Twitter killed blogs. Facebook ran them over! Its been doing rounds for over a year now that blogging is on the decline. Mashable and NYTimes added their study of how the young would rather tweet than blog. So overall the number of bloggers out there looks grim. And yet I say that this is the BEST time you could be blogging. As all bloggers know, lists are a great way to make a point. So here are 5 reasons why blogging is in recession yet this is the best time to blog.
1 -Â No One Else Is Blogging
Its simple demand supply law. As the supply goes down, the demand increases. Now blogs cater to a market where people are looking for some information. Information that can not sufficiently be stated in 140 characters. And even if facebook exists, I can not exactly find the information I want through status updates. So the market is there. People are still looking for information just as much as they did before. Rather more and more people are added to this internet universe.
So when no one else is supplying the demand well, is it not the best time to blog?
2 – Less Competition
Less bloggers equals less competition. Often in niches like tech reviews people are loyal. They trust a certain blog to give them honest reviews. So if you have less number of competitors in your niche, it becomes easier for you to become the number one in your space. Gaining an authority in a niche is a lot easier. Also the value of your services is more.
3 -Â Survival
People fight harder when facing difficulties. Statistically people with no wealth are a lot more likely to become entrepreneurs than people with big inheritances. That is because of the will to fight and rise above the odds. Even John Chow is an example. See the house he grew up in. Today he has achieved a lot of success.
If you are in a niche where people are predicting your death you are a lot more likely to fight to prove them wrong.
4 -Â Money
The NYTimes can cry out all it wants. There is still a lot of money in blogging. The industry as a whole has matured and a lot more funds are available to those who build reputations. For example, even the smaller companies in my country (india) are now hiring professional bloggers and their services. People know that there is tremendous value in blogs with a following.
5 -Â Passion
Blogs take passion. Most successful bloggers like John Chow have often said that they blog for their passion, not for the monetary rewards. Right from the beginning when no one pays attention to the articles you spent so much energy working on, the only thing that keeps you going is passion for your chosen subject.
So to sum it all up, blogging is now a lot more mature market with rewards for those who create value. The initial hype has died down and the good content is now separated from fluff. This is the best time you should blog with passion and create real value in times when its difficult to find.
Ankur Khangaonkar is a student of engineering by the day and a technologist aspiring to change the world by the night. He blogs about Entrepreneurship,Technology and World Change at www.businessmantraz.com.