Whatever Happened to Blogging for Fun?
Has monetization killed the fun? Or is blogging still a blast?
In 2024, blogs and the art of blogging celebrated its 30th anniversary. The commemoration has left more than a few online writers wondering, "whatever happened to blogging for fun?"
The question itself is sentimental, albeit peculiar, since folks are longing for "the good old-fashioned internet."
Writers remember the time when blogs were often cathartic affairs. Bloggers composed passionate essays on topics personal, political, or pretty much anything else.
Blogs were an outlet, a release. And, therein was the pleasure.
Money & Fun
My first two blogs —which have apparently been completely expunged from the internet— were "Hobson's Choice" and "Ask a Genius." The former was just what I describe above —a personal outlet.
The latter, however, was commercial. A co-worker, Scott Robertson, and I started it in 1996. Each post was a humorous and far-fetched response to a hypothetical question. If you asked something like, "if a taxi turned on its headlamps whilst traveling through the cosmos at the speed of light, would we see the beams?" As I recall, our answer included Elvis and a less-than-scientific take on particle physics.
Scott and I were both reporters writing for a daily business newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To us, a blog was nothing more or less than a publication, and publications earn money.
Writing our "Ask a Genius" posts was fun. Scott and I would laugh through each paragraph. But we also recognized that we wanted to get paid.
When someone asks, "whatever happened to blogging for fun?" the implication is that blogging for money, blogging to earn a living, has somehow spoiled the act and art.
That is a mistake. Creating content can be both personally satisfying and lucrative. In fact, blogging is its best when it is both fun and financially rewarding.
The Other Stuff
When a writer feels nostalgic for the early days of blogging, he is really lamenting how competitive and technical content creation has become.
The so-called creator economy is all about attention. And attention requires more than just a well-written post on Blogger. Monetizing content circa 2025 means a content creator —blogger, newsletter author, podcaster, YouTuber, or bikini-clas TikTok influencer— must master other stuff.
The work comes in the form of search engine optimization (SEO), social algorithm optimization, topic research, audio or video editing, making lead magnets, and mastering email marketing.
Blogging proper is still fun, and it can be profitable, too. The difference now is that profit requires you to be more than a writer. You must be a content entrepreneur.