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View Full Version : Will Twitter Overtake Blogging?



BBlackwood
06-22-2009, 03:12 PM
Do you think "microblogging" like Twitter will make longer blogs obsolete?

vangogh
06-22-2009, 07:30 PM
Not at all. I think the two are very different. There's only so much you can say in 140 characters no matter how efficiently you write. Imagine writing any how to post on Twitter.

What you might and probably already are seeing is people who only blogged to get out a quick message microblogging as opposed to blogging and you'll see people who were never all that into blogging engaging in microblogging sites, but blogs aren't going anywhere.

painperdu
06-23-2009, 06:45 AM
I agree with vangogh. Twitter is more like a forced protocol than a blog. Its usefulness is in the protocol that forces everyone to follow the 140 words or less rule. It's great for headline news but not for in depth coverage of things.

KristineS
06-23-2009, 12:47 PM
I don't see that happening. You can't explore a subject in detail on Twitter. I can't imagine any blog post I've ever written that would have worked as well on Twitter. Plus, sometimes you need more space to examine a topic in detail.

I think Twitter is a way to introduce short thoughts that lead to longer discussions. Twitter and a blog can compliment each other quite nicely.

rezzy
06-24-2009, 08:17 AM
All the good points are taken, so I ll just let them stand until something new is said.

Paper Shredder Clay
06-24-2009, 11:39 AM
I agree with you. Blogging is more indepth, whereas twittering gets a brief message across and can be used to advertise a new blog entry to peek curiosity.


Not at all. I think the two are very different. There's only so much you can say in 140 characters no matter how efficiently you write. Imagine writing any how to post on Twitter.

What you might and probably already are seeing is people who only blogged to get out a quick message microblogging as opposed to blogging and you'll see people who were never all that into blogging engaging in microblogging sites, but blogs aren't going anywhere.

vangogh
06-26-2009, 04:51 PM
Just came across a post from CopyBlogger, Blogging is Dead (Again) (http://www.copyblogger.com/blogging-is-dead-again/), which seemed relevant to the conversation so thought I'd share.

Harold Mansfield
06-26-2009, 05:37 PM
No Twitter won't take over anything, but they are definitely not going anywhere.
With all the talk on CNN and other news sources about how Iranians are getting pictures and messages out to the world using Twitter, that kind of publicity just made them a solid..same as CNN and the first gulf war.

Of course the situation is a sad state of affairs, but you can't pay for that kind of marketing and promotion.

It took Twitter from a Social Networking toy, to Respected World Wide Messaging and Information Portal in a matter of hours.

vangogh
06-26-2009, 06:47 PM
I think The Whitehouse even recently asked Twitter not to go through with some maintenance that would have taken the site down temporarily since so many people were getting new of Iran via Twitter.

Twitter isn't going anywhere and even if it does something else will fill the space.

Still microblogging is not going to replace blogging. They're two different things each with it's place.

Harold Mansfield
06-26-2009, 10:13 PM
I think The Whitehouse even recently asked Twitter not to go through with some maintenance that would have taken the site down temporarily since so many people were getting new of Iran via Twitter.
.

Yeah they did. I remember thinking that night of how many struggling start ups would have chopped off a finger or two to get that kind of respect and publicity.

That was huge and it launched them further onto the world stage and in the history books forever.

vangogh
06-27-2009, 12:48 PM
Oh yeah. It's hard to watch tv anymore without seeing a few mentions of Twitter. Just about every program I watch is pimping their Twitter account. Sadly most have no clue how to use the service, but still it shows how mainstream its gone.

orion_joel
06-29-2009, 03:20 AM
I think that both have a place, while for a time blogging was the way to get the most up to date information on some topics. Getting the freshest news has now shifted to twitter. You just cannot get the speed to share with blogging. I mean it is possible to post a blog post quickly but to be seen takes time for blogs. Where Twitter has the ability for immediate visibility. As well as the immediate search ability.

Blogging and Twitter as mentioned really do offer two completely different perspective's on how things are shared. Blogging often has longevity in it's ability to be better indexed in search engines. Where as Twitter is better to get the word out or quick back to cack updates of ongoing events, or the like

vangogh
06-29-2009, 11:04 AM
Yep. I find it funny how some people are always ready to pronounce the death of something, because something new grows in popularity. They don't bother to think that both have different strengths and can coexist.

I'm sure there were many people who were blogging, but only to send out quick messages that are more appropriate for Twitter. Those people have likely stopped blogging. But that doesn't mean everyone has stopped blogging. If anything it means blogging has gotten better since a group of people who hadn't really embraced it have moved on to something else.

chiuslife
07-28-2009, 08:12 AM
People also still read books, after all.

Honeysuckle74
01-15-2010, 04:16 PM
No way, they are two different beasts. I do think using both is a nice way to cross-promote however. I set up an rss feed to automatically post a link on twitter when I have updated my blog and I get a lot of click thrus from that.

vangogh
01-15-2010, 06:43 PM
they are two different beasts

Exactly. They're two different things. Some people who were blogging not because they wanted to, but because they thought they had to jumped to Twitter as it grew and they'll jump to the next thing when the next thing is here.

However blogging isn't going anywhere. Not everything can be said with a maximum of 140 characters. Sometimes you need more.

KristineS
01-16-2010, 02:59 PM
I'm with you Vangogh. I don't see blogging going away. I think places like Twitter and Facebook are a way to connect and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. They aren't the place for an in depth discussion or examination of an issue. There simply isn't enough space to do that. Blogs will always be needed for those sorts of things.

Spider
01-16-2010, 03:48 PM
.... or discussion forum, like this one.

KristineS
01-18-2010, 12:57 PM
Very true Frederick. Forums and blogs are also a great way to educate, something that I think Twitter can help start, but can't do in depth.

greenoak
02-20-2010, 11:23 PM
i dont twitter.but maybe time enters into it too....
. i see a problem between facebook and blogging inrelation to TIME.... the more i work facebook the less time i have for blogging...
and a customer said a thing on the subject...she said i dont need your emails im on your facebook.... so one thing can edge out another for many reasons...
ann

KristineS
02-22-2010, 04:06 PM
Ann, I think you're right, for some people one thing will replace another. I know there are people I don't e-mail as much now because I can talk to them on Facebook, but Facebook and e-mails are essentially doing the same thing, letting you stay in touch and updated on someone's life.

Twitter and Blogging, by contrast, can't replace each other. There's no way to have an indepth unbroken discussion of a topic on Twitter. By its very nature, Twitter is meant to be short and, for the most part, rather surface. Twitter can be used to direct someone to a blog where a more in depth discussion is going on, and often is used for just that, but it most likely won't be the venue through which the discussion occurs.

vangogh
02-22-2010, 04:31 PM
Of course the issue with time isn't only one with Twitter and Facebook and blogging, etc. Choosing to spend doing one thing also means choosing to spend less time doing another. We all have to make decisions about the best way to use our time.

KristineS
02-23-2010, 09:46 AM
Of course the issue with time isn't only one with Twitter and Facebook and blogging, etc. Choosing to spend doing one thing also means choosing to spend less time doing another. We all have to make decisions about the best way to use our time.

This is true and there are now more things than ever that can take up your time. I can't tell you how many profiles I've started on the latest hot new thing only to abandon them. Take Plurk for instance. I loved that site and was there constantly and then, over time, it stopped being interesting and didn't do what I needed it to do. I haven't been back there in months. Something else was more worth my time.

vangogh
02-23-2010, 10:31 AM
And there's nothing wrong with that. With social networking sites it seems like a new one springs up every day and people rush to use it. You don't have to use them though. Sites like Twitter and Facebook can drive a lot of decent traffic to your site so it makes sense to take a look at them and decide if they can work for your site. You might also find either or both enjoyable, which would be another reason to give them a try.

However you don't have to use either of them or any social site to have a successful business online. You could do something else to bring the right kind of traffic to your site.

To me it just gets a little silly when I hear people put social sites down for taking up too much of their time. Everything we do takes up our time and ultimately it's up to each of us to decide how best to fill our time and how best to run our businesses. If something takes up too much of your time, but you still think it important, you can always hire someone to do the work.