Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Guatemala

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Blogging Five Years from Now

I started my first blog five years ago-- a spiritual offering for my children called "The Simple Life--Gospel-Oriented." It was on AOL Journals. You could read it with the link but needed an AOL account to make a comment. I posted once or twice a month for a year. I doubt if anyone outside my family read it but there was really no way to tell. I never visited other blogs or reached out in that way. I've tried finding that blog but it's disappeared into the internet spirit world. AOL Journals no longer exists. AOL hardly exists, and that was the big email back in the day.

Then two years ago when Uncut Diamonds came out, I started another blog. An author blog. La di freakin' da. You know, so all my fans could find me when they read the book LOL. This blog was on Vox, which shut down last month. I took some of those posts off before they evaporated, just to have them. The Vox blogs have also gone to internet heaven, unless the owners transferred them to a new site, or saved them somehow. Goodbye Vox.

Halfway through my Vox experience, I started a second one here, since it seemed like Blogger is where all the serious writers are, and I wanted to network with writers. I've been here ever since. All of 18 months. But it seems like longer. I barely remember my life before Blogger.

Whatever happens with my blogging habits, I sure hope Blogger doesn't die and go to internet heaven like those other two did. That would be a tragic loss for all of us who count on this as our writing network.

Having been on two sites that disappeared I'm wondering-- will Blogger be here five years from now? Will I? Will you? Where do you see yourself in five years related to blogging? Do you think you'll still be at it, or moving in a different direction?

And for all those who might be worried about losing all your hard work posting, here's a link to Susan Kaye Quinn's post today, where she tells us how to save everything. 



39 comments:

  1. ha ha in 5 years time if blogger shuts down I see itchy blog addicts in our future, but am sure something better will take its place. Vlogging is getting popular, maybe we'll have avatars that can do different accents and languages. I should work this into a book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope Blogger will still be around either in this form or some bigger/better version. Social media is here to stay for a while, I think, and blogging offers a better way to share ideas than some of the others, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm still pretty much a newbie - just a couple of months (almost) but I'd guess blogger will still be here in some form or another. It might look a little different, but it's so big I think it'll last through any changes it goes through. That's my theory, anyhow. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. In five years Google is the president of the universe and Blogger is its prime minister...

    Maybe not, but I doubt anything "powered by Google" will diminish anytime soon. If you, or I, or the blogosphere as we know it will still be the same - who knows? Maybe we're too busy writing books that blogging has become redundant?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll be finished with my 120 (reading) list and may have stopped blogging in 2015.

    Or I might create another 120 list, and go another 5 years. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow - already you've outlived two Tech systems, and you're still blogging! Awesome.

    I hope Blogger sticks around because I'd cry to think of losing all my blog posts. Now that I think about it, it's probably the biggest reservoir of my writing that I don't have backed up ANYWHERE! Erp.

    Five years from now ... I hope to have sold some books. A bunch of books. But I still hope to be blogging with my friends/fans, just like other authors do, not matter how famous they get.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've been blogging for about five years too. I have another blog but I seldom ever use it anymore. It was more of an online journal where the blog I now try to keep up with is my author blog. I just don't have time to devote to blogging like I used to. Now, I'd rather write novels!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Karen, I'm impressed you've been doing this for so long! I haven't even hit a year yet. Will I be doing it in five years? I don't even know what I'll be doing next year! (And I certainly don't remember what I did last week.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Freak! What if blogger dies? Now I'm going to have to spend hours saving and backing up all my blog posts. I've got quite a few of them already covered but there's a bunch that are not. Argh!

    Thanks a lot, Karen. Now I'm going to be a quivering wreck for the next week.

    Jai

    ReplyDelete
  10. i know there's a way to back up all your blog posts at once, i just have to find it again. i did it when i shut down my first blog for a few months. i still have those posts on my computer somewhere. i should probably do it again just in case.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's so hard to say because technology is moving so fast! I'm just planning on holding on to my hat and making changes that seem rational. :)

    Oh, and by the way, Karen, I posted about FARM GIRL on my blog this morning. I so enjoyed reading it.

    Amy

    ReplyDelete
  12. Blogging five years from now?!?!?! Gosh. I don't know. This blogging is so here and now but already blogger owners are getting itchy feet and hands and keep forcing all these changes.. and who know what facebook and twitter will evolve into too - they might even swallow blogger whole..!! Yikes!!

    anyway!! I'm so in awe that you were blogging five years ago (albeit not with blogger but its er.. ancestors!). You are SOOO a pioneer!! Wow!!

    Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  13. Absolutely, I trust in Google, and Blogger will be here in five years. As for me, why, in five years I will still be blogging, but my blog will recreate itself as an author blog, with a legion of fans! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Belle, even if I had a legion of fans I think I'd do blogger rather than a static website. I like networking with people.

    Old Kitty, "might even swallow blogger whole" LOL, eew I'd be so disappointed if I had to do Facebook because it was the only option.

    Amy, I read the review and loved it, thank you so much!

    Michelle, When Vox died, they emailed everyone in advance so we could all either move our blogs or save them. AOL on the other hand just kind of disappeared.

    Jai, you're a quivering wreck?!! LOL so sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Impossible to guess, isn't it? :o) I hope we are and I hope we are publishing books too--especially those paper kinds because those are the ones I like best!

    Good thoughts, Karen. I'll have to go and see what Susan said about archiving!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have NO IDEA what I'll be doing in five years. If I'm blogging, I think it will be only a couple of times a week, instead of six or seven times a week (like now).
    Not only do I archive my blog regularly, I also make a copy of the archive on a flashdrive.
    I've hard horror stories of people losing everything and I don't want it to happen to me!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ugh, I hope my blog is still around five years from now. I hope blogger is still around. That sent a lump to my throat.

    CD

    ReplyDelete
  18. I hope I'm still blogging in 5 years and that Blogger is still here. I first used it back before 2003, but switched over to LiveJournal. I then recently started my blog with Blogger for a more professional looking blog; aspiring novelist verse my more random LJ.

    I wonder in 5 years what new features will be integrated with blogging, and what things we take for granted now will be gone.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I've seen so many things come and go in my life, if Blogger leaves, well, so be it. But I'm glad to get that nudge from Clarissa, and others, about saving one's posts. If that's important to us, then we need to do it. But, I wonder....five years from now, what will really be important to us, besides family, church, and friends...?
    Ann

    ReplyDelete
  20. That would be awful to loose everything! I'm sure Blogger will be here for a long, long time. It's awesome. =)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I too have lost a blog to the internet spirit world, glad to discover I'm not the only one.
    Can't imagine 5 years of blogging, but then, I can't really imagine it not being part of my life either.
    I never though in terms of technology changing, but it makes sense. I've got the details of how to save a blog a while back form Robin at Around the Island, but never bothered to do it!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Mimi,

    Can't imagine 5 years of blogging, but then, I can't really imagine it not being part of my life either.

    This is me exactly!

    ReplyDelete
  23. That is NUTS to think about! I've put so much into blog thinking... maybe every day isn't worth saving, but I'd be heartbroken if I lost all of it. I THINK it has been around since maybe 2006? I'm sure I've seen blogs that old, but I don't know if there was a transfer process possible... I sure hope there is some longevity!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I went right to her post to learn how to back up. Thanks for the tip! And congrats on finding a stable (for now) place to blog your wonderful words.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Karen, thanks for the reminder to back up, something I don't do often enough.

    I find it hard to see blogger (or rather, google) disappearing in a mere five years. More likely in 20 years google will be ruling the world and if you're not on blogger you won't officially exist and there'll be this sub-race who have to start up a postal service to communicate...
    Sorry, went a bit sci-fi there!

    ReplyDelete
  26. SF, You are so funny! I had to read this one to my husband. So SF stands for sci fi LOL?

    ReplyDelete
  27. As long as I write, I will be blogging. I just started last July.

    I have a word doc. with all my post.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm fairly sure Blogger will still be here in 5 years - but, for sure, it will have transformed considerably. Will it still be free to use for example?

    I *think* I'll still be here blogging away by then, but, I may be too busy on the follow-up to my bestseller to blog regularly ...

    ReplyDelete
  29. I had my posts made into a book with Blog2print of something like that. It is nice to see them all together--4 years worth.
    I never heard of those other sites--you may be the longest running blogger I know!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I write everything first in Microsoft Doc, and cut and paste into blogger. I also back it all up. That way I can assure myself I won't lose anything. Yeah, I'm paranoid...

    ReplyDelete
  31. If blogger shuts down I'll have the biggest freakin' hissy fit you've evah seen. I mean it. I'll hunt down the man that invented it! And ... and ... um, well, we'll see when the time comes. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  32. I have a slight preference for Blogger over any other blog sites I've used. But to be honest, part of the reason for my choice was because it seemed to be where the writers were - and the rest was that it was Google-owned.

    And yes, Google has certain eveil-empire tendancies, but I feel that so long as something is successful, if it's backed by Google, it's unlikely to die without another service for us to migrate to being offered.

    Five years from now, we'll see if I'm right!

    ReplyDelete
  33. it's hard to think of how things will be in five years, but I hope we're all still in touch in some way. And being successful at what we're seeking...

    :o)

    ReplyDelete
  34. I started blogging 7 years ago and have blogged from various platforms during that time. A couple of days ago I actually decided to go down internet memory lane and find some of them and....... they all still exist!

    I was amazed that the first two platforms (pitas.com and diaryland.com) were still working, and that they hadn't deleted my blogs due to inactivity. Amazing!

    It's a shame that your first two platforms haven't been as longstanding. Let's keep our fingers crossed for blogger.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Not quite sure what I'll be doing in five years, but I do think that five years is a very long time on the internet and changes are inevitable. Google will invent newer and better ways to blog, you can be sure of that. They make way too much money on blogs, not to.

    I save every post to a flash drive, as I go along, and order a blog book, from Blogger, for every year. You can also order a PDF of your entire blog, from Blogger, at a very reasonable price.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Ha ha, no, my initials are SF, though I think sometimes in the writing blogosphere I'm mistaken for a sci-fi fan because of them! I do read some sci-fi, but never imagined myself writing it.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I need to back up my blogs. I'll do that this weekend. I do have another Web site that currentoy directs all traffic to my blog. If necessary I have that to fall back on.

    Stephen Tremp

    ReplyDelete
  38. Huzzah on making it five years! I've only been blogging for... A year?... And it feels like forever. I too can't imagine not having this writerly group to tap into and find encouragement/advice/cookies from :)

    ReplyDelete
  39. 5 Years is a long time in tech years, so I've no idea where blogging will be by then, and I only started blogging a year ago anyway, but I can certainly see more vlogging happening in future. I think blogging will still be around in some form or another as people like to form communities and the blogging community is a very supportive and friendly one - or that's been my experience of it, at any rate.

    ReplyDelete