The History of Blogging

Part Three

Remember the days when searching for information required dusting off library books or sitting through long lectures?

How about when we were even younger and we needed to flip through those hefty encyclopedias to finish that book report? 

If you're Gen X or an older Millennial like myself, I'm pretty sure all of this resonates with you. 

Today, and for the last couple of decades now, we carry libraries in our pockets.

Knowledge (if we look in the right places) is right at the tip of our fingers.

For better or worse, blogs have led the charge and taken over corners of the internet we simply can't avoid.  

Blogging has not only kept pace with the rapid expansion of the Internet but also shaped the way we share and consume information. 

It's become a cornerstone of our digital lives. 

Redefining Online Media

In the previous part of this series, we explored the early 2000s. Blogging (and the word blog) had penetrated the cultural zeitgeist. 

In 2004, "Blog" became the word of the year. It was the most looked-up word on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. 

It goes without saying that blogging was making a major impact on the world.

Blogging had reached a certain status (albeit with mixed results) that was originally given to journalists, turning the very medium of blog writing into a legitimate media source.  

In 2005, the Huffington Post was founded. 

Though less relevant today, the Huffington Post (HuffPost for short) is widely credited with reshaping online media.

HuffPost elevated the blog from a hobby to a pivotal force in digital journalism.

As its influence continued to rise and its audience grew, HuffPost quickly became the go-to destination for breaking news and commentary. 

Pretty soon, thousands of contributors with diverse backgrounds saw their writing and ideas on HuffPost. And as it integrated blogs and personal opinion pieces with traditional journalism, blogging was no longer viewed as "amateur."

With its wide range of opinion pieces, content aggregation, and user engagement, HuffPost soon became a digital venue for political dialogue.

While other sites at the time also featured opinion pieces and aggregated content, HuffPost's blend of editorial journalism, blogs, and open contributor model stood out in the mid-2000s. 

HuffPost not only elevated the practice and status of blogging, it helped blur the lines between blogging and mainstream journalism, providing a template for other media outlets to follow and elevating the status and visibility of online writers.

Blogging Innovation Expands

By the 2010s, the blogosphere had continued to evolve, allowing bloggers to expand their reach in newer and better ways. 

Medium 

Founded in 2012, Medium introduced a better way of blogging by blending quality storytelling with a fresh new look.

What distinguished Medium from other blogging platforms at the time was its ongoing commitment to supporting its writers. 

The publishing platform experimented with creator payments through a subscription model, which later evolved into the Medium Partner Program in 2017.

Writers could now publish their writing behind a paywall, giving them new pathways to earn money directly from their work. 

Today, Medium hosts thousands of blogs on a range of topics and voices and even employs some writers to curate top-tier content. 

Medium helped redefine blogging by focusing on the reader experience and how writers could support themselves. 

Substack 

Emerging around the same time as Medium's Partner Program, Substack also transformed the blogosphere by offering a unique platform to independent writers. 

Writers could publish directly to their readers and monetize their newsletters through paid subscriptions 

Substack offered simple and straightforward tools for content creation and made analytics easy to digest. Writers could now focus on their craft and reach their target audience based on specific interests and expertise. 

The Substack model proved especially attractive to journalists and authors seeking more control over their own work outside the constraints of traditional media. 

Today, Substack symbolizes the shift toward writer independence and audience-driven media. 

LinkedIn Pulse

Created by LinkedIn in 2013, Pulse started as a publishing platform for select thought leaders. Not long after its launch, though, it quickly expanded access to all users by 2015. 

Pulse was available to professionals from every industry. They could share insights and expertise, which turned LinkedIn into a hub exclusively designed for business blogging and professional storytelling. 

Once LinkedIn incorporated Pulse into the user homepage newsfeeds in 2017, content discovery was seamless. 

Today, the LinkedIn platform remains widely used among industry leaders and job seekers alike. It became a way to establish expertise and engage with the intended audience. 

Pulse's evolution reflects the broader trend of blogging merging with social media, which made professional blogging more accessible and visible.

The rise of these platforms fundamentally reshaped the blogging landscape. 

It was easier to monetize your blog through subscription paywalls. Publishing tools were accessible and easy to use. Writers could also blend their posts with social networking features and, therefore, reach larger audiences. 

Not to mention, the integration of blogging with social media strategies greatly amplified blog traffic. 

Today, these platforms continue to evolve and thrive, providing writers with more opportunities than before.

In an upcoming blog, I'll dive into the rise of AI and the implications that AI tools have for blogging and content marketing as a whole.