Hugh declares the death of A-list bloggers, and Scoble’s friends think that people are moving away from blogging and falling for social networks. So as far as celebrity bloggers are concerned: we don’t need them anymore.
Of course that’s not entirely true. I don’t know how Hugh equates the fall in blogging traffic with the new-found love for social networks. The two are different mediums, with one pressuring you to share what you know, the other letting you share what you do.
There are certain similarities: Both are about communication, both are about connecting to people, both are about staying updated. Except blogging doesn’t give you the chance to live in your own isolated bubble, surrounded by the like-minded people who always agree with you.
Celebrity bloggers (or A-listers) stood out not because they were “social hubs”, or because other bloggers’ life revolved around them, but because they were the first to experiment with this new medium, and they, more or less, led this medium to compete, be it in how it’s written (reverse chronological order), updated (daily, short-texts), and presented (standards-driven).
If there’s a reason for this decrease in A-lister’s traffic, then it’s because traffic is now shared by a larger number of blogs. There are only so much people who are going to read blogs, but new bloggers are breeding like rabbits, so it’s inevitable the new ones will get a share. In addition to to that, people’s interests change, old A-listers are not “cool” anymore not because they’re too old, but because they did their job, served this medium faithfully, and it’s time they let us go.
So here’s to those, the old insightful ones, who made sure we too enjoy the ride.