Blogs are back. It's the blogosphere that's gone.
And that's partly because of this here web site!
And that's partly because of this here web site!
https://twitter.com/albrgr/status/1478726258963861504
What Substack and other newsletters have brought back is the long blog essay. That's a great form, and I'm thrilled to see it revived.
But that was always a small fraction of blogging, and it wasn't what built the ecosystem.
But that was always a small fraction of blogging, and it wasn't what built the ecosystem.
So much of blogging was "Link + quick comment."
The sites that built the blogosphere as a conversational ecosystem — Instapundit, Atrios, Daily Dish — specialized in that. But we all did a lot of it. And it created maps and conversations for readers to follow.
The sites that built the blogosphere as a conversational ecosystem — Instapundit, Atrios, Daily Dish — specialized in that. But we all did a lot of it. And it created maps and conversations for readers to follow.
But that moved to Twitter. I think it's worse here — less generous, less weird, more algorithmic — but that's a side point.
The Substacks, etc, have paywalls, and aren't built for short, freestanding posts. So they can't replicate that.
The Substacks, etc, have paywalls, and aren't built for short, freestanding posts. So they can't replicate that.
Seeing blog essays develop a business model is really cool.
But blogging wasn't about individual blogs. It was about the connections and interactions and pathways between them, which mainly came through links and short comments/responses.
But blogging wasn't about individual blogs. It was about the connections and interactions and pathways between them, which mainly came through links and short comments/responses.
That got siphoned off to Twitter (and others), and it's what killed the blogosphere.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
