A Blog Is Only Dead When You Are

Call me dramatic but I believe this strongly -- your blog is only dead when you, your content, your zeal for it, dies. It's a strong statement but it's worth chatting about for a moment because there is lots of talk online about the future of blogs. I see many of my favorite blogs changing, stagnating or simply selling out (I define this as when a blogger does things for fame and/or money that others find questionable or that they hide because they know readers wouldn't support them). Due to some of these things, I often wonder if the practice of writing a blog purely out of pleasure has become a lost art. Other times I see certain bloggers who make me proud  - they are full of fire and life, they say what they want, their words aren't diluted or disingenuous so as to please sponsors and clients, they are unfeigned and they don't give a damn.

Those are the bloggers that convince me to carry on -- they astonish with words, ideas, photography - some or all.  I rely on their voices and go to them when I need a dose of humor, reality or to really think and feel something again. I don't look to Facebook updates or random photos posted here and there on apps and websites. These blogging voices remind me that having a blog can still be relevant, fresh and invigorating when the people authoring them are. Blogs can still electrify.

I've been busy and unfocused lately when it comes to blogging and truthfully, even ambivalent. A colleague told me that my blog has become boring over the past few months. I was mildly offended at first but then realized the truth in her words because it even bores me, which has lead to my highly irregular posts. Many bloggers are struggling currently, have you noticed? Content is boring, posts are few and far between, content is constantly sponsored, passionate opinions are few (or gone)... Many bloggers feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of social platforms that exist now. Others are struggling to make money since blog ads aren't pulling in the cash that they were years ago. How do you maintain a blog and find enough time to produce engaging content on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn? How can you also make money blogging when the entire revenue structure has changed?

I guess this is why I'm writing this post. To say that all of us can fall into the boring rut but whether we remain in it is up to only us. And I have decided to get out, and I'm starting with this post because it's been awhile since I really said anything here.

It can be soul-crushing to stay fresh on every social channel while also trying to reply to those who want to network with you via these platforms, too. It can be hard to turn down a company with products that don't interest you when they're offering you thousands for a blog post. Blogging becomes all about survival, all about numbers - number of fans, number of dollars, number of page views, number of followers on other platforms. While some massive blogs thrive on numbers and love the push, the rest of us just don't function that way. I personally have to believe in and love a product before I'll take on a sponsored post but I have other ways to generate income that have nothing to do with my blog so I don't feel pushed to accept every offer I get. I can't judge those who do and who have families to support. I get it. But this all has changed blogging and how we once felt about it. .

Blogging, for many, gets pushed in the background because posts take time, in fact more time than posting a quick photo on IG or an update on Facebook. I loved blogging before massive online communities where everyone seems to throw out whatever pops into their mind without a single edit. All day you are bombarded with streaming random thoughts from "friends" which amounts to a lot of information that you really didn't need (or care) to know about.

Then there are places where you only post and share imagery. And those places end up just showing the most edited, perfect, beautiful scenes imaginable. And they are at first inspiring but later, end up making you feel like you have to pump out equal or better content and if you don't, you're lame. In my opinion, there are two negative extremes online within these communities -  unedited oversharing and massive role playing (portraying your life as perfect).

Okay, maybe there is another negative and it's called content overload. There is so much happening online making it impossible to focus and truly appreciate the hard work bloggers are pouring into their content. You find one great post and a second later, you're reading ten more or liking ten more and so on. Same goes for the beautiful photography produced and shared on Instagram and Pinterest. In this sense, staying in a constant state of feeling oversaturated can be negative since studies have proven that too much choice stamps out creativity, causes depression, creates family stress and even alters our personality - we go from being humble sharers to hungry attention seekers at the cost of even our very own family life.

Limitation breeds creativity. My husband says this often. Being selective in what we're taking in matters because it impacts our own work and voice. Which leads me to talk about this thing called power editing - not perfection, not role playing, not oversharing - power editing. Using a measure of self control in what we share to maintain both joy and sanity.

I sat in a bar recently in Amsterdam across from Leslie Shewring having a good chat. Her firm belief in power editing is quite inspirational. She believes that you have to power edit your life and not allow excuses or people or anything else to hold you back from doing what needs to get done. Leslie is all about power editing. And some of the book authors I read are into mindfulness, slow living and creating value. All good things.

With power editing, you ask yourself who are you the spending the most time with? Are they good for you? What are you doing for a living? Is it fulfilling you? Stuff like that. You really make your life choices intentional. For things that won't work for you, that drain you, that aren't rewarding - those are the deal breakers. You have to root them out or put your focus elsewhere if you can't make them go away. And as for blogging, maybe we can all work to do the same. Only share what is left over when you've filtered out the loads of content you have taken in during the day - share what mattered the most to you personally. It's a lesson in editing, that's for sure - a lesson in holding back, in having self control. But that's the good stuff and that's why I will continue reading blogs - if I can tap into gems like that.

Power editing is also about making better choices for yourself quicker and with less emotion attached to the process. We crave intimacy, a sense of belonging and the motivation that only others can give through sharing how they've navigated their own struggles. You don't get that by looking at pretty photos all day. You get that from conversations. You also don't get that from overthinking everything to the point of paralyzing yourself. Blogging could easily become more creative, meaningful and special again if we all worked on this approach. Even therapeutic for us and others.

Power editing isn't about being fake and presenting only the good, it's about being genuine and presenting what matters most to you personally even if it ruffles some feathers. In fact, that is the only way blogs have a future in my opinion - if we start blowing minds again. If we break ourselves off from what's comfortable, popular or trending... If we individually rise up and use our voice to create emotion, stir thoughts, stimulate creative thinking... Then blogs aren't dead at all because we are very much alive.

What do you think, has blogging lost value? Will blogs eventually fade and die? Do you still read blogs? How do you think power editing can apply to bloggers in general?

(photography: holly becker for decor8. That is my little boy in the top photo examining the mushroom he found last week. Isn't this something to do more as adults, to inspect what we are finding and value it? Maybe the same can be applied to the content our friends are sharing online. Take a moment to appreciate what treasures you find before you move quickly to the next thing.)