BLOGS ARE DYING? I DON'T THINK SO

This month, more than any previously, I've seen the debate on whether blogs are dying and losing their value, constantly. It's across social media, magazines are declaring it and almost every other form of printed news. As a blogger, I'm obviously from a biased standpoint no matter how rationale I try to be about the situation and can't give a fully unclouded view. Would I be wrong to suggest this may be an age thing, that people of older generation aren't turning towards online because they were reared in a world in which it didn't exist for so long? I have to say that I think newspapers and magazines have vested interests by trying to play down how influential bloggers are now. Millennials undoubtedly turn towards online activity to get the fix that print once provided and I do think that the written publications are threatened by this, it's a scary thought for them. They can't provide the raw honesty that bloggers can and it's something that I think sets us above them by a large mile.



For me, I dismiss immediately anything magazines claim about the blogging industry. I was an avid magazine buyer for years upon years, turning to Look, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Cosmo girl, they were all weekly and monthly purchases during my teens. Even before that you could most certainly find me searching through smash hits, shout magazine or mizz - they were a must and not only for the free nail stickers or peel-able varnish you got included. Those times are long gone, as are almost all of those magazines because in my eyes, print has completely died out. If I want to find out what's fashionable (which as a mother, I know next to zero about) then I'm going to be searching Instagram or Pinterest, you'll not find my scouring through the magazine aisle in my local Tesco. Prints are inconvenient, I have to carry them around if I purchase one and then once it's been read then it's rendered useless and binned, it feels like a bit of a waste of money when I could get the exact same information through my phone. When I compare that to blogs, I know I'm getting honesty, the bloggers I follow and read avidly are truthful and transparent which makes me confident that their opinions are not swayed by the payment that might reach them in thirty days. And to be honest, if you're not feeling that way then perhaps you're just not following the right people?

Blogs provide me with things that magazines never could, a real insight to the real world. What would appear as a small insert on a back end page of Look magazine, showcasing a hotel in Santorini as 'the place to be this summer' I now realise was actually a advert, cleverly marketed by someone who undoubtedly hadn't even visited the resort themselves, but for a certain fee would happily encourage me to go. Bloggers don't do that, at least the ones I keep up to date with don't. If I'm reading about a hotel on a blog it's because the blogger has tried and tested it, they've experienced the check-in desk, airport transfers and breakfast in bed options, I know that what I'm reading is their first hand account. Sure it could be an exchange of goods, the hotel offering a stay in exchange for an honest review, but at least I'm getting that - honesty.

Bloggers are businesses just like tabloids and magazines, but you have a face to a name, someone to hold accountable for their words and somebody to buy into. When I follow blogs, it's more often than not because I like the person behind the spiel and find them relatable to me. Magazines don't offer that anymore, I'm not reading beauty or fashion magazines that show me how to perfect a make-up look, I simply don't have the time I once did now I'm a parent. Whilst I am a mother, I don't necessarily fit into the Mother & Baby magazine category either as though my children are my life, motherhood doesn't define me and I need something a little more, which is exactly what blogs offer. With a blog I can have every slice of the cake, I can type in a bloggers website, and read a plethora of posts from beauty, fashion, weaning, interiors, travel... the list is endless, they're not a niche as magazines and that's just what I need. For me, blogs will never die out, they'll just keep evolving.