Robert looks at the current techmeme rankings and says that just maybe blogging is dead. He's making a larger point -- that people who joined the blogging scene as a way to share their life/share information, are being drowned out a bit. Twitter, for some, is an answer/outlet for them.
The bigger point here is that the medium is maturing. After a long time of delayed response, the field of journalism has responded by being faster, more detailed, better resourced in order to compete. I see this as a good thing. Blogging remains a hugely powerful way for people to receive information, and the ability for an authoritive voice to quickly rise to prominence is as strong today as it was two years or three years ago. What has changed is that the competition is higher -- the quality output is better across the board. I came across a blog (not going to name it) the other day that was just so poorly written I got halfway through and quit. The communications bar has been reset -- that's a good thing. The evoltuion continues -- in the same way that blogging came along and forced a rapid evolution on the part of other communication channels, blogging is being stretched and stressed in the same way.
Tomorrow I'm on a panel talking about the future of public relations. I'm pretty bullish, and one reason is the huge array of communication channels out there today. What a great time to be in the business!