Out of the Loop

I've been out of the blogging game for 2 years, and I wonder if I've been gone too long. Things have changed...I mean, REALLY changed. Before I restarted this blog, I went through my old blogroll and checked out what my "posse" had been up to while I was gone.

A lot, and yet...not much. A few bloggers had continued to post frequently, a few bloggers had quit blogging completely. Some had life-changing events happen, for some it was the same ol' same ol'. The one thing I did notice was that a lot of bloggers weren't posting as much, often going a month or two in between posts. Is it possible that personal blogging is finally dead? With the emergence of Facebook/Twitter, probably.

And here I am, restarting this thing for a 3rd time.

It seems to me that blogging is too inconvenient for a lot of people, meanwhile Facebook and Twitter are super easy to deal with. Blogs are fully customizable now, Twitter is only semi-customizable, and Facebook is pretty much non-customizable. And I believe that is where the appeal lies. The majority of non-techie type people don't want to waste time, they want to get their messages out there with as little hassle as possible. Facebook accomplishes this very well, not to mention providing games and multimedia options that anyone can figure out on their own without having to call half a dozen relatives for help. Twitter also works, as it feeds into the ADD thing. Blogging on the other hand, requires time and patience, two things that go against the whole "I want it now" Veruca Salt mentality that is all too prevalent in society today.

The social networking craze is just...weird to me too. I can't get used to the idea that putting your name out there for everyone to see is not only accepted but almost required these days. That is, unless you want to appear to be some kind of nutcase who would be best served living in a log cabin, writing up a manifesto. Back in the old days, it was a big deal if someone knew your real name. It was huge if you actually talked to them on the phone. It was enormous if you met face-to-face. Now, it's no big deal.

Maybe I'll get used to the way things have evolved, maybe not. Maybe I'm just an old man who fears change.