So the Circle Shrinks
You know, I really haven’t been getting out there and commenting on as many blogs as I used to.
So, I thought I’d go through my blog list and started reading some posts and leaving some comments.
I picked some at random and popped in for a visit.
Here’s what I found…
Blog 1: No posts in two months.
Blog 2: No posts in over a month.
Blog 3: Gone.
Blog 4: No posts in four years.
Blog 5: Members-only.
Blog 6: No posts in two years.
Blog 7: No posts in two years.
Blog 8: No posts in a year.
Blog 9: Most recent post 8 days ago. Left a comment. Hopefully he remembers me and approves it.
Blog 10: No posts in a year.
Blog 11: Gone.
Blog 12: Hacked. (But archive.org shows no posts in four years.)
So, there you have it. I guess I really, really need to update my “Viral Blogs” list.
Seems like only the “I blog because i like to blog” people last for any duration. The blog for dough people find it’s too much work for the results. Back in the Blog Boom, other methods of communication were not main stream yet either. I found all my old blog pals that quit over at Face of Books! I have to admit that I too have not been an active “blog hopper” like I used to. Most of the time I view posts in email or reader on my phone. There is another huge change … most people are not in contact via desktop computer anymore. With the web on your belt it changes the whole interactive dynamic. Personally, I do more than 80% of my surfing with a netbook or phone.
Last thought? Power blogging and commenting is time consuming. At some point, you just can’t maintain the pace anymore.
Yahhda yadaa yahh, I just made a new blog last night … hahahaa! The power of low fat chikin I spose, aye??
On this list, they were about 50/50. That is, about half were the “blog because I like to blog” people and half were make money bloggers.
Yes, the trend is toward Facebook for some of the “retired” bloggers. I don’t use Facebook very often. If I ever quit blogging, you probably won’t find me hanging out on Facebook.
Yeah, power blogging is time consuming, but look at how much time people spend on Facebook. They’ve just replaced one form of time consumption with another.
Wow, Dan, this is interesting. If you’re referring to checking the WayBack Machine at Archive.org for Blog 12, I wouldn’t necessarily attempt to figure out how long a blog has been dormant by that means. Why? Because the WayBack Machine has Writer’s Notes listed as having no posts at all in 2009, 2010, or 2011 and only one post in 2008. Not true. While I have missed a month or two here and there — due to client projects, illness, death in the family, and other factors — my blog actually contains posts during all these years. (Blogged every month in 2008, 11 months in 2009, nine months in 2010, and so far, one month — or part of one month — in 2011.)
I think that in this case at least, the WayBack Machine might better be called the “Way-Off Machine.”
True. It doesn’t catch everything. But, in this case, I suspect the WayBack Machine may be correct. If I recall, the last time I visited the blog, there had been no new posts for many months.
I’m rather disappointed that it didn’t catch everything, really, because it’s always nice to be able to go back and see the older content, formatting, etc. from past stages of a blog’s evolution. Of course, as you’ve pointed out, I may be wrong about the site’s info on the specific blog you’re referring to. The WayBack Machine could very well be accurate where that blog is concerned.
BTW, just wanted to mention that the “Have you checked out _____ (website/blog) today?” widget (for lack of a better name) at the top of your blog is quite fascinating. When I visited yesterday, what did I see? “Have you checked out Writer’s Notes today?” It was quite uncanny. Wonder what the odds of that happening actually are!
You can opt-out of the WayBack Machine, so it won’t have details for those who have opted-out. I’m not sure how it crawls sites. I know it has missed stuff on some of my sites, while it seems to be rather detailed on others.
About 1 in 17, as I recall. Or maybe 1 in 12. I’m not sure how many blogs I have in the rotation currently. I know I weeded out some inactive ones last year sometime and added some. Not sure what the current number is.
As for the WayBack Machine, I never opted out, though I suppose I can’t be sure that Orble never did it for me (though I don’t know why they would). But, for whatever reason, nearly three years worth of content is missing. Oh, well, certainly don’t plan to spend my time crying over it.
About the odds of Writer’s Notes showing up in the rotation while I was visiting your site: 1 in 12 or 1 in 17 probably wouldn’t quite qualify as uncanny — maybe just surprising.