Blogging, Is it relevant in 2024?

Blogs or Weblogs as they are formerly known, came into existence in the late 1990‘s, marking a pivotal moment in the democratisation of media. With technological advancements, the scope for publishing diverse media online, ranging from high-definition videos to audio files, has expanded exponentially, become more accessible and cheap.

  In an era dominated by video content, has the humble text based blog lost relevance? And is it worth starting a blog in 2024?

  Reading text from a page engages the imagination in ways that are quite different to consuming the same information via video or audio.

  Text is flat, colourless and still and this is it’s super power.  Text on a screen or in a book requires the reader to engage in the task of meaning-making on a highly personal level. When reading text, we employ our imagination to construct pictures, sounds, to infer the tone and pacing of the information. When we write an idea down we invite the reader to bring more of themselves to make meaning with us.

  My personal journal recently tipped over 60,000 words. 

 Indicating to me that writing my ideas down is an activity I value.  As I read through several entries, I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘would writing in public push me to develop some of these ideas further?’ When writing in private it can be too easy to discard ideas before moving them to the next stage.  The possibility that somebody else may read the ideas creates an impetus to sit with it for a little longer, to allow the idea to unfold and mature.

Writing in public for personal development.

When we choose to write in public, we decide to be vulnerable. We expose our thoughts and allow others to see us.  This exposes some fear. Fear of judgment, failure and confrontation. Yet without confrontation, there is no dialogue. Without dialogue ideas stagnate. Learning to deal with confrontation expands our comfort zone, allowing us to contribute to society in service of ideas that move humanity toward a more integrated existence. 

  So is it worth Blogging in 2024? Only you can answer that for yourself. For me? I think it is.  Writing in public serves as a platform for personal expression, growth and also creates opportunity for meaningful dialogue to contribute to the evolution of ideas.