The other day I was curious if any of the old fashion blogs I used to read were still around. Originally finding them back in 2008/2009 was like discovering a key to another world. I would spend hours after school reading my subscription list and checking comment sections trying to find new blogs to follow.
Almost all of the old blogs I used to read are actually still around. Many are frozen in time around 2013/2014 when Instagram really started taking off and it was easier to share over there than write a whole post. They feel almost like an abandoned house. Like the owner left in a hurry and might still come back someday where they left off.
Others had been updated sporadically over the years (like mine), but most were updated every few weeks with sponsored posts or link lists around big sales.
Sometimes I wonder if blogs will ever make a come back. If the cultural pendulum will swing the other way and we'll all tire of the endless scroll of content. We'll desire a return to slowness. A return to human connection.
That's why blogs have stuck with me personally over the years. It's because this used to be such a community. I knew everyone who commented (partly because my blog was always small lol), but we had intimate conversations. I was so excited to get 10 comments on a post. I think about that now if I'm disappointed that an Instagram post doesn't receive my arbitrary benchmark of likes I've determined is successful. I still try to respond to every DM and comment because I care about the people who choose to follow what I post and share how how they connect it to their own lives.
With every new social app, we crave a deeper level of authenticity. When TikTok emerged, it scared a lot of creators because it took a new level of vulnerability to be successful on there. The whole draw of TikTok was anyone could be famous, just by being themself. That was a big departure from Instagram where it felt like you had to sell people an idealized version of yourself.
But even over the last year I've been on TikTok, I've seen content start to shift. It's hard to put my finger on it, but its started to feel like content created to feed an algorithm versus content for connection. And I say this because I've been guilty of creating content like this, so I'm sure others have felt this way, too.
Then BeReal started gaining traction a few months ago. At 29, I felt annoyed and too old to jump on yet another social platform. But when I downloaded it, I realized it was actually pretty cool. No way to see the number of followers. Everyone is private. And you can only share once a day, nothing pre-filmed. I've been posting on it for about a month now and I have to admit, I really enjoy seeing just the average, every day lives of my friends. It makes me smile seeing them with their dog or fixing the same lunch they did yesterday. It feels normal, but also personal and intimate in a way.
That what I kinda hope to find again with blogging. I enjoy just coming back to this space and sharing with no pressure what's on my mind. Not many people are reading this, but just like the limited audience of BeReal, I like it that way. It helps me feel more secure in sharing. And if you are reading this, I hope you found a little bit of comfort in the 5 minutes (or less if we are being real) it took to go through this post. That would make me happy.
With much love,
Lauren
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