Then:
Blogging or writing a 'web log' has now been around since roughly 1996. While other types of blogs online the practice of blogging gets its start with websites that regularly update their content. The practice of blogging with its more formal systems like we see on Blogger.com and WordPress don't appear until later, but the idea of journal online that others can read and interests others. The idea of sharing one's thoughts and ideas took off though during the Iraq War in 2003 as alternatives to traditional news sources. Many blogs of that time were focused on giving alternatives opinions and consideration to other 'facts' that might reflect on the conduct and implications of the war.
The first blogs, as mentioned before were more websites that were updated regularly and often involved several contributes. The blogging that is known today really didn't get its start until the World Wide Web with its system of addresses became standard. This allowed a blog to have its own address and accessibility limited only by the web itself. This combined with the increasing popularity of the Internet, led to more and more people longing to express themselves in written form.
Blogging has grown from humble beginnings to well over one million blogs on the Internet. As blogging continued to be more and more popular certain companies sought to create hosting sites and standardized blogging came into existence. These platforms made it possible that anyone could create a blog and start blogging in a matter of minutes. This made things easier and the popularity of blogging has increased tremendously over the last 15 years because of it.
Today blogging is probably bigger than it has ever been. Bloggers come in all types and interests but basically fall into four categories 1) Hobbyists who blog for fun, 2) Professionals who blog part or full time for money, 3) corporate bloggers that write to enhance their position and 4) multi-author bloggers who collaborate on a blog for various purposes. All of them have one thing in common and that is they are writers who use the platform of blogging to write and post so others can read their work.
Types of blogs are even more varied than their authors as there is literally a blog for very topic under the sun. Bloggers, even hobbyists, can make money from their blogging either through monetizing or advertising. Some make money from the blog they contribute to as part of their income. In any case, blogs reflect their authors to a high degree.
If there is any current effect blogging has, it is that it creates an alternative form of journalism. Journalism that cannot be controlled. Bloggers have taken on established journalism and at times been considered more trustworthy than the mainstream journalism. There is no shortage of difference in opinions or viewpoints in the blogger sphere.
The one thing the blogger sphere has bee subject to is fashion. Blogs have changed over the years but the one constant is this idea of what is fashionable/ For a time it was cooking blogs, then it was business blogs, etc. More broadly the kind of personal family blogs that were once very common have fallen off in popularity as people embrace social media to be connected instead of blogs. Blogs then adapt but some types remain a constant.
Political blogs are very popular and in many ways this reflects how many blogs started. Social issues, health issues and other types of issue related blogs have long dominated the world of the blog and still do. Blogging has always been a soapbox of sorts where people can express opinions but that has led to problems that still continue to this day.
The question that is often encountered is are bloggers actually journalists that are responsible for their content or are they just people who write their opinions on the Internet. Often this question comes down to a question of legality as to whether bloggers can be sued for slander or liable. This often comes down to the popularity of the blogger and how much influence they have. At what point does a blogger cross the line from person with an opinion to professional journalist and subject to the code of professionals remain and will remain a question for some time.
Blogging's influence is also another question. How many people read blogs and are influenced to act or think a certain way based on what they read? Is the influence of blogging rising or falling? Is a blog being attached to a website simply something people now expect rather than an unique feature? Is social media undercutting the influence of blogging? These are questions people are asking about blogging and the answers are difficult to find. As we turn to the future of blogging there are many challenges.
Later:
If blogging has anything to set as its foundation on it is the simple fact is that writing as a form of communication has been around for a long time. It was simply a matter of time before the internet provided a means for more and more people to write. Writing has been around for a long time and as long as the internet is a place where people can write, blogging will be a part of that desire to write. The great difference is that now anyone can have a public voice through writing if they wish.
So far blogging has not taken a downturn as far as number of people participating and it does not look like it will take a downturn at least in the near future as the growth has been fairly steady and consistent. Even with the advent of video blogging the growth of blogging a a whole has not slowed down. It seems ot be more ad more mainstream and often writers of all types now have a blog as a matter of course as part of their careers as writers. Many other professionals are seeing the same thing.
This growth has not been without its consequences. It is much harder for to get noticed as a blogger with more people blogging. The future of blogging might require a greater understanding of all forms of social media to get noticed and for professional bloggers this presents greater challenges. In the past if one simply had a unique concept they could get popular very quickly as being the only on doing that particular thing but now it is harder to even get initial exposure.
According to blogger.com I have been blogging personally since March 2006 and if my math is correct I have currently around ten blogs. Most of them lay dormant and I have deleted probably twice that number in the last decade. I have tried other platforms as well so I have some knowledge of how this works and enough history to make the observation that I don't see blogging going away anytime soon, I also see that it is going to get harder and harder to make a living at it as more people continue to enter the blogger sphere. It is going to take someone who is savvy at more than just writing to have a profitable blog. In my humble opinion.
References:
Blogging. (2015). In J. Watson & A. Hill, Dictionary of media and
communication studies. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury. Retrieved from http://0-search.credoreference.com.libcat.ferris.edu/content/entry/dictmedia/blogging/0
Blogging. (2014). In J. Boulton, 100 ideas that changed the web.
London, UK: Laurence King. Retrieved from http://0-search.credoreference.com.libcat.ferris.edu/content/entry/lkingideas/blogging/0
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