Why You Want To Be the Last Blog Standing

[KristineS]

I found this great post (http://outspokenmedia.com/blogging/last-blog-standing/#more-13314) on one of the blogs I read and it perfectly articulated the argument against blogging being over and done. I know a lot of people say Facebook is better than a blog, or Twitter is easier, or LinkedIn lets you make more connections, but there is still a lot of benefit to having a blog, and a blog can do things that other social media outlets can't. I think this article makes a lot of sense. What do you think?

[vangogh]

Hey, you're reading one of the blogs I'm subscribed to. I agree with all the points in the article. Being on social sites is great, but…

Your social profiles should be pointing back to your own website, a place under your control. If not you're giving away too much to another site and you're trusting that site will always be giving back to you. Your Facebook profile does more work to help promote Facebook than it does you and you only get to interact with your customers and fans there in the way they let you. Better is to see sites like Facebook and Twitter and Google+ as marketing channels. They're ways to reach people, but ultimately the stronger connection will come back on your site.

[Art Vanderbie]

I don't think blogging will ever go away or lose much value. You ultimately need to get folks to your own website and great content will do that. FB, Twitter, etc are very good ways of sharing this great content, but that's the point - your connections share that content there, and then from those sites folks make their way to your site.

[vangogh]

I agree, though more and more people seem willing to forgo a site and just spend their time on the social sites you mention. I think the value is still in your own site and blogging can do more for you than social media. I think the reason some forgo it is because it's much easier to write 140 characters than it is to write out a complete argument in a longer form.

[KristineS]

I know the blogs I write for EnMart have done a lot to bring people to the company. I also have people at trade shows tell me that a particular post really helped them. For me, that's reason enough to keep the blogs going. The blogs let us do so much more for education.

[vangogh]

I don't think social sites can replace a blog. They complement a blog nicely, but they don't replace it. I think people who ignore that may find themselves one day in the future wishing they hadn't. You don't own what you create on social sites and there's no guarantee it'll be there after a time. What you create on your own site or blog is yours to do with what you want. Because of that it's a much more valuable asset.

[cbscreative]

I don't think social sites can replace a blog. They complement a blog nicely, but they don't replace it. I think people who ignore that may find themselves one day in the future wishing they hadn't. You don't own what you create on social sites and there's no guarantee it'll be there after a time. What you create on your own site or blog is yours to do with what you want. Because of that it's a much more valuable asset.

Very true! One point comes to mind on that though. Most of us here know to put blogs on our own registered domain names and buy hosting, but it's worth mentioning this point is only valid using that method. Blogs hosted on free sources such as WordPress.com or Blogger are not really yours even though you may very well be the author. In addition to ownership, there is also credibility. If it's a hobby blog, fine, it could make sense to use WordPress to host the blog for free. What gets me is business blogs using free hosting. At $12 a year for a domain and $5 to $7 a month for hosting, it's not a very expensive investment to be taken more seriously and truly own your content.

[vangogh]

I think people go for the other domain either because they think they're supposed to or because it's easier to start a blog at Blogger. What's often the worst part is they rarely if ever link between the 2 so non one reading the blogs knows about the business and nobody visiting the business site knows there's a blog.

I completely agree about the free hosting, whether it's your blog or your entire site. It sends the message you aren't serious enough about your business to spend even a few dollars a month on it.

[KristineS]

Way, way back when we first started the Outdoor Bloggers Summit, I started the blog on Blogger because we had no money and I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested or want to read the blog. Later, when it started becoming a serious thing, I moved the site to Wordpress and bought a domain and people did take us more seriously after that.

I can see using Blogger for a hobby blog or maybe to test out a new idea, but not for anything more than that.

[vangogh]

I started the blog on Blogger because we had no money and I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested or want to read the blog

I think that's why a lot of people go that route or similar. The thing is you have to believe in what you're doing and believe it will be successful. If you already have a site for the business then it doesn't have to cost anything to install WordPress or similar on the same domain and run the blog from there.

For something that's a hobby then it shouldn't make a difference. Today you're probably better off going with Tumblr over Blogger. If there's any connection to an existing business or any thoughts of turning your hobby into a business, I think it's worth spending a couple of days to understand the pros and cons of setting up on a free service over setting up under your own domain.

[KristineS]

With the way some blogs have unexpectedly turned into businesses and led to books and other things, I think anyone who blogs would be smart to buy a domain and set up their own hosting rather than use a free service. You never know what could happen and it's wiser to establish ownership of your content from the beginning.

Also, as I can attest personally, if you do start out on a free service and then decide to go to set up under your own domain later, it is some work. They try to tell you the move is fairly seamless, but that isn't always the case.

[vangogh]

if you do start out on a free service and then decide to go to set up under your own domain later, it is some work.

I can attest to that too. :) It can also be quite expensive to do the work.

[KristineS]

You should be able to attest to that. When we moved the OBS from Blogger to our own domain, you were the one who did the work. I had more to do after you were done, but you did the major heavy lifting. It was a project.

[vangogh]

A lot of the work was because the site moved from Blogger to WordPress. Had it originally been on WordPress.com it would have been an easier move with less work. A few years later it would be even easer. Google didn't make it easy to move things though.

[KristineS]

No Google doesn't tend to make things easy to move. I haven't seen any stats, but I'm not sure how popular Blogger is anymore. I do still see bloggers who use it, so I know it still has some market share. If I had known about the Wordpress.com option at the time, I probably would have gone for that instead.

[vangogh]

People still use Blogger, but I think it's popularity is waning. They didn't keep up with what other blogging systems were doing and so now aren't a top option. I think Blogger was meant more for the person who just wanted to blog and wasn't as interested in having a blog as part of a business. Now WordPress.com and Tumblr are better options even for the hobby blogger.

[cbscreative]

Google didn't make it easy to move things though.

I'm sure Google is really heartbroken when people have so much difficulty moving. :D

The worst part is Google can and does make changes anytime they wish and they don't ask for our opinion. If your Blogger blog blows up after one of these changes, I guess you can always ask to get your money back.

[vangogh]

I'm sure they didn't feel any motivation to make moving away from them easier. The thing with Blogger and many things Google buys is they leave it to stagnate after the initial optimism of them buying it. FeedBurner is another example. It hasn't improved at all over the years since it became a Google property. I think over the years Google has made some purchases more out to keep competition at bay than any real interest in what they were buying. Nothing wrong with that, except for the users of the product.

[KristineS]

Blogger works when you view it as just a site for hobby bloggers or people who want to use it as an online journal to keep in touch with family and friends. Then it even makes sense to use Blogger, since it will do most of what people who have those sorts of blogs would want to do. It's when people start using Blogger for business that it makes less sense.

I'm guessing Google did start/buy Blogger (I'm not sure which they did) because they wanted to have an entry into the blog market. Most people who use it are beginning bloggers or bloggers who only needed basic features. Once you get professional about blogging, you generally move off blogger. So it may be that Google had no incentive to improve it.

[vangogh]

Google bought Blogger. I think Blogger had become successful before the sale, but I don't remember. It's certainly fine for hobby bloggers and people wanting to use it as an online journal. I'm sure it connects easily enough to other Google properties like Picassa images. It's not a good choice for business though. For a business your blog really belongs on the same domain for it to truly offer the marketing benefits.