Well here we are all. The world of blogging, once thought to be an art lost from the early 2000's, taken over by the growing forms of social media such as Instagram influencers and YouTube personalities, has reemerged or perhaps never really vanished merely hibernating in the depths of the internet. Peoples desire for reading, even on the internet, disintegrating as the ease of visual stimuli continues to grow. I was on a 'date' (if you could call it that) with a guy the other night who disclosed that he's never read a book for pleasure. "It was too hard" he said "took too much concentration, I kept forgetting what had happened". So here's my question. When did the pleasure and pass time of reading, something once considered a hobby and passion of many, die? As I sit hear feeling very Carrie Bradshawesque asking rhetorical questions which may or may not be answered by a single soul who chooses to read this lonely blog post, I wonder where my own passion for reading went and the blogging community not so far behind.
I would like to disclose that I myself have only recently rediscovered blogs and have perhaps read one in the past ten years. So what makes me think this blog would be any different? What gives my blog that certain pizzazz which, (excuse the use of my marketing degree) sets it aside from competitors and generate awareness and interest from consumers (in this case, readers). Well the answer to that is simple. Nothing. That's right folks, there is absolutely nothing different or interesting about this blog compared to any others you may stumble across. Perhaps that's too bluntly honest. My inner marketer is screaming at me saying "what are you doing!? who the hell is going to read this now you're saying there's nothing special about it? Its like Apple saying "Hey we are actually just like any other smart phone except we cost more".
Well my current non existent readers, in the world of marketing there's a concept called 'Honest Marketing', which is as pretty straightforward as the name eludes. Basically by sidestepping all the bullshit it takes for a consumer to believe a product or service is great, a must have, a necessity, it takes away the perceived distrust of branding we as millennials have become prone to. So maybe, just maybe, this brutal honesty that this blog isn't that special will make you like me just a bit more, which really isn't that a sneaky move in itself?
But what this blog does have is little ol' me. A 22 year old marketing graduate with little to no life experience but a hell of a lot of thoughts on things. This blog will be an accumulation of my ideas, cooking experiments, health and fitness and mental health journey to hopefully share experience with those who can relate and maybe just make someone smile with some niche reference (scroll back to the Carrie Bradshaw reference above).
To answer the above question, what happened to reading is simple really. Technology. However if this is the case what happened to the blogosphere? It was basically the modern solution to reading through the emergence of technology. I think the real answer to this isn't technology is the death of reading, but instead our own laziness. Technology was merely a catalyst to this inevitable lifestyle we now lead.
So will anyone read this? Perhaps not but I don't think that's the point. I believe the point of blogging, vlogging and perhaps all social media is to express yourself. Remember that wild concept? A time before influencers and YouTuber's and making money off the internet was unheard of! Content was merely an expression of ones ideas, not a way to rack up more subscribers, likes and follows. So maybe that's what this blog will be, an expression of myself and if you decide to read or subscribe to it, gee thanks! And maybe, just maybe, one of you will remember how much you liked reading books before you were reading blogs or Instagram captions and go pick one up right now.