I recently asked via Twitter whether anyone still followed bloggers that did not have topical blogs. Do you follow a blogger that diarizes, rather than trying to sell you something, either directly or via ads? The overwhelming majority confirmed my suspicion that blogging is pretty well dead as an art. If you're blogging these days, you're possibly screaming into the maelstrom, unheard by anyone, being drowned out by the published content that built to suit.
One thing I hear a lot is that social media has taken the place that blogging used to fill. If you had a desire to write something online in 2005, you published a blog. These days, you're writing on Facebook or posting a photo on Instagram. These venues, although they are not owned by the publisher, make sharing this content with peers easier. It is only possible to receive accolades of disembodied thumb-raised-fists via these venues. Of course their ubiquity and ease make them attractive even to the non-technical. Thereby blogging takes a hit.
