Tech Blogging: evolving or ending?
Jinfo Blog

By Jan Knight

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Who would have ever thought that the trend and technology that allowed “people to tell us what they were eating for breakfast” (aka Blogging) would have morphed so often and so quickly into something where the term “End of an Era” would be appropriate. Jeremiah Owyang, is suggesting that the “Golden Age of Tech Blogging is Over” is here and cites, after consulting with other tech bloggers, four trends that support that notion.   

1. Corporate acquisitions stymie innovation: organised blogs have become more like news sites and recent acquisitions such as Techcrunch being acquired by AOL in 2010 or ReadWriteWeb being acquired by SAY Media are examples of those changes. Often in these cases, the original founders have less to do with the company and its innovation. As acquisitions occur, innovation decreases.
2. Tech Blogs are experiencing major talent turnover: a number of key players have been moving around even before any acquisition activity. Owyang names examples in his own blog.
3. The audience needs have changed, they want: faster, smaller, and social: people’s attention is fragmented. So many blogs, news sites and websites are vying for the attention of readers. Our attention spans have changed and we want shorter, succinct bits of content and thus the rise of “commenting” and “sharing” of bits of information rather than reading and writing in a fuller context.
4. As space matures, business models solidify, allowing room for new disruptors: in any new industry there are new entrants and formalisation of new business models and we all recognise that sustaining a successful blog can be a challenge especially in light of item 3. above! Some players innovate and some exit. Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2011 follows the trends and growth of blogs since 2004 and it appears that fewer bloggers report that they are making a living via their blogs.

Owyang goes on to discuss the Future with New trends and sees that future consisting of new formats, new types of content and new pioneers.

I should also note, by the way, that not only are you reading this (if you’re still reading this) on a tech blog of sorts, but I’ve also mostly cited Owyang’s blog that has been named one of the Top Analyst Blogs by Technobabble. 

I guess the “end” hasn’t come yet but we will be seeing innovation continue.

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