Are Social Networking Sites Phasing Out Blogs?

Online social networking sites have absolutely exploded in popularity with all age groups on the internet. The ease of use and navigating of these social sites has opened the door to even the technically timid. Facebook has even recently reported that baby boomers outnumber high school age users at their site. Connecting with others at various online communities has become as common as watching TV. The advent of online social marketing has helped to further boost the overall use of social sites. Currently there seems to be no limit to the growth of online social networking.

The booming popularity of these online communities was initially started by blogs. The ability to interact with others online was recognized and immediately embraced by users.  
Wanting to further personalize the online experience many flocked in droves to blogs.

From this evolved blog marketing which quickly became the accepted blueprint for what was perceived to be the future of online marketing. All told blogs became the popular choice of internet users for both socializing and marketing. Then along came online social networking.

Now the question is whether blogs are in danger of fading into oblivion in the face of the growing acceptance of social network sites?

On the surface it would appear so and here are 3 reasons why:

Established Traffic at Social Network Sites

With the popularity of many social network sites it is easy to find an already established flow of traffic at the site. The need to invest time and energy to generate traffic for your site is not necessary as would be the case for individual blogs.

Site Optimization is Not Necessary

Capitalizing on the traffic you find at any social site allows you to circumvent the need for various forms of site optimization.

A social site allows you direct contact with others making it easier for you to deliver your message. Site optimization techniques such as keyword usage, quality content, and backlinks are necessary in order to increase your rank with search engines. A higher ranking is needed so that you may then gain direct contact with prospects in order to deliver your message.

In a nut shell gaining access to prospects is quicker and easier using social networking traffic.

Ease and Speed

The ease of leaving quick and casual promotional comments or posts is attractive to many marketers online. Within any of these online communities communications are generally highly unstructured and informal thus allowing promoters to speak on a more personal level with site members.

Online social networking sites no doubt have gained a tremendous following. As noted above there are some very compelling reasons for the popularity of social networks sites.  Addressing the idea that blogs could fade into oblivion due to this popularity, well that's not likely. Blogs still offer tremendous flexibility to the site owner along with the opportunity to put a personalized stamp on the site itself. This is a huge benefit that can't be overlooked. Both these sites serve similar yet different purposes which should allow them both to coexist and flourish online for some time to come. So don't kick your blog to the curb since it remains a uniquely effective platform for making money online!