How do you think Twitter is impacting blogging? …or is it?
An article on SocialMediaToday.com titled "Is Twitter Killing Blogging" poses the question; Is Twitter complementary to blogging or is it a substitute? In an attempt to quantify this question, the article points out that the number of blogs on WordPress.com has consistently risen since its founding in 2006, despite the growing popularity of Twitter. (I wonder if "Active" blogs have increased – or if the increase in # of blogs has slowed since Twitter… Ah – too much thinking.)
Writer Kathryn Vercillo of KathrynVercillo.com says she's seen comments around the web that Twitter is
actually increasing blogging because bloggers are encouraged to post
new items so that they can tweet the link. Her theory is that people who are half-involved in blogging might find Twitter to be a better
platform for what they have to say whereas full-time/serious bloggers find that Twitter can only supplement
what they’re doing and not replace the blog.
TheFutureBuzz.com recently posted an article titled "19 Reasons Why You Should Blog and Not Just Tweet." I found points 14 and15 to be the most interesting.
- [Point 14] Everyone on Twitter is looking for the next big thing or most
interesting piece of content to link to. Wouldn’t you rather be the
big thing than merely another person pointing at it?
- [Point 15] These are all just tools to share content and ideas, no more,
no less. You need a cohesive strategy for all of them to drive
conversions in one spot. A blog is the perfect place for that if you
want focused attention and to build an interested community. What if
any one network you don’t control falls out of favor or changes the
rules? At the end of the day, self-hosted blog owners control the
vertical and the horizontal, whereas on Twitter or any external network you’re at the whim of someone else.
For those of you who have worked with me, you know that my view is it's not about the tool, it's about the objective first. For most of us blogging & on Twitter, it's Marketing and there's no one-size fits all rule. Social
media is not only about connecting and engaging; It's important to
provide / add value to your followers/audience. If you can do that
consistently 140 characters at a time, Twitter's it for you. What do you think?
