A few years back, blogging was cool and everyone was doing it. We were taking the time to write down our thoughts and share it with others. However, now we have Twitter and Facebook and it seems like fewer and fewer people blog. Why is that?

Is it because of time? It does take more time to sit down and write a blog post as compared to writing a status update, however the value is much higher. Sometimes it’s better to take your time and do something meaningful.

Is it because of detail? Write a tweet and no one cares if it’s original, detailed, or well thought out. When it comes to blogging, we often feel we need to be more detailed and original; thus scaring ourselves out of writing.

Is it because of feedback? When writing a blog post I don’t often get comments so it’s hard to say if anyone is even seeing the post. Sure, analytics can tell me, but it can take a while for people to find it. However, a favorite, retweet or Like is instant gratification.

I don’t deny that social media is easier than blogging, but is it better? Especially since creating content on social networks doesn’t belong to you. You’re just feeding their bottom line. Put it on your blog, run a few ads, and maybe you can get a few bucks in your pocket. Even if you don’t monetize, the content is yours and will always be.

I think it’s time to re-focus on the blog, but also realize that it takes time to do that. I fall into that ”social media is easier crowd”, but I’d like to change that. I just need to figure out how.