Blogging is dead. It’s been said before, and it’ll be said again, despite all of the new blogs that keep popping up (including this one). What does that statement actually mean, though? People are still writing and readers are still reading and photos of babies and food and outfits and makeup are still being shared. But it feels different, no?
I remember when I first started reading a few style blogs back in 2008. The idea was so fresh, I thought, and it seemed so brave for these women to post their daily outfits. I got a lot of great ideas from those ladies. I liked feeling like I was a part of their lives. Then advertising started happening. And c/o’s and magazine shoots and NYFW. These seemingly normal women were thrust into a bigger spotlight…the same spotlight that had only ever shone on the now stale world of Vogue and WWD and InStyle.
At first, I was impressed! After all, these women had normal day jobs and budgets, and here they were getting lots of attention. The readership of these blogs grew along with their exposure. The sites became slicker, the writing more elevated, the clothing much more expensive. Many of these women somehow became the models of the world they once stood outside of, just as interested parties. It was like reading a magazine.
But I didn’t want to read magazines online — I wanted the raw, rough-edged, honest blogs. I think those are gone now. What have we to replace them with? We have folks who seem to start these highly polished blogs for the sole purpose of getting that sort of attention. And you know what? I'm just not interested.
I want the benefits of a Twitter culture (where folks say what they're thinking often without editing) and a longer conversation. I want to bring to light the things I'm thinking and have a discussion. I want a giant dinner party of a blog where I can have meaningful conversations with people I feel comfortable with. How do I do that? What shape does that take? I have no idea. But I'm going to do it anyway.