Why I think blogs are not dead. The unattractive truth.
We all want to believe that everything glamorous or shining is where we should be heading. But let’s take a few steps back. Is it true? Why do we always run toward the most overcrowded spaces?
In 2025, it’s all about podcasts, AI, and the most popular mediums. But I think overcrowded routes are dangerous — because that’s where everyone is looking.
You can ask about blogs, but aren’t you playing into a self-fulfilling prophecy by claiming blogs are dead? Back in 2007, blogs were everywhere, but soon enough people shifted toward audio-visual content. And yet, blogs never really disappeared. WordPress alone still powers about 43% of all websites on the internet, which is staggering when you think about it. There are an estimated 600 million blogs worldwide, with millions of posts published every single day.
At the same time, newsletters have re-emerged as the counter-trend. Substack, for example, now has over 50 million active subscriptions and 5 million paying readers. Its top ten writers collectively earn more than $40 million a year. That’s not a dead medium — that’s proof of staying power.
So maybe the real issue isn’t whether blogs are dead. It’s whether we mistake being “popular” for being “sustainable.” Crowded platforms reward the already-famous. But blogs and newsletters give you something else: ownership, long-tail traffic, and a direct line to readers who actually care.
Most of us think that our success relies on the mainstream — on reaching the biggest possible audience. But the audience we are really looking for is often at the edge, not in the middle of the curve.
Nobody knows what goes viral. We all want to believe that what we are doing is the right thing, but it all depends on timing. Are you doing it at the right time? Do you happen to be in the right place?
One thing I’ve learned — which has benefited me a lot — is to move away from crowded neighborhoods and think for myself. Move away from saturated markets, and try to build something unique. Build the universal through the personal. If it connects with you, then it will connect with someone. I would advise my younger self: move away from what the majority is doing, not because I want to be a rebel, but because if you find yourself on the side of the majority, think twice.
Trying to make everybody around you happy is a recipe for disappointment. It’s impossible. But you can create something personal, and hope that people connect with it — whether it’s blogs, books, films, or anything else. That is the antidote to boredom and the mundane.
Here are a few words from Peter Drucker, the Austrian-born American thinker often called the father of modern management:
Pick the future against the past.
Focus on opportunity rather than the problem.
Choose your own direction, rather than climb on the bandwagon.
Aim high — aim for something that will make a difference, rather than something safe and easy.