As 2010 approached, people started to make predictions about Internet trends in Vietnam this year. One of the most discussed topic is probably the future of blogging. Will the death of Yahoo! 360 foreshadow the end of blogs or will it open the door to more professional blogging? As a full-time slacker who is especially interested in blogosphere, I decided to stop stalking others’ discussion and chip in my thoughts.

Two main theories

After stalking Ngoc Hieu’s blog post and the discussion on Linkhay as well as talking to some friends, I came to a conclusion that there are 2 most noticeable points of view regarding this matter.

1. Blogs will die

Those who are into this theory think that blogging already died together with the death of Yahoo! 360. People become more lazy and lazy due to the ubiquity and convenience of social networks like Facebook. Who cares about wordy posts while they can update their friends instantly with a status or a quick note? After all, one of the most important reasons that made Yahoo! 360 popular is that it allowed users to connect with their Yahoo! Messenger friends.

In this theory, blogging will be limited to the use of industry professionals and companies only.

2. It’s time for blogging to show its true value

People in this theory think that the death of Yahoo! 360 also killed the personal/emotional/non-sense blogs, and opened the area of professional blogging. Blogs on Yahoo! 360 were never considered serious. Now serious bloggers are no longer put in the same class with Yahoo! 360 bloggers. The view has been cleaned for more professional platforms like WordPress or Blogspot to show up and attract more users. Everything has just started!

My 2 cents

Apparently, both schools meet at the point that “non-sense `personal blogging will die”. I, however, go for another theory which is “Blogging, any kind, will prosper”. Why?

1. Vietnamese people LOVE blogging

In Vietnam, it used to be that “if you’re on the Internet, it’s very likely that you’ll use Yahoo! Messenger; and if you use Yahoo! Messenger, it’s very likely that you’ll have a blog”. Yes (almost) everybody (those who had access to Internet only) blogged!

I believe this habit is something beyond the existence of Yahoo! 360. Yahoo! 360 was just a platform and replaceable. Users just need some time to find/ get used to a new platform, and need some motivation to start all over again!

2. If there is a demand, there will be a supply

A lot of marketers I know have complained that they tried to look for a decent blogger to advertise some kind of products, but hardly could they find one.

Well, maybe not yet. I meant the demand for blog advertising is really high. And if there is a demand, there will be a supply. It might be hard to see it from the point of view of an individual, but if there is some serious effort, things can be changed.

3. Personal/emotional blogs are not non-sense

People tend to think that nobody cares to read personal/emotional blogs, but actually there are lot of people who care, A LOT.

Two of Time’s 25 best blogs in 2009 are highly personal blogs where the authors talk about nothing other than their daily lives. If you think that this odd only happens in Western world, then look at some countries in Southeast Asia. The winner of the best Asian blog at Nuffnang APAC blogging awards 2009 is the blog about daily life of a girl. In Philippines, there are some personal (non-sense) blogs that attract thousands of subscribers.

In Vietnam, why not? Oh come on, not everyone’s life is boring.

Your bet?

How about you? Do you think blogging will die or prosper? Please cast your vote here. Your opinions are needed!

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Tags: Blogging, Predicts, Vietnam