What does the future hold for Bloggers?

Blogging truly is an industry that likes to keep you guessing. It’s incredible to think about the amount that has changed in the last decade! The platforms and networks that we bloggers use have evolved, and the categorisation between columnists, bloggers and reporters continues to blur. More people are reading more news, perspectives and comment than at any point in history.

There are many perspectives on this subject – but for whatever genre of blog there are several overlapping attitudes on where the blog as a medium has come from, and where it is likely to go in the next few years. After doing some research and collecting a lot of opinions on the subject, I’ve compiled a list of some of the key observations that are circling the blogging world.

Blog design

It’s been noted by many fashion and lifestyle bloggers that blogs are now becoming increasingly editorial, with designs that evoke the feeling of flicking through a glossy magazine. Simple, concise, well written pieces featuring beautiful photography now take centre stage in the blogging platform. The evolution of blogging is also seeing a shift in the type of content that is being created, which could be partly down to the arrival of Instagram, where more and more blogs are becoming destinations for premium visual design and opinion. Additionally, The Well note that creativity in blog layout has risen, will more scrolling sidebars and featured images than the traditional design of posts stacked on top of each other from oldest to newest.

Comments

Across the board it’s being noted that generally, commenting on blogs is going down. The conversations that your posts inspire are increasingly moving onto social media, where discussions can be more in-depth and can spark off new ideas for your readers and beyond. While some may see this as a bad thing, this really just goes to show how blogging as an exercise has expanded and infiltrated further platforms, and can create mass waves of conversations.

It’s also worth recognising that the slow-down in comments has some relation to how increasingly more visual blogging has become. Many blogs are transforming to purely Instagram-like designs, and at the rate that we all scroll through pages of images, it’s no wonder we aren’t always decelerating and taking the time to post a comment or two (or as many as we used to).

Mobile

Blogging for mobile is gaining more traction every year, with templates featuring responsive design becoming more common, and easy to use mobile blogging apps making writing your blog for mobile visitors simple and relatively undemanding.

Craig McBreen asks this thought provoking question on the subject of the future of blogging: “With mobile gaining market share by the day, what does the transformation from desktop to tablet mean to your average blogger?”

We can now write content for audiences who could be anywhere, while we are anywhere – on the train, in the office or snuggled up with a tablet in bed. Mobile blogging has enabled further synchronisation of the platform with social media, and looks like it will continue to do so. The Blogger Lounge’s own Katie Jenner, editor of Beingthebridesmaid.com, notes how blogging from a mobile acts as a stage for grassroots creativity. It can be argued that less advanced skills are needed to blog from a mobile, and professional looking photos and designs can all be produced and published from the same device.

Content

Holly Becker at decor8blog.com makes the honest point that blogs are becoming a little too ‘samey’. What was once fresh (DIY hacks, recipes, home tours, outfits etc.) is now not, and it seems many bloggers (her point of view here is of lifestyle bloggers in particular) create the same kind of content because they feel they have to.

Her point rings true: add content to your blog that you’re good at creating, ideas that are important to you and evokes the messages that you want to say to the world. Say it with genuine feeling, and respond to others in the same way.

Craig McBreen adds this nice thought-provoking comment on the future of blogging – “Keep producing quality work and the other stuff will come, but it must be delivered with authenticity and we certainly can’t forget those connections. Some things change, but some things always stay the same.”

What else have you noticed is changing in the blogging landscape? Where do you think bloggers will be in the next 10 years? Let us know in the comments (or on social media ;))!