Good old blogging

July 27, 2016 9:37 AM

I miss the days when I could actually find people's personal blogs online. Does anybody do that anymore? I am interested in people who document their life, experiences and thoughts -- preferably recent blogs that are still being updated, but any blogs with a decent archive would be fine, too -- and I do not mind dark stuff (quite the opposite).

I am mostly interested in people who write about experiences such as addiction, mental disorders, sex work, etc. However, if you'd like to suggest anything different, I'd love that, too.

posted by denika to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

There are still a lot of personal blogs hosted at Wordpress (there's lots of professional and quasi-professional ones there, too, and it's sometimes hard to separate them). The discover feature is curated but there is a freeform search button.

(Sorry I haven't any specific blog suggestions--I follow a handful of sewists and a gynecologist which does not really sound like the people you're looking for. I also read Daughter of the Delta which is a woman writing about her mother's life, prompted by sorting through the things she left behind.)
posted by crush-onastick at 11:35 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

I still blog - link in my profile - although I don't hit any of the subjects you mention.
posted by COD at 1:04 PM on July 27, 2016

I do too, though I don't hit any of your subjects either. I've been maintaining it at livejournal since 2002, simply because that still works fine for the content I post and I'd rather maintain continuity than jump platforms. The link isn't in my profile, but I'll send it to anyone who asks.

The thing is, though: it probably wouldn't interest you. It's not written for the general public. It's intended for my actual friends, not that many of them read blogs any more. It's a lot like (and shares content with) the medium-to-long notes that I send to the tiny handful of my friends who still exchange personal email.

Obligatory rant: I hope people eventually return to writing more this way. I'd so much rather read my friends' observations and musings occasionally in a dedicated context than to get tiny bites from a "feed" of links and photos from several hundred people I used to work with or whatever, surrounded by whatever "trending topics" some algorithm thinks I should know about.
posted by tangerine at 1:27 PM on July 27, 2016 [3 favorites]

I do too! But yeah I don't read any by other people, they're all super curated and professional these days!
posted by masquesoporfavor at 4:06 PM on July 27, 2016

I've started reading blogs again after I installed the Bloglovin' app. I can search by subject, follow the ones that look interesting, and I get occasional suggestions.
posted by A hidden well at 4:46 PM on July 27, 2016

Sea Sisters. Written by ladies working in the maritime industry.

I'd recommend my friend Megan's blog about working on tugboats, but she hasn't updated since November of last year, so... read the archives?
posted by cnidaria at 6:17 PM on July 27, 2016

(I realize that doesn't hit your main topics, but let's file it under "anything different".)
posted by cnidaria at 6:18 PM on July 27, 2016

Mimi smartypants is a good one to check out!
posted by shortyJBot at 6:45 PM on July 27, 2016

The Gus is one of the originals, he‘s been at it for like 20 years, and still posting daily.
posted by Rash at 1:44 AM on July 28, 2016

I like Edenland.
posted by yesbut at 2:13 AM on July 28, 2016

Best answer: Check out Tinyletters - there are so many great ones going around that are very similar to the early-00s blog era

9 recommended by Buzzfeed (note: mine is on there, so this is a somewhat inadvertent self-link!)

Others I like:

Grief Bacon

Laika's Space Capades

The Crime Lady

Black Cardigan

The Bookslut's Reading the Tarot (rarely about the tarot)

The Feelings Club
posted by Gin and Broadband at 3:17 AM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

It's only an occasional updater, but: Bitches Gotta Eat
posted by Rhaomi at 7:01 PM on August 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I still blog on a personal blog, and have been since 2003. I also read a lot of them, (they're still out there!)
posted by webgurl at 6:08 PM on February 11, 2017