Ought blogging

Alan writes:

...Four years ago there was much excitement over weblogs. Now the fever has broken, the bubble has deflated — pick your metaphor. Blogs are familiar, routine, even (horrors!) dull. A few blogs have become new media outlets with large, growing audiences. The rest have stagnated, according to various articles and commentators.

My own numbers accord with the reported trends. They have drifted slowly, slowly down for two years. It’s disheartening, if I think about it. I rarely look at the stats nowadays. I used to watch them closely, when the rare readership was growing. I also used to read other blogs more than I do now. My own reading habits fit the pattern.

What will become of blogging? It will continue. The big names are established. A decade or two from now, the Y2K period will be recalled as the golden era of blogging, as the Sixties were a golden era of rock....I participated at the far fringe of Sixties music, and at the far fringe of Ought blogging. Few people get to live two such periods in one lifetime. It’s been fun...

I started blogging in 11/01. My numbers rose for a couple of years, then have stayed level since. This isn't surprising--the Power Curve rules here, as in so many places.

Fortunately I do this mostly for my own satisfaction. And for the great pleasure of having a circle of virtual friends. Thank you all!

I have this fantasy of a coffeehouse where people much like me hang out, and I could drop in whenever I liked for good conversation and companionship. That'll never happen! But RJ serves the same function...

One neat thing is that, if you stay mentally young enough to develop new interests, then you discover new blog universes. I've been reading Catholic blogs, which are a whole rich new galaxy. (With fascinating similarities to political blogging, not to mention real life. Such as liberals who can't refute conservative arguments, and resort to accusations of "hate-mongering!")

Update: In response to a comment, I've posted below the fold an image I used in the early days of Random Jottings...

Update: One more posted..

This is from Mr Bass's Planetoid (sequel to The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet), books which had a big effect on my young mind, and in which are found a notebook called "Random Jottings". The glowing object is actually a lantern which is communicating with a similar one on another planet. The illustration is by Louis Darling, who I admire extravagantly. It actually a made a poor banner picture, because it was never clear to readers, and didn't have the necessary horizontal shape, though I just used a slice of it...

These are the detectives from Planetoid...