The End of Blogging?

No, don’t worry I’m not saying goodbye yet… you’re stuck with me a while longer, but have you ever thought about what happens when you decide to stop blogging? Do you remove content? Do you leave your blog up? What would happen if blogs didn’t exist anymore? Over the past wee while I have had these thoughts pop into my head and I wanted to use this post to explore them.

As some of you may know I started this blog in June 2014 and I have stuck with it for over four years! My blog is where I share what’s going on in my life, what I’ve been buying, the makeup I love and some of my most personal thoughts – it’s almost like a diary. During the four years I have been blogging I have seen many bloggers come and go, others segue into more of a YouTube presence and some stop because of something that’s happened in their life.

I have wondered when’s the right time to go and if blogging ever became unenjoyable and felt like a chore that would be a sign it may be time to move on. During my four years I have had a few breaks here and there and they do help me feel refreshed and miss writing again. If something major happened that meant I couldn’t blog anymore I would be sad but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

One of the biggest things that puzzles me is what happens to all the words and the posts you’ve written? I know there’s an export tool through WordPress but does that keep all the posts in one place or does it export your site and your theme only? It’s sad to think all of the comments and the words each blogger has carefully written and crafted could just disappear with the click of a button. Personally I don’t draft/write my posts in a program like Microsoft Word then copy them over to WordPress. I draft in WordPress and once that is done posts are scheduled and published. Do people keep backups of all their posts?

If you do decide you want to stop blogging, would you delete your site and remove all the content? If you choose not to delete your site, after a certain amount of time does WordPress do it for you if there’s been no activity? I’ve never heard these things talked about in the blogging world before and maybe I’m naive for not looking into them myself but I’d rather have discussions with my readers than read through articles on Google and not have any personal experiences to go off.

With the likes of Snapchat, Instagram stories and IGTV, micro-blogging is becoming more of a trend. I can see the appeal and it’s quick and easy but I believe there is still a place for blogs. You can’t beat hopping on your laptop and scrolling through a bunch of posts from your favourite bloggers! There’s something about Instagram that seems polished and there’s definitely a certain aesthetic that lots of people follow and stick to. I also feel that you couldn’t write as many words as you can for a blog post because let’s face it who wants to sit there and scroll through Instagram if your captions are 1000 words long. With a blog post it’s easier to digest the length because often words are broken up with pictures. If you don’t read the post straight away it’s easier for you to go back to later, there’s no algorithm that puts certain posts above others.

The rise of social media has no doubt been a contributing factor to the popularity of blogs and the number of people creating a blog in the past 5-6 years. People who choose to start a blog have their own reasons for doing so and I started mine when I was unemployed and looking for a job. Over that time I have grown and learnt so much and while I’ve never seen my blog as super popular, I have come to know of so many lovely people and the people that do take time to read and comment make my day. I don’t blog for money, popularity or freebies. I blog because I enjoy it and it’s my own little place on the internet.

I’m not sure what will happen with blogs in the future but for now I think they’re here to stay! Blogging full time has turned into a career for a number of people and I say good on them for being so dedicated and working hard to do a ‘job’ they love. I put job in inverted commas because there’s a quote that goes, “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” If you truly love what you do day to day you feel fulfilled and working hard comes easy because it’s fun.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I don’t intend to stop blogging soon. To all of the people who currently blog or those who are thinking of taking the plunge and starting, enjoy it! Once it stops becoming enjoyable it may be time to assess and re-evaluate if it’s still what you want. It’s cliche, but write a blog you’d want to read!

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What are your thoughts on how blogging has changed and have you thought about stopping at any point? What would make you stop blogging?

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