Blogs are here to stay

Blogs are here to stay. Tim Challies makes strong arguments of why that is the case.

"... We are seeing the shortcomings of other forms of social media. When blogs began, they were social media. They were an early form of online social connection between people who shared similar interests, whether that was politics, hobbies, Reformed theology, or anything else. But it did not take long for other forms of social media to develop—Twitter was at first considered “microblogging” and Facebook was a kind of “friend and family blogging.” Yet as much as each of these has displaced blogging in certain ways, none has quite replaced it. Twitter causes as many problems as it solves by its immediacy and by the nature of its character limit; Facebook emphasizes the most urgent information while older updates or articles almost immediately disappear into the void. These forms of social media speak to the present, but don’t adequately archive information. They allow people to speak quickly, but don’t value thoughtfulness. Though they have strengths, they also have weaknesses—weaknesses that blogs address well.

Now that we're in the subject of blogs, here are the top five blogs I subscribe to. While I miss Google Reader, The Old Reader does the tricks of an effective blog aggregator—perhaps even better!

Challies.com
Faithful to God's word, Tim has written daily for 5,877 consecutive days as of the time of writing. I love his insights on the kind of Christianity that's lived out daily. I love his devotion to God's Word, his recommendations of links and Kindle deals, and his tips on productivity. I've had the privilege of meeting him in person when he spoke at the Live It Well conference in Quezon City, a conference which our church hosted.

Kottke.org
One of the coolest people in the internet, Jason Kottke is my go-to source for the best links in the web. I love his writing: simple and honest sentences, and quite sincere, too—like listening to a friend talk about the things he likes.

Paradox Uganda
Missionary doctors Scott and Jennifer Mhyre write about their work in Africa. They run a school and a hospital, and juggle many responsibilities in between. I love looking at the photographs of their family—their children are all grown up now. Their writing is a balm to the soul; the insights are otherworldly, transcendent, emanating from souls that commune with our gracious Redeemer.

Pinoy Penman
This is the personal blog of Dr. Buch Dalisay—college professor, writer, novelist, and fountain pen collector. What I love most is when he writes about fountain pens, his collection of antiquated materials, and his reflections on life. He takes great photos, too!

Austin Kleon
I love his Blackout Poetry collection, photographs of his notebooks, and insights into an artist's life.

Update: Evhead is back to blogging. I'm encouraged to read statements like this:

That’s why I’m getting back on the mat — i.e., making an effort to blog/write on a regular basis (in public) again. Partially for fun. Partially to see what comes out of my brain. And mostly to understand from the individual creator perspective how our tools need to evolve for this point in the internet’s evolution.