I have seen a smattering of Internet marketers voicing loud and sometimes passionate opinions that blogs are destroying the Internet. Why?
These blog naysayers suggest that blogs are too ubiquitous, they give every Tom, Dick, and Sally a public platform on which they push a certain agenda, try to sell in a saturated market, and criticize and condemn products they don't like even when their reasons are suspect.
One fellow complained that blogs get into the search results too easily and because of the sheer numbers of blogs (he said "tens of millions") the results are not returning what viewers are looking for.
You know what I think? If that's what blogs are really doing . . . give me as many of them as I can handle!
The foundation of the Internet, as far as I'm concerned, is the free and open exchange of information.
What platform fits that definition better than any others? Blogging!
Is there a better, simpler, more direct way for a journalist, business owner, or passionate nicher to offer information directly to the public and seek to get relevant information in return (through comments) than by blogging? If so, please tell me what it is.
If the proliferation of blogs is causing skewed search engine results, then it would seem likely that they are becoming the most important kind of content producers that are giving the search engines exactly what they are looking for.
If blogs are giving products unbiased and objective reviews and scrutiny, then let's have more of them.
If blogs are too successful at selling products and saturating markets, then every entrepreneur has the charge to get blogging and share in the wealth!
I've posted before about the advantages of maintaining a blog. They are many and very powerful.
With ease of setup, the low cost of maintaining a blog, the opportunity to generate revenue on site, and the possibility for eventual search engine listings at the top of the results page, blogs are an inexpensive, easy, and effective way to maintain a web presence and profit at the same time.
If the collective threat of the blogging community is really the muscle flexing of the Evil Empire, then move over Darth Vader, I'm defecting!
I'm not sure that the blogging craze can last forever; surely there will be other cutting edge platforms that arise to steal the Internet limelight in the future. Technology has a way of changing the landscape very quickly.
But the principles of free speech, open access, information sharing, quick feedback, deep niche specialization, and the ability to generate revenue are really the foundation of blogging.
I see these principles as enduring. Until a better venue or tool is found, blogging will continue to be relevant and important!
May the blog force be with you . . .
