Friday, January 06, 2006

Blogs as CBs: Revising and Extending My Remarks

My recent post about the contraction of the local (Springfield) blogosphere got this response from local photoblogger and TEH friend-for-life JeromeProphet.

I just want to be clear, I’m not suggesting blogging is a fad that’s going to disappear completely only to be remembered in 20 years on VH-1’s “I Love the ‘00s” or something. No, blogs are, and will continue to be, a force in the marketplace of ideas and as a source of fun and communication.

What I was suggesting is that (perhaps) the local blog boom has peaked and is now settling down a bit. I understand that the lack of posting by some of the more prolific local bloggers was probably more a holiday season thing than any identifiable trend. For example, Jim Leach was playing video games and JP was reading books (snob).

JP in his post also resurrects the “Are blogs the new CBs” debate. While there are many differences between blogging and the 1970s citizens band radio fad, I still contend there are some things they have in common. The main similarity being, everyone is getting one (CB/Blog) and then many get bored and stop playing with it (CB/Blog). I’m just wondering if we haven’t seen the blogging craze peak, at least locally.

2 comments:

Rich Miller said...

I don't link to new blogs until they have posted for a couple-three weeks, just to make sure they're somewhat serious about it.

People find out that blogging is not as easy as it looks, that they're not getting the Kos-like traffic they dreamed of, that the comments are too nasty or nonexistent, that they just don't have the time, or that their blogs might hurt their job/family situations, etc.

I think it's too early to say anything has peaked yet. Traditional media is about to jump in much more heavily, I believe, and that should spark a lot more interest out there. We could see several more peaks before we see a serious fall.

Then again, I could be full of it.

BlogFreeSpringfield said...

I've definitely hit the wall, so to speak, on blogging, although I've also been busy with freelance work. I haven't really noticed a big drop off by the local bloggers that I read regularly (you, Jim, Jerome, Marie, et. al.)

Speaking of Christimas and CBs, did you know that the creative force behind Mannheim Steamroller was also responsible for the music of CW McCall? Chip Davis was writing jingles at an ad agency when he and another guy created the McCall character for one of their accounts. They went on to produce some singles and hit it big with "Convoy."

I personally find Mannheim Steamroller's music rather sterile, but I admire Davis' marketing skills and am envious of his wealth.

Dan
BlogFreeSpringfield