Why I Should Stop Blogging (But Probably Won't)

Logically, there's not a compelling reason to blog anymore. Want the latest and greatest on social media? There's Mashable. Need fresh business perspectives? See HBR. Digital Marketing? See Ad Age. Tech Crunch was bought by AOL—and most media with a substantial audience ends up looking more like mainstream media at some point, or at minimum getting acquired. If I really want to be heard above the noise, a by-lined article in a reputable media outlet with a substantial audience is the way to go. Media companies both old and new have figured it out. They've created blogger networks, federated their media, joined forces and organized with a degree of scale.

Some things come full circle. In many ways, the chickens of the blogoshphere have come home to roost.

But that's if you consider yourself a blogger. I don't. I write. I'd write if nobody was reading. I'd write on paper bags with a piece of charcoal if technology didn't exist. Most times, I write for myself. The difference between the cyclical trends in media etc. and what drives some people to produce and others to consume is less dependent on what's fashionable in the moment and more dependent on what drives you as a human being. We're all wired with a certain disposition. Sometimes advances in technology amplify that, but they rarely are the root cause.

Still, from a business perspective—I really should stop blogging. What's the point? But if life were all business all the time, it wouldn't be very interesting. And in reality, I would have to stop writing, which will probably never happen.