When I first began exploring frugal living and minimalism back in 2008, I followed a number of blogs. Some of these blogs appeared to be quite popular. They had tens of thousands (or millions) of readers, thousands of comments, and sites that were designed to look like Apple had created them.
On their homepages, the bloggers would promote their media coverage from top publications and shows like The NY Times, Forbes, The Today Show etc.
They were often featured on other bloggers sites for interviews, guest articles and cross promotion.
I stopped reading most of these blogs within a year or two. Usually, it was because they tended to cater to newcomers. One I learned the basics, I no longer needed to read about “how to get started” or “why choose this way of life”.
Occasionally I’ll revisit these blogs to see if there’s anything interesting to read.
What I’ve found is the following:
- Many of the blogs are dead. Either there hasn’t been a new post in years or the entire site is gone.
- The ones that remain have all changed their focus to “self-improvement”. They are totally focused on pitching courses, self published ebooks and memberships.
- The content has become diluted and wishy-washy with vague pop-psychology terminology scattered throughout talking about mediation, self-acceptance, balance, etc.
I have some thoughts about this.
First, most of bloggers I read were Millennials. When they were in their early 30s, they were enthusiastic, idealistic, optimistic and also young. Now in their 40s and beyond, they have had to focus on career, making money, family, etc.
Second, most probably came to the realization that all of their efforts at self-promotion, getting clicks, SEO and the like resulted in very little real money. They conflated social media popularity with value. I’ll bet they were sorely disappointed when they actually calculated how little money they made.
Third, popularity is fickle. Frugal living, minimalism, retiring early, van dwelling and digital nomad living were all the rage a decade ago. I think a lot of the enthusiasm for this has faded as people tried these things and found them to be less than satisfying. (AKA – my road trip stories.)
I’ve read a few updates where bloggers got real jobs. A few got divorced. Others settled down into their old hometowns. Some just disappeared – probably from the blogosphere to real life.
I anticipate the same phenomenon will happen with most Instagram influencers, Youtube Stars, Podcasters and TikTokers that are currently topping the “trending now” charts.
To me, these are Rockstar Careers. Many people want to be a Rockstar. Most people will not become one. It has less to do with skill and effort and much more to do with luck, timing and market forces.
Luckily, I’m immune to this. I’ve been blogging now for 6 years. Other than a few experiments with SEO and promotion, I’ve paid no attention to making my blog popular and have never tried to monetize it.
It never will be popular. Which is perfectly fine with me. I’m not too popular either.