Let’s say it out loud: running a blog, as we as soon as knew it, is lifeless. That romantic period of handcrafted posts, quirky sidebars, and RSS feeds buzzing like bees in your browser? Yeah, that’s gone. It’s been paved over by algorithmic highways, influencer condos, and the gleaming towers of Substack and TikTok.

However right here’s the factor—running a blog didn’t vanish. It developed, mutated, and infrequently bought its soul for web optimization. The non-public turned the skilled. The diary turned a lead magnet. And the weblog roll? That changed into a backlink technique. Someplace alongside the best way, we stopped writing for ourselves—and began writing for Google.

So how the hell did we get right here?

From Ardour to Platform

Again within the early 2000s, running a blog was like a digital wild west. Anybody with a keyboard and a Wi-Fi connection may publish their unfiltered ideas into the ether. No gatekeepers. No algorithms. Simply vibes.

You most likely keep in mind a few of these OG bloggers—folks going by names like “Boing Boing,” “Dooce,” or “Waiter Rant.” It was all persona, bizarre layouts, and blurry pictures—and it labored. As a result of the internet wasn’t optimized but. It was alive. Messy. Human.

Then got here the platforms.

WordPress made it simpler to publish. Blogger and Tumblr made it enjoyable. Out of the blue each designer, coder, mother, startup, and household canine had a weblog. And for a sizzling minute, the web felt like a mosaic of fantastically unhinged creativity.

After which, in fact, got here the cash.

web optimization Ruined Every little thing (However Additionally Paid the Payments)

Google realized blogs had been gold mines. Entrepreneurs realized they may flip weblog posts into buyer magnets. And similar to that, content material advertising and marketing was born.

Out of the blue, running a blog wasn’t about storytelling anymore. It was about search intent. Headlines turned bait. Paragraphs turned key phrase clusters. As a substitute of writing from the intestine, we had been writing for crawlers.

the method. Publish size: 1,500+ phrases. Three inside hyperlinks. Strategic subheaders. Bonus infographic. And let’s not overlook the compulsory downloadable PDF on the finish.

What as soon as felt like artwork rapidly turned conversion copy. Useful? Generally. Human? Not often.

And let’s be sincere—most of that web optimization content material is simply digital mulch. It exists to fill house, hit metrics, and appease the gods of Google. However right here’s the kicker: Google doesn’t even prefer it anymore.

Google’s AI Search Is Gutting the Sport

With AI Overviews rolling out in search outcomes, your lovingly optimized weblog put up? It’s being skimmed, scraped, and summarized right into a bite-sized snippet earlier than the person ever clicks by means of.

Think about spending hours writing one of the best information on a subject, solely to have Google flip it right into a chatbot reply that nobody reads previous.

In case your weblog exists solely to rank, it’s residing on borrowed time.

Medium Promised Paradise—Delivered a Landlord

Medium was supposed to avoid wasting us. Clear design. Lovely typography. No muddle. No Comedian Sans. Only a place for actual writing to shine.

And for a short while, it did.

You might put up a bit, go semi-viral, and bask within the candy glow of claps. Folks really commented. Medium even paid some writers. It felt like running a blog had a second act.

However then the partitions crept in.

First got here the paywalls. Then the “members-only” nudges. Then got here the bizarre algorithmic favoritism. Out of the blue, it wasn’t about nice writing—it was about writing that match the Medium mildew: buzzy, clear, secure, and oh-so-shareable.

Even worse? It turned a graveyard for company blogs pretending to be thought leaders.

And the creators? They realized they had been simply tenants. Sooner or later your put up is viral; the following, it’s hidden behind a paywall you didn’t ask for. Monetization flipped. Distribution dried up. Belief evaporated.

Medium didn’t kill running a blog—nevertheless it taught us a helpful lesson: don’t construct your home on rented land.

Social Media: The Good, the Unhealthy, and the Performative

Microblogging was alleged to be the bridge. Fast ideas. Each day updates. Chunk-sized brilliance.

As a substitute, we bought Twitter (sorry, X), the place the whole lot is a combat. Tumblr bought sanitized into oblivion. Instagram changed into a spotlight reel. TikTok turned the loudest, quickest weblog substitute possible.

Threads tried. LinkedIn carried out CPR on private narrative. However most of what’s on the market? It’s blogs in disguise—simply with filters, clout-chasing, and an entire lot of humblebragging.

The Substack Vibe Shift

Then got here Substack. Someway, it introduced again the weblog power. Folks writing lengthy, private, typically polarizing posts—and sending them instantly to your inbox.

No algorithm video games. No remark wars. Simply writing and studying.

And guess what? Individuals are paying for it. Sure, precise subscriptions. Seems, people will hand over money for considerate, sincere phrases from people they belief.

Ghost can be a part of this renaissance. It’s just like the indie band of running a blog platforms. Clear, open-source, no nonsense. It offers you full possession of your house with out the clunky backend of WordPress or the shackles of Medium.

If Substack is the cafe studying, Ghost is the zine you print your self.

When the Bots Weblog, People Get Louder

Let’s not ignore the elephant fabricated from silicon.

AI is writing a scary quantity of content material now. Instruments like ChatGPT are cranking out articles sooner than any caffeine-fueled intern may dream of. Most of it? Technically right, emotionally vacant.

You’ll be able to spot AI writing a mile away. It’s clear. It’s impartial. It’s deeply, deeply boring.

That’s why human running a blog really issues extra now. As a result of what AI can’t do is be bizarre. Or courageous. Or unsuitable in an fascinating approach. It could possibly’t overshare or make horrible metaphors that by some means land. It could possibly’t swear mid-sentence as a result of it’s fired up.

It could possibly’t really feel.

So What Even Is Running a blog Anymore?

It’s a large number, truthfully. However a lovely one.

Generally it’s a dusty blogspot from 2008. Generally it’s a TikTok rant. Generally it’s a 3,000-word e-newsletter about design methods. Different occasions it’s a Substack confession or a one-sentence put up on Threads.

Running a blog is now not a single factor. It’s an ecosystem. A multiverse. A vibe.

And in the event you nonetheless care about placing phrases into the world—in your phrases—then yeah, running a blog isn’t lifeless. It’s simply gotten weirder, smarter, messier, and extra important.

So overlook the templates. Ditch the key phrase stuffing.

Write such as you imply it.

Write such as you’re yelling into the void hoping somebody yells again.

Write like running a blog is alive—as a result of if you do, it’s.