Mamacita says:  Blogging is dead?  Says who?  Blogging may have changed, but bloggers still rule the internet.  Bloggers are helping people form viable opinions, giving people first-hand information, helping people make purchasing decisions based on word-of-mouth and actual “regular people” experience with a product, and giving people hope by sharing real life with the world.

Notice that I did not say “ordinary life” up there.  There’s a reason for that.

There is no such thing as “ordinary life.”  And if there were, who would want an ordinary life?  The word “ordinary” is as offensive as is the word “average.”  Average is as close to the bottom as it is to the top.

When we read blogs we are being invited to come in, sit down, and share.  The more we share, the more we learn.  The more we learn, the more we know.  The more we know, the less likely we are to be mean, hateful, selfish, judgmental, and apt to fall for every fad, bit of gossip, mean-spirited rant, or “news” item from somebody’s viewer-supported “religious” icon.  Bloggers share themselves with the world.  Bloggers enable all of us to peek in at the windows of other bloggers, helping us learn about each other and get to know each other and learn from the mistakes and successes of others and get some good recipes for banana bread while we’re at it.  Bloggers are many and more diverse than anyone could ever imagine.  Bloggers tend to be less bigoted and more accepting than non-bloggers because bloggers see, daily, almost-first-hand, that we are all alike in all the important ways.

No, bloggers are not, for the most part, YOUR ONLY SOURCE for world news.  Bloggers are, however, an excellent source for “I’m right here at the spot and here’s what I am seeing” news.

Twitter is awesome and I adore it.  Ditto, Facebook.  It’s on the blogs, though, that people will get the rest of the story that’s usually only hinted at on the shorter formats.

We old-school bloggers have long known what the newer bloggers are just now realizing: the Blogosphere is full of actual people who actually know something about something and are willing to share that knowledge with anybody who might want or need it, and that, my friends, is what friends do.

Is it possible to make real friends on the internet?  Definitely.  Do bloggers really meet other bloggers in real life?  YES.

Another point I’d like to make:  our online friends are as real as any other kind of friend.

Our grandparents’ friends were usually limited to the same community.  Our parents’ friends may have extended to a few college friends but the main group was in the same area.  Bloggers, on the other hand, have no geographic limitations.  We can call someone in Outer Mongolia a friend, sight unseen, simply because we read each other’s blogs, talk via all kinds of wireless magical devices, share ideas, advice, laughs, tears, tragedies. . . the list is endless.  Some of us now earn our living because of someone we met online, became friends with, and were then hired because of the blogging connection.  Some people use their blogs mainly for making m0ney via product pimpage; these are my least favorite blogs as they don’t give their readers any insight into the PERSON behind the blog, but they do work for people who are interested in such things.

Item:  I make most of my purchases these days based on blogger recommendations, but only if the recommendation is an aside from the blogger’s regular writing.

Blogs can keep us updated as to recent work-related developments.

A company’s blog tells us that this business cares enough about its customers and potential customers to keep them updated, handle customer complaints publicly, inform us of new ideas and products, and just generally let us know what’s going on and considered important in the business itself. The customer service aspect of a company blog is especially important, as a business’ handling of complaints, etc, will often determine whether or not a customer – or his/her many friends – return.

No, blogging is not dead.  Even old-school blogging is not dead; it’s still alive and breathing and doing all the awesome things it’s always done.  And in case you’re wondering, “old school” doesn’t mean “old blogger.”  It just means a blogger who saw, long ago – which isn’t really all THAT long ago in internet terms –  the awesome cool and community potential that blogging presented.

Blogging is not dead.  If this is what you really think, perhaps you need a cooler group to hang out with. Or maybe you’re just a little bit too cool for your own britches.

Or, maybe it’s just YOUR blog that’s dead.  Don’t judge the rest of us by your own failings.

The blog is not dead.  The blog is very much alive, and very drastically affecting our lives in many, many ways.

It’s not all about purchasing power, either.  That’s the least of blogging.

Or, perhaps it’s just some kinds of blogs that are dead.

Old school bloggers, let us rejoice that we had the brains and guts to begin and continue to blog.  You all know who you are.

Some blogs might be dead, but not ours.  Long live the blog!