I might not really be so brilliant.

I was peering at my blog feed thingie a few moments ago, and had the most amazing epiphany - and it is this: because just about nobody writes personal blogs anymore, that means that the rest of us are competing for readers in a much smaller pond!

Wait - that didn't come out quite right.  What I mean is that with the dearth of personal blogs, and the growing number of internet-capable people in the world, the few of us who still blog (however infrequently) should be inundated with readers hungry to tales from the dusty bits of the web.  Our counts should be astronomical by now due to attrition of competition alone!

So why is this not happening?

Facebook.  It's almost always Facebook by now, isn't it?  If not that, then Pinterest or similar time suck that keeps the masses from getting their read on.  Oh, I know, it's eady to blame Facebook for the lack of readership (rather than, say, blaming my own crappy writing of less-than-compelling content), but as we all know it was Facebook that killed many a promising blog and then, presumably, killed off the desire to go read blogs because all content is all in one place on FB and why go looking for other stuff when there are so many shiny, scroll-y, instantly uploaded things to read and click on all in one spot?

Why indeed.

Well, I'm not giving up!  I'm not going to sink under the crashing waves of information thrown up by Facebook, not going to drown under the torrent of updates and notes and photos and messages.  Not me.  I will continue to read your blogs and comment on them with abandon, to show my support of your efforts and to applaud your good times, laugh at your jokes, mourn with you, or provide feedback if it's invited.  I promise to come visit you and keep connecting, just like the old glory days of down-home bloggery.

And I will do this just as soon as you remind me of what your blog URL is, because the blogroll disappeared in the template change and I am a doofus and didn't think to write 'em down prior to clicking the 'do it NOW' button.

Just a little reminder in the comments would be great.  I'll see about making a tab for them all so that you, gentle reader, can use it in future to visit some of the folks who also come here.  All 6 of 'em, if I'm any good at guessing.  :)

Thanks!  Tiff out.