Shipwreck

“We are such stuff

As dreams are made on, and our little life

Is rounded with a sleep.”

— William Shakespeare, The Tempest

I was twelve years old when I first read Shakespeare's The Tempest. I recall there were moments when I could not grasp the language but I stuck with it. Why am I bringing that up? Because just as my twelve year old self had a stick with it attitude, today marks the seventh birthday of my Blog. So here we are 400 posts later. Hip, hip, hooray! I should add that I have Mars in Capricorn so not only do I have enormous strength in the pursuit of my goals, but I revere the classics.

Last week as part of Brit Week I saw a modern film production of Hamlet, starring Maxine Peake. It was part of the 400th anniversary of the playwrights death honoring him and his work. Now I can understand and appreciate Shakespeare as I couldn't back then.

Sometimes it feels like blogging has become a relic and that other avenues of communication are much more accessible. Maybe it's the fact that attention spans are getting shorter and shorter; we only have time to catch up on someone's life with an easy, “Like” aka Lazy button. Long captions? Forget it. And I'm not only referring to those under 30. Adults over 50 who were weaned on real books, don't take the time. Blogs brought the written word into the digital age and now, they are dying a slow death.

So, what happened to blogging? Snapchat and instagram have become king and queen of the kingdom.

When I started my blog, it felt like a small community. It seemed as if everyone knew each other and was rooting for each other. They were link ups, and comments. Everyone read blogs over their morning coffee, wanting to be inspired. Now, it's a race to create your own brand — a unique identity on a mobile platform. With millions of people constantly getting thrown information, it's a race to stay relevant. 

I have come to look at my blog as a resume addendum of sorts. Truth be told, I may have missed the boat. My blog was loaded with original content and like my inquisitive mind covered a variety of topics. If I had built a real and tangible brand, I should have done it years ago and struck while the iron was hot. For now, I question my own future of blogging. Not because I don't love it— trust me, if I didn't love it, I couldn't do it, much less teach it.  But moreso, I ask myself, what's in store for this platform? Will it continue to fade and die a slow death like a Shakespeare character?

The internet is a peculiar place—that never forgets, so what we put out into cyberspace may come back to haunt later.

But all worlds eventually come to an end. Even, especially ours.

So what's your vote? Is blogging over? Or are you like me, a writer, who creates art for art sake and is hopeful to the end?