The Age of the Blog

Something Lauren Curtis, Australia's top beauty vlogger, said recently has been echoing through my head. She said that she is constantly haunted by the thought of what will happen to her when blogging and youtube go out of style and die the same inevitable death that Myspace died.

It got me thinking, are we living in the age of the blog?

An age is just a passing fad, a generational definer, a marked period of time, a fleeting moment. An age can go out of fashion faster than one can blink and definitely faster than my little brother can pass the salt and pepper shakers.

I remember the first moment I ever experienced this magic thing called 'THE INTERNET'. I was young, quite young, maybe 6, I can't remember. We were waiting for a boat? Hmmm, where were we and why were we waiting for a boat? I'm not so sure. But what I do remember was this magical thing called www.barbiegirl.com! There was a computer in the terminal and the computer had free internet. My dad had just had an explore around and had quickley run to get me to show me this new and popular thing called the internet. Being the fantastic father he is, actually after 6 years of long hard labour I finally had him well trained into shape, he searched 'Barbie' in a search bar, that was not google (Heavens forbid) as google was yet to make its grand appearances on the internet scene. I played and played and played, as we waited for our boat and I fell in love with this magical thing called the internet, on which i could play with an electronic barbie doll. Could there be anything more divine to a 6 year old girl? I think not.

These things to a 6 year old are magic, pure magic.

I remember when my uncle (who's not really my uncle, just one of those crazy family friends that your parents make the executive decision to call an uncle because they are so close they could practically be family) called my dad and told him to start using an AMAZING search engine called 'google'. He said it would be the next up and coming victory of the digital age. My dad told him he was crazy to think all the world was going to use the one search engine. Ahhh darling dad you clearly overestimated the intelligence and capacity for diversity of the human race.

Next, I remember in year 7 MSN was all the rage, instant messenger. I had my boyfriends and my friends all lined up for hours of chat each night after school, I couldn't get enough. Then i got banned. Yes. I am the girl with the overprotective parents who put our families computer in the kitchen so they could monitor our every internet click and also banned MSN so I could focus on studying. In year 7. So what did I do but discover the magic of Meebo. Meebo basically was a third party website which facilitated for MSN chat conversations without looking like MSN. Yes, I was a sneaky minx.

It didn't take long for my parents to discover I was pulling one over on them and boy did I get in trouble. Oh and I forgot to mention that around that time, early social media websites were beginning to emerge, for 13 year old me that meant Bebo. Pretty sure my profile still exists. Remind me to delete that before my 21st (which by the way I am getting the worlds BEST PRESENT EVER for, wait till I blog about this one!!!!!!).

Myspace was all the rave around the time I entered into year 8/9. I, of course, had an account, complete with twelvie selfies (lets not kid ourselves now, check my instagram today [@kattrap93] and you will find nothings changed...) and a bit of simple plan blasting on my insite mp3 player. I was da bomb.... Literally... 2 kewl 4 skewl.

 Myspace was soon taken over by facebook, a much more highly advanced and sophisticated form of social media. I remember thinking it was boring and for adults, but before I knew it I was using it too. I still claim, however, to this day to be one of the first people to make the switch. But half the world seems to make that same claim so it kinda looses its validity...

So we had internet, games, google, MSN, bebo, myspace, facebook...

And now blogs. Video blogs (hosted predominantly by youtube) and written and visual blogs (popular on wordpress, blogspot and tumblr). I was just on a website called blogchicks (www.blogchicks.com.au) dedicated to the blogs of Australian women (of which I am one, it should mention that somewhere on my blog I am sure). The website has categorised heaps of Australian blogs and I am simply amazed at how many topics women find to write about. I am 99% sure blogs are the 21st centuries biggest form of procrastination. We are women. We want to avoid doing something, so we write. I find it rather classy, rather romantic, and i'm glad we do it.

I'm happy to live in the age of the blog. I find it fun and exciting. Its cool seeing all the millions of topics and areas of interest and passion people are into across the globe and seeing how they visually and linguitically express themselves through the medium of a blog, a personal website. I am a beauty and lifestyle blogger but I do find myself wandering often into lifestyle, home decor, cooking, weddings (yes especially weddings!!), crafts and lots more. I find the world of the blog a fascinating and endless place and I am happy to reside in it and waste away my time whilst procrastinating from the more pressing and urgent matters of life.

Inevitably the age of the blog will come to an end but always one to keep spirits high and be positive about life (seriously check out my youtube video on how to keep positive) I do not believe this a bad thing. In the same way that your sad when iOS7 comes out because you love your current operating system and it seems super fugly, you know that its only onwards and upwards from here. Apple aren't going to bring out a dud. And if they do whats the worst that could happen, apple will go broke and a better company will rise up to carry on the batten. Time ticks on. Days move forward. The world progresses further. Never backwards always foreward. Dont worry, iOS7 will soon either grow on you because everyone will have it (mass manipulation - I see a communist world thrust on us next!!!) or will be improved, either way you will be happy.

So lets rejoice in the age of the blog, knowing yes it is fleeting, but it is a heck of a fun way to express yourself and read up on the world and peoples interests today. Embrace the age of the blog. Be fully emerged, fully relevant, fully present.