Blogs are self-media, not mainstream media.
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http://kuangsheng.blogbus.com/logs/23058321.html
The dissolution of CW's main content area has caused quite a stir, everyone is talking about it, different people have different opinions. You can refer to the following blog posts for more perspectives.
Discussing the Dissolution of CW Chinese Section
On the Future of Blog Networks from the Closure of CW Chinese Section
Thoughts on Blog Media from GSeeker Ceasing Updates
Creative Weblogging China Collapse: What’s the Way Out for Professional Blogs?
Social and Commercial Value of Blog Media
I am also a loyal user of GSeeker and NetTalk. I have witnessed their efforts, but to be honest, I have never been optimistic about CW's Chinese section. The current situation, in my view, was inevitable. Allow me to briefly share my thoughts.
In my opinion, at this stage domestically, blogs are media, but merely self-media. It's still a long way before they can become mainstream media.
As media, they cannot escape the core concept of content. And the most effective and direct transition from content to commerce is the transformation of the attention economy. This point has been fully demonstrated by Sina. The core of BLOGS is content, and what they create is also an attention economy, so they can be classified as media. However, the inherent limitations of BLOGS at this stage determine that they can only be self-media.
From the perspective of content, mainstream media has very high requirements for content. Internet users go to Sina or Sohu for news not because these sites are the only ones that have the news, but because the news on Sina and Sohu represents authority. On the other hand, looking at the domestic blog industry, whether it's personal blogs or BLOG NETWORKS like CW, there are many constraints such as content lag, homogenization, and subjectivity that greatly restrict the development of blog media. You post an article, I can CTRL+C it to make it appear on various platforms; you update a piece of content on GSeeker, I can DONEWS COPY it and put it on the homepage to divert traffic. The homogenization of BLOG content in China is too severe, and there is a lack of strong BLOGS to serve as content entry points, which leads to resources becoming increasingly scattered. Another point is that blogs, as self-media, were originally personal external windows. The statements published are highly subjective. Even if you stand on a third-party position like GSeeker when making statements, this subjectivity cannot be avoided. Subjectivity and authority are contradictory, so it is impossible to dominate the content strongly, and it can only take on the posture of "willing participants". We can see that successful foreign BLOG media have strong content construction. A good environment allows BLOG media to report with a very authoritative stance, gradually forming a brand effect and achieving success. Blogs have liberated the right to speak for netizens, but it does not mean that netizens can become seasoned experts one by one. Without authoritative content, or more accurately, without authoritative brand effects, blogs cannot become mainstream media.
From a commercial value perspective, in the direction of media, the economy created by blogs must be the attention economy. And the amplification of the attention economy requires the support of traffic. The problem is how much traffic can even a BLOG NETWORK like CW attract. Without enough traffic as support, it naturally cannot become mainstream media. This is why BSP and Sina Blog Channel can do media, but personal blogs cannot. The domestic BLOG audience market itself is small, and CW further细分this small market, resulting in the market being overly细分ed. An overly细分ed market has no commercial value. We treat CW as a treasure, but most other internet users don't even know what CW is. In the end, it's just a group of professionals entertaining themselves in a small circle, each getting what they want. Moreover, the simple form of blogs determines that they can only support a simple advertising model, which greatly limits the development of BLOGS in the direction of mainstream media. Additionally, the domestic online advertising market is far less mature than the foreign online advertising market. Most small and medium-sized enterprises still lack awareness of online marketing. Niche blogs and BLOG NETWORKS lack the advantage of doing brand advertising, but without the support of small and medium-sized enterprises, they end up relying on ad alliances to develop, which is clearly contrary to the commercial form of mainstream media. Without a reasonable business model as support, blogs are destined not to become mainstream media.
No one doubts that blogs have a bright future, but under the current environmental conditions, the value of blogs should not be overestimated. Just because a bunch of people set up a BLOG NETWORK together doesn't mean they can become mainstream media within the industry. Whether it's blogs or portals, if users don't buy into it, then it's nothing.
