I blog because it’s a great way to write updates, not only just commentary but also some how-tos and additional information for my books. Writing a blog post is a handy way to do that, and much easier than writing one of my Wambooli Dispatches, which is an HTML document and requires a lot more effort and work.

But in the bigger picture, the casual blogger may be a thing of the past.

Back in the dawn of the Internet, the Big Deal was to have your own Web page. It was called your own “Home page,” though that was confusing because the first web page opened by your web browser is the “Home page.” So eventually it became a personal page. Getting one was cool.

Alas, learning HTML to code the web page — and understanding the whole FTP thing to get the web page published — wasn’t easy.

To solve the dilemma, GeoCities was born. It let you toss up your own personal page lickety-split. But it was like having a vacation rental in the ghetto, so the prestigious thing to do was to still to have your own, unique web page.

Just after GeoCities started to poop out, the blog, or web log, became popular. Originally it required a web page, but eventually there were blog hosting services, like Blogger and Word Press. Some idiots, such as myself, incorporated blogging software into their web sites.

That history sounds about right, but in the evolution of computer software there’s always the Next Big Thing. For the blogger, or anyone interested in asserting their presence on the Internet, there’s now Facebook. It’s the real blog-killer.

During the political campaign season, I often make some extra moolah on the side designing and publishing political web pages. This year, when I was asked to do these personal web sites, I said, “Do Facebook instead.” That’s because more people are tuned into Facebook, and it’s already configured to handle updates, news, pictures, events, and so on. So I kind of put myself out of business. That got me to thinking: What’s the real point of a blog anyway?

After all, if you have a Facebook account, isn’t that like blogging? Couldn’t you just do the same thing on Facebook and get subscribers there?

Sure!

Now I use Facebook mostly for personal things. You can follow me at http://www.facebook.com/dangookin, though I rarely talk about computer stuff there. Mostly I post silly stuff about myself, observations, or pictures of the kids. If you want computer news, you have to check in to my Wambooli Blog (right here) thrice weekly.

Well, you can check in until Facebook really takes over. Or when the Next Big Thing happens.