Today on Alternet.org, I read an article by Rob Peters of the Tyee (a BC online mag) titled, Is Personal Blogging Fast-Fading? And while some of his evidence is compelling, if a little skinny on researchable facts, I have to say that I was a bit ruffled after I read it; he obviously isn't a reader of BlogHer.

His intro:

"The golden age of the digital diarist may be over. Have we realized
blogging isn't as fun as it sounds? Or that we're not so interesting
after all?"

He goes on to write that people tire of writing and reading personal musing, that personal blogging stats show a plateau, and that other sites like Twitter and Facebook that offer "microblogs" are gathering momentum. Ok - there may be an element of truth is to this. We all need a blog break sometimes, and we definitely know many of us are exploring how to Tweet as we speak. But, his final comment is the one that riled me up the most. He contends that one or two lines of text are all the writing we can stand to read or write.

Come on, puleeeeeezzee. Speak for yourself, Rob.

If that were the case, BlogHer and personal blogging wouldn't be in the press so much. I'm not linking to multiple articles to prove this point because BlogHer already did it here for me. But I will quote some other folks:

Sharon of Surrogacy 101 says,

"I have been blogging for a short time...and it started out as an extension of Infertility Answers, Inc. But honestly it has turned into more than that...an exploration of myself and my impact on the surrogacy world".

Katy of I'm Blogging That sends a shout out to the personal bloggers,

"Forever ago, it seems that most blogs started out as personal blogs.
And while big businesses started picking up on blogging as a means of
promoting news, more and more niche blogs grew to create the blogosphere that we see today.But for me, the root of it all still lies with those personal bloggers — the ones that share their life...While I don’t cover personal blogs often, I found today a good day
to dedicate a blog love to personal blogging. After all, there is no
other type of blog where you’ll quickly feel a connection with the
blogger themselves."

Tea of Tea's Blog. took abreak to regroup and redefine, but now she is looking for a clean start with a new personal blog.

And Emily of Fun With the Little Munchkins is inspired by personal bloggers and is wondering if she has what it takes to be one.

"I think it takes a lot of
courage to put it all out there like that. I feel like I can get to
know people I thought I already knew, better because they posted
something that they felt and would not have said in conversation for
one reason or another. You have inspired me."

The quotes could on and on. I know personally, my blog keeps me from fading into oblivion. By writing what I'm thinking, I begin to own it. By owning it, I allow myself to criticize it. By criticizing it, I ultimately come out with a deeper analysis - and if I'm lucky, a shard of whatever emotion/feeling/outcome I was originally seeking. Some are skilled enough to do this with art or music. Writing is my canvas.

What about you? Is your personal blog fading or feeding your spirit?

Notions of Identity