Blogging is not Dead! It's just Different!
In recent years, I have read many articles about how blogging is dying or dead, then it is alive and thriving again, then it is in decline... yada yada. One thing I do know... the amount of time and energy it takes to keep up with earning decent money in blogging is increasing. Blogging is becoming more expensive and the rate of return for all the effort is shrinking (if you happen to be in it for the income). I quit working and retired early because I did not want to be a slave under the "work-to-live" mantra any longer. I just wanted to retire in my chosen paradise and relax, and do some blogging and earn a little extra money.
Over the last couple years, and as social media platforms keep evolving at break-neck speed, old-school blogging incomes have begun to wither. Conventional blogging just doesn't scale well with all the different social media platforms today. Blogging used to be conversational, but all that conversation has migrated and much of that conversational traffic is now driven far more by Facebook links as compared to links provided through blogging. Blogs simply make conversation harder because it has moved from the comments section, to Facebook, Twitter, and on to other social media.
It's Not Dead!
No, I'm not saying that blogging is dead. It is far from it. It has just taken to different mediums or hosts. Blogging is evolving just like social media and the internet itself, and to remain in the active ranks of successful bloggers, it requires much more work - one must adapt... and keep adapting. I'm a rebel with a good cause and I don't want to adapt. I'm tired and re-tired and I want to stay that way (retired), so.....
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Steemit Pays!
I have taken up with Steemit. I love the blockchain blogging platform concept and how it pays its contributors. While it might look complicated from the outside looking in, it is altruistic and simplistic really. Once you join Steemit, you post content and get paid. It doesn't get any more simple than that. Yesterday I learned a way to connect my Steemit blog to my "Retired in Samar" Facebook account and when I post on Stemit, it simutaneously posts to my "Retired in Samar" facebook page. Now I have to decide what to do with my blog.
While Google's Ad Services seem to be in decline (read article), overall Adsense revenues for bloggers and Youtubers alike have suffered. My two sites have lost some, but not nearly as much as some others. The return on invested time is diminishing and if this is another one of those paradigm shifts, then it might be time to look at taking a Hard Fork (pun intended). While Steemit looks to be a good option to keep on blogging and earn some money going forward, the platform shines a light on all that superfluous work it takes to keep a traditional blog running - and operating in the black.
Unless one is willing to continuously adapt their blog or website to a new markets, keeping up with all the change and social media can be time consuming, and increasingly expensive. Rest assured, with Steemit, I will be able to continue to create content without all the headaches of running a blog as a business, and still make money... potentially much more money. I just wonder how many other bloggers are migrating to Steemit.com?
Help! Please!!!
So now comes my big decision... what to do with my blog? Should I just end it all and go Full STEEM ahead? What will happen to all my content? I have no idea. I don't want to just dump it in the river. Maybe someone can help me to better understand how to end my blog and salvage all that content (I know there are some smart people out there). That would be nice.