continue to thrive, with its emphasis on individuality and voice. Those two things we are quite convinced about as we write this blog each day. With that also comes the sense of responsibility that whatever I write here represents my views and not those of anyone else.
Just because of that, and because the subjects that we write about in our blogs are of special interest to both author and audience--blogs deserve to live forever.
There is no indication that TheMarioBlog will cease to publish any time soon!
