Can blogs become the unlikely Twitter replacement? Maybe they already are for many but can that scale?
Not only can that scale but can it do so with empathy? Not to mention, do we really need a replacement?
The maps of the web have been redrawn to fit the social landscape. Some like to explore off the beaten path while most will just take the motorways and freeways, ironically stuck in traffic while trying to get from A to B as quickly as possible.
How do we get from where we are now (with withered attentions spans and endless instant reaction) to an empathetic web that provides time to think before we respond? Can we? Is the question that simple?
I was asking in an email recently if I knew people who were natural born bloggers (NBB) (to use Dave Winer's term) and, if so, how do I tell them to stop using social and start a blog?
I replied:
I think it’s hard to tell someone that they’re an NBB and get them to start. There is something specific required to be a blogger in my opinion that many just don’t have – that’s not to say bloggers are better, just different.
All we can do is give them a nudge but it’s something they have to realise on their own.
We can individually make our own choice to embrace blogs again but many won't, they don't see the need. For some, convenience trumps everything – warts and all, but many also don't have a negative experience of social networks because of the way they use them.
The situation is far more nuanced than some would have us believe. Good things happen on social networks: not everyone is an antagonistic troll looking to start a fight, not everyone is constantly exposed to fake news and conspiracy theories. A lot of people have a perfectly good time on their network of choice.
And it is a choice, it is not a one size fits all scenario and we cannot decide for others.
