From blog posts to Instagram carousels - what really happened?

Writer: Helena Bergström

Suddenly everyone started blogging, and just as suddenly everyone stopped. Or well, not all. Some actually continued. But who is still writing ... and why? And how come ”My 15 top tips for Paris” is no longer presented as a blog post ... but as an Instagram carousel?

”Old School Bloggers”

When travel bloggers came into the limelight, travel journalists got frustrated and threw rotten tomatoes at us. I wish I could write that this is of course only a metaphor, but the fact is that this happened once. For real.

The tomatoes may not have been rotten (and maybe they weren't even tomatoes?), but Peter and I were on stage in a journalist's room talking about travel blogging. One of the journalists in the audience got upset, found fruits in a bowl, and took aim...!

Back then, travel bloggers were ”hip” and journalists felt (perhaps) a bit ”old school” and overtaken by the future. Ironically, on a recent press trip, we met a blogger who described herself as an ”old school blogger”, because now it's the blogger who feels overtaken. TikTok reels and Youtube Shorts are coming out at a furious pace and sometimes we barely have time to take in the content...

The large blog community shrank

In the ”good old days” (?), blogging was quite easy. You started your little blogspace and could quickly find communities. Blogs were listed on various aggregator sites, it was easy to subscribe to blog feeds, various companies gave out awards to the best blogs, and bloggers themselves were wildly recommending each other. Wherever you looked, you saw a blog.

If you start a blog today, it's probably a bit more of a headwind (or a dark forest). You can write a fantastic text and spice it up with stunning photos... but how do you get someone to see it now that there's no longer the same active blogging community to step into?

The blog died. Long live the blog!

Once upon a time (no, not in the Stone Age, but 10-15 years ago), blogs were the hub of inspiration and information - whether it was about fashion, travel or home decoration. Blogs about the everyday lives of ordinary and extraordinary people were also in vogue.

Gradually, blogging changed. The noise of blogging was drowned out by other noise. Many dropped out. Those who stayed stayed for one of two reasons (I think). 1) ”It's a great hobby and I have great friends in my little corner of Bloglandia.” 2) ”I want to niche and develop my blog even more within my topic, and try to reach out after all.”

Instagram has become the new blog - but on other people's terms

At the same time, Instagram grew, and everything that was once on blogs suddenly moved here. First it was ”a photo from my everyday life + a line of text” that moved from blog to Instagram. Then the more curated photos, and then: ”My 15 top tips for Paris”.

Now you can find entire guides on Instagram. They're like miniature blogs, with lots of work behind them: Each Paris tip is accompanied by a description of the place, an explanation of the itinerary, a price quote, inspiring text and a gorgeous picture. Just like in the days of the blog, there is commitment and creativity behind the creation. The difference is that the content is no longer owned by the creator, it quickly disappears in the flow and it is more difficult to update and deepen.

And what about everyday blogging (”this is what I ate for lunch today”) - well, that has moved to Instagram Stories!

Social media: Faster and more fragmented

So, if everything that used to be on blogs is now on Instagram - what's the difference? For the content creators, who no longer own what they have created, there is no point in updating or expanding their work. However, if they are niche and knowledgeable, they might be able to create some kind of expert role in their subject - become a lecturer or be invited to TV sofas.

For readers/followers, the new world means that content whizzes by faster and faster. The focus is more on aesthetics and less on nuance. You scroll and scroll. ”Save this!” it says. But even if you save, and even if you can search to some extent, it's clear that the content in front of your eyes has become more fragmented. The tips become a bit more superficial, and often the same ideas, angles and destinations are repeated - what has been optimised and works well for the algorithm.

Who is blogging today? - Moving content, demands and fatigue

Suddenly, ”just blogging” is not enough to reach out and gain an audience. Now you have to (?) make videos, talk in front of the camera and record podcasts. ”Now it's all about movement!” ”Reels have more potential!” ”Why don't you start a podcast?”

Everyone should be a writer, photographer, video editor and presenter - all at the same time! Many bloggers and content creators today are experiencing demands and sometimes even feelings of exhaustion. It's not uncommon to hear bloggers saying that some parts of the process (Instagram, for example!) are taking their toll.

While some work hard to maintain a niche and professional image, we also see a desire to ”do what's fun”. We have seen examples of influencers leaving an account with a relatively large number of followers to create a new one, with fewer followers but more creative joy. We have also heard some who long to return to writing as such, regardless of readership.

AI - threat, help or background noise?

You can't talk about blogging and writing without mentioning AI. Suddenly, artificial intelligence is available to the average person, and anyone can create long, well-crafted texts in no time. While chatbots can provide practical assistance to writers - for example, by helping with ideas, drafting or research - the new technology also brings competition and a whole new digital landscape, which is difficult to survey or predict.

No human can be as efficient or high-performing as a super-fast robot that never sleeps. But we can be... human! We can share our personal stories, experiences, failures and successes. We can share our thoughts and feelings.

Perhaps personalised storytelling, whether in the form of a blog or podcast or video, will continue to have important value, with the personal voice being the most important.

The future of blogging - a resistance to speed?

What will happen to blogging in the future? Will it still be around? Perhaps it's harder to predict the future now than ever, given the extreme speed of change. But even in the future, there will be a need to express oneself, to engage in collective dialogue and to learn from others' experiences. Perhaps blogs will remain as a resistance to speed?