Where Did All The Bloggers Go?
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Have you ever wondered where all the bloggers have gone? Many, I think, hopped over to Instagram and never came back.
I miss reading about the people who wrote blog posts on a fairly regular basis. I guess they left for social media, and I suppose greener pastures.
Blogs to me are somewhat like houses. Real estate that only improves if you’re willing to put in the time and effort.
If you want your property’s value to rise, you must maintain and remodel from time to time. It’s how your little place on the internet will find its way to people looking for your chosen topics.
For those of you who were around back then, do you remember when bloggers had garden parties, decorating parties, and tea parties? When we showed tablescapes to one another and the readers who chose to come and take a peek? It was fun back in those days.
When there was a bump in the road, we encouraged one another. Sometimes we wrote to each other privately and even shared the occasional phone call.
So many people today look at their phones, those compact little rectangular windows in the palm of their hand. Their phones are the conduit to the world outside their door.
Where Are All Those Bloggers Now?
Are some all-but-abandoned blogs just sitting where they’re hosted (another monthly expense?) Maybe sitting stagnant, the equivalent of boarded-up windows. Or have they been deleted and whooshed up into the ether?
I find that this is often the case. Or worse, the screen says something like, “This blog is no longer here, or is no longer being updated,” or something like that. And then it feels like it does when someone dies.
I’m a little old-fashioned. I have a phone, of course, but I don’t rely on it. To me, the screen inhibits my viewing of all the teeny-tiny details.
It took me a long time to adopt this way of living. To learn how to text so I could communicate with my family. I did it reluctantly.
It meant another pillar of warmth and familiarity crumbled in a forest where no one hears the trees fall. Another place we liked to visit that suddenly disappeared or went by the wayside. It reminds me of a house that is foreclosed on and sits empty, looking sad and desolate.
The Welcome Wagon Days:
I used to write weekly posts that I called the Welcome Wagon. Some of you might remember it way back at the beginning. I was kind of like the person whose job it was to greet and meet new neighbors back in the olden days.
Many of you probably won’t recall this occurrence when someone moved into a new neighborhood. Maybe you’re too young. But it was a thing. I made myself the greeter of an online version.
I searched the internet for new, budding bloggers with little exposure yet. Then I went through their blog, found a few details about them, and used a few photos. And then on Friday, I linked to their blog and introduced them to my readers.
Then I hosted an online party called Tweak It Tuesday for a few years. Now that’s gone too. I couldn’t keep up with it. I’m older, not as perky or energetic. Most blog parties have kind of “petered out”, as my grandmother was fond of saying.
I’m Waving From The Crowd:
After a while, some bloggers were “discovered”. They were asked to write books or were favored by sponsors.
I’m still here, writing about this and that. Casual everyday stuff. The kind of stuff Google and the advertisers don’t get very excited about. But I hope my readers still read. So it’s not like I’m completely tethered to the past.
Oh well. It is what it is.
I know some bloggers are now rising Instagrammers out there in social media land. I’ve watched a few from a distance because I’m not all that fond of socializing on Instagram. I think they’re now called “influencers.”
Another Era Left Behind:
Where did all that community go? That port in the storm of sharing and caring? Did Instagram swallow it up? Did it just disappear or go by the wayside?
Back then, we would send comments to check on one another’s health and state of mind. If we were close, we’d email or phone one another and say, “Hey, if you need a shoulder, you can use mine.”
Then some bloggers are no longer with us, having died. I have their faces imprinted in my memory.
Some bloggers quietly left Blog Land, going on to bigger and better things. Some grew uninspired or disillusioned and ran out of gas, as the saying goes. I get that. Sometimes I feel the same way, but I keep plodding along.
If you’re a former blogger and you happen to stumble upon this post, I want you to know I miss reading your blog. I remember you and haven’t given up on seeing you again one day.
If you’ve gone off to bigger and better things, go on and fly, little bird. I’ll stay back here in the tree branches among the leaves and watch from afar. I salute you, wherever you are. And hope maybe we’ll cross paths again someday.
oops! Typo on my blog address. Its https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com. No “the”.
I’m still here blogging at https://thecannaryfamily.blogspot.com and at https://cannarymom.blogspot.com/. I look at your blog at least once a month. I like dropping in on blogs and reading about how other like-minded souls are going about their days; what they cook, how they decorate, all about their pets. Its a very innocent way to pass the time and far more pleasant than social media.
Brenda,
What a sweet and sad post. I do remember all those bloggers. Some of them announced they were giving up the ship and I was so disappointed. I hadn’t found your blog in the beginning, but I did find it before you lost it in cyberspace and all your beautiful pictures were gone. I grieved for you. I’m so glad you stuck around and that I can still access your blog. Some bloggers even used to have “give-aways” where a name would be drawn and that individual would get a prize in the mail. I really miss the blogs that I became attached to. Please don’t go anywhere. Fondly, Sandra
I think a lot of bloggers have indeed gone to just Instagram. I haven’t quite gone that full route yet. I know I post regularly on IG and I haven’t written a blog post since July, but I haven’t given up on that just yet. Life just sometimes gets so hectic and busy and blogging goes on the back burner.
Other blogs I’ve followed – mostly essay-type ones and not so much photos – have gone to Substack.
Thank you for being a faithful blogger. I love reading about your sweet simple life!
I truly miss all the fun things bloggers did back in the day. Blogs are so much more intimate than social media and you feel like part of a community!
I’ve often wondered the same thing. So many I loved to visit on a regular basis. I’m happy you are still blogging as now I only follow 3.
I loved Debbie from Mountain Mama. I was so sad when Pat from Back Porch Musings died. I felt like I Iost a friend.
Instagram is certainly not the same. Times have changed so much. You just have to look around when you go to a doctor’s office and see how many people are interacting….none they are glued to their phones!
Brenda, first, I want to say your pictures today are so pretty! I started reading your blog sometime shortly after you lost your dog, Abby(?). She sounded so cute. I wish I had followed you sooner. I’m not sure how I found you exactly. I think we followed some of the same blogs, and I probably read through the comments and found you that way. I know some of them just stopped and went to Instagram. I don’t have an Instagram account, so you can only see a limited amount before they want you to log in to continue, so I don’t really get to see much. I followed Debbie at mountain mama, and a lady named Marty. Yours is the only one I read now, and if you stopped, I think you described it perfectly… it’s be like the death of a friend. I’d really miss you! I love hearing about your everyday life. As someone else said, it’s like talking to a friend.
I’m a blogger who was lucky enough to be featured in your Welcome Wagon series (thank you!) when I was new and it was lovely. I’ll never forget your email. You said that you were going to share my blog and that I should “get ready” to make a lot of new friends..and oh boy, did I ever! ❤️ The camaraderie and community was so much fun in those early years. I still blog and yes, I do share a affiliate links and have ads, but honestly, I write because the process brings me great joy. I love interacting with other bloggers and the sweet people who read what I put out into the world and take the time to comment or email. I’ve met so many wonderful friends along the way…Instagram just doesn’t feel the same. I’m glad you’re still blogging, Brenda. It’s always a pleasure to visit an old friend!
Brenda, I’m an older folk now too and miss those days. I hate tjat term influencer. I dont have an Instagram account and left Facebook years ago. I read your blog and a couple others and I pray you three keep writing or this world would feel even emptier.
I miss all the bloggers that don’t anymore. Many were “too busy” and dropped that excess, but so many – I miss. I’m really glad yours is still here though. And the phone… I don’t understand why people want to read a 2×4 screen. LOL Drives me nuts – like I need a magnifying glass to see everything at full size. Nope – I’m a computer person.
Thank you Brenda, for your blog!
I miss the ones I used to read and are no longer there. I’m not a fan of instagram either. I enjoy your writing, and stories. Good luck in your house hunt! I look forward to your next installment!!
Brenda I’m one of the former bloggers that used to visit your link party. It’s called The Boondocks Blog, and is still out there. I sold it after it started interfering with my health. Too many hours in front of a screen. I now work in retail and get lots of exercise. I do still follow a few bloggers but mostly I like the pretty pictures on Instagram. I do miss the sense of community we all had back then.
I must say that you’re about the only blog I still read and enjoy. I’ve followed you from Texas and have enjoyed your decorating of all your homes. I’m not into farmhouse decor and it seems that all the blogs when you find one is white farmhouse. I need color (guess is my adhd) and you do that so well. Sometimes I go to Pinterest and get all excited about a picture I like and when I click on it to see the blog is from several years ago that no longer exists. So keep on writing and inspiring this old lady.
Brenda, the old days of blogging are long gone, sadly. I am one of the old bloggers and still here. As you said, many left for Instagram, some passed away, some just shut down and so many have recently migrated to sub stack. Part of the problem is that blogging is expensive and readers do not like the ads which pay for some of our expenses, and so those people who want an ad free blog space where they can make money have moved on to Substack and other platforms like it.
I am not going anywhere and I hope that you do not either.
PLEASE DON’T LEAVE! You are one of two blogs that I read daily. I, too, miss the blogs that were just about everyday life… nothing phony. Ones where you felt like you just sat down with a good friend and had a cup of coffee or tea and good conversation.
Oh, Brenda!!!! I agree with every single word! I so miss the young woman who remodeled a home in England…the woman who was a fantastic interior decorator…and so many, many others. I tried to conquer a smart phone YEARS ago….just couldn’t ‘cut the mustard’, as they say…..so enjoy my little FLIP PHONE.
I must confess that I just now dipped my foot into your NEW & NOTABLE MENTIONS, and discovered another delightful part of YOUR blog!!!!! Am still enamored at your way with words….and thank you for ‘hanging in there’…..you light up our lives more than you know!
I only read your blog and Miss Mustard Seed regularly. I used to love blog hops especially Christmas ones but there have been fewer every year. I didn’t know about your Lovely Reads page – now that I do I will check some out. I didn’t answer your question the other day about which types of your posts I like the best and I would say I prefer the ones about your daily life but I have also tried and loved some of the recipes you’ve featured. In fact, last night we again had a creamy roasted mushroom soup that I found through you.
Miss Mustard Seed became a very successful blogger. She came up with that paint that I think she sold the rights to maybe. Glad you liked the recipe!
She recently wrote a blog post on why she still blogs!
I’m one of those bloggers who was a regular at your weekly “link party!” You chose a few of my posts as featured ones the following week and I was thrilled. My grandma blog made me lifelong friends with a few others that we still contact thru email and Facebook. These five….KC, Judy, Debra, Joan, and Lisa, and the motivation to make many creative experiences for my grandchildren are the main value I received in return for my efforts. I took no ads and made no money, but was chosen to visit Disney World in a deluxe all expenses paid vacation for eight of us in exchange for two blog posts. (I did five extra, being a high achiever! 😉)
Eventually I grew tired of posting as the kids went on to school and sports and I started to feel my age. My blog (What Happens at Grandmas) is still up. I pay $10 a year to maintain my web address.
It was my friend Debra who introduced me to your blog. She no longer owns her site, and the others have moved on except for one. Today, her blog and yours are the only two I read.
Thank you for reminding me of the era of fun that began for me in 2011 when blogging was the exciting community you described above!
Wow! That’s wonderful that you got that vacation for all of you because that’s worth a lot of money! I was never offered anything like that. So glad you got to do that. I remember your blog now.
I have never had a blog but have always followed a few. And as you have noted, most are long gone. I follow yours, because I enjoy reading it so much. Your blog is what real life is all about, with no fakeness. I think I would be lost without my “Cozy Little House” fix.
Today, as you said, “It is what it is”. I have been saying that for months now, how things in the world are changing so quickly. Some for the good, not all, and I miss the good old days.
So happy you are still saying Hi to all of us everyday. I appreciate everything you write, and love to read all the replies from your readers.
Hugs from WI. it’s 61 degrees right now, and the sun is shining. Not many days left like this, gotta get out and enjoy the weather while we can.
It’s kind of overcast here. I’m still wearing shorts. Waiting for a Walmart order. I only order about once a month and supplement things like eggs and salad fixings at Braum’s which is really close. I think my order for Walmart today was just a little over $60.
This was a really cute post, thanks. I remember the Welcome Wagon lady, it’s been a long time but it was nice when you moved to a neighborhood to get them at your door. I bought a little house in Norman,Ok. and I was welcomed by one.
I raised my girls in Norman, OK. And got married there too.
I love your blog and hope you don’t go away at all! I do miss some of the old-time bloggers, and sadly, I can’t recall their names or I would look them up. I guess trends change and everyone moves on, but I do like the familiar–those who become “friends”, though unknown in person.
I am currently awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Milton—we are shuttered up and hunkered down. Still have power. Winds are picking up. They say the brunt of the blow will happen about 2 a.m. I HATE night arrivals.
That must be very frightening. I’ve seen some of the photos of the damage online in various places.
I, too, have noticed so many of the blogs I followed are no longer there and I miss their posts. I have difficulty finding replacements for these lost blogs. Should you find good blogs to follow please pass this information on to all of us. I would love to find some new folks to follow. Your blog is readily welcomed each day so perhaps there are new ones to read and enjoy. Thanks
At the very bottom of this page on the far left is a link called Lovely Reads. Those are blogs I like or are checking out or reading at the moment.
I’ve always enjoyed reading blogs. I discovered yours more than 13 years ago, and I still follow three others as well. And some are now charging for the privilege of reading their blog, which is a hard no for me because I’m on a limited income. As long as you keep writing and posting, I’ll keep reading!
Well, I have ads that are often annoying because Ivy and I have to eat, but otherwise I’m free of charge.
Brenda, yours is the only blog I read. I somehow came across your blog probably 8 yrs ago. I didn’t even know what a blog was. I have enjoyed reading your blog very much. I don’t have Facebook or any other social media. I remember Welcome Wagon. When my husband and I bought our first home, the Welcome Wagon lady welcomed us to the neighborhood.
So much of what we knew is now gone and no one will even know it existed probably. I think I’m going to have some very exciting news this weekend!
Exciting news? Oh wow – can’t wait to hear it. What a tease!
I miss a lot of the bloggers that I used to read. Your is one of three that I now see regularly. Times have certainly changed and I’m not into Instagram either. I don’t see the point (other than self-promotion and sales) and I can’t find my way around it and it doesn’t seem worth the effort. Blogs seem(ed) more personal and inviting.
Instagram truly does have beautiful photos, but I just kind of feel inadequate after seeing their homes. It’s all about the fame and money. But then, I guess when it boils down to it, isn’t everything?
Many bloggers did abandon their blogs and hopped over to IG. I thoroughly enjoyed blogging but IG was faster. I’ll be honest I’ve grown tired of social media – blogging, IG and Facebook. As a matter of fact, I have been away from my IG feed for over a year. I think about going back but I find reason not to. I do miss blogging because the interaction is more fun. Does that make sense?
Of course it makes sense! I might not still be chugging along as much as I do if I didn’t have to have an income. It would be far easier to go put pretty photos up and “liking” other photos or whatever it is. But I can’t spend my time doing that. And it would eat up the time I take to eat and watch a little TV and read a book at night.
I ,too, miss the good old days of the blogs. They were much more personal and
down- to-earth. A lot of the ones that are left are about ” sell, sell, sell!” I have ended up quitting those. It’s better for me and my pocket book 🙂
I appreciate your blog! It’s always wonderful to read one of your posts.
Well, it often is just about little things. But then isn’t everyone’s life about little things for the most part?
I miss “Dear Daisy Cottage” blog.
I remember Welcome Wagon. I subscribed to new blogs because of that feature that you used to do.
I think Dear Daisy Cottage was probably the first blog I ever saw. I loved her home! It was so bright and colorful. My “welcome wagon” is now Lovely Reads at the far left at the bottom of this page if you’re looking for new blogs. Most people don’t have a list of blogs anymore. They figure, I assume, that they’d be sending someone off their page.
Brenda, I agree! My favorite bloggers were writers who shared a part of their lives. Now it seems like more effort is place on Instagram posts pushing me to buy yet another gadget from Amazon. I understand it costs money to have a blog and you all need to make a living, but I miss the more heartfelt content that blogs provide. Please continue to do what you do best!
I will. It’s all I know how to do, all I’ve ever been halfway good at, and so it shall be.
I think a lot are on You Tube too. I really do like watching You Tube for inspiration, but I still like blogs too!
I watch YouTube. Maybe one of these days I’ll figure out how to make a video. But it took me years to text, so I wouldn’t count on it.