Why I’m Blogging in 2026 (When Everyone Says Blogs Are Dead)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read “blogging is dead” lately. The phrase gives me a little kick every time — I start wondering about my own blog, its purpose, and why I keep coming back to such a “dead” platform. This post isn’t about telling you what to do with your own corners of the internet. It’s about sharing where those musings landed me: some strong opinions on blogs, creativity, and the current state of AI.

Two ways to see a blog

I think there are two ways of viewing blogs: as a creative outlet, and as a purpose-driven platform. Blogs — or personal sites in general — hold a unique position in today’s landscape: they’re uniquely freeform. No algorithm, no strict format or image-size guidelines, no feed or reaction to cater to. This is the only surface that is whatever you want it to be. It’s truly yours, and it endures. That’s a powerful, free feeling next to the strict guidance and regulations of Instagram, TikTok, or anything else that’s had its heyday (Facebook, anyone?).

Aside from the freedom, there are practical reasons to appreciate blogs. Your control over them, and their enduring nature, build long-term, searchable bodies of work — content resources that can grow an audience for years to come. All of those reasons are true and logical. But they’re not why I’m here.

Why I actually write

So why am I here? It starts with how I’m wired. I’ve mentioned before that I’m an engineer — I’m always asking “why does this work like that, and how do I make something like it?” That sends me down long roads of research and experimentation. I love getting to know everything I can about whatever I’m doing, and then building something around that knowledge. And for me to really learn something, I have to share it. Explaining a thing to someone else is how I lock it in. As much as my husband and kids love hearing me blab, I try to keep the pigment chemistry here, where other folks hoping to learn can actually find it. (See my comparison of PR206 vs. PR179.)

Now, I could totally share this on Instagram… but let’s be honest: is anyone actually going to Instagram to learn and absorb? Or are we there to quickly consume, get a dopamine hit, and move on? (Just me?)

I also could just leave all this in one of my many, many notebooks (I do spend a LOT of time in those)… but then I wouldn’t get to tinker and build fun little sites.

So whether I’m creating content or building cool websites, there’s been one question at the top of my mind lately: what does any of this mean in an AI-powered world?

The AI question: what it can and can’t do

Let me get one thing out of the way first: I love AI. I work in engineering management, so it’s woven straight through my day-to-day. Even though most of my work now is people and process, I’ll always be an engineer at heart. I’ll always love to tinker. I’ve automated most of my routines, so that with a single command I can pull a deep-dive analysis of all my platform metrics, mapped against my content and posting habits. That is genuinely FUN — in the same way that I find art and other forms of creation fun. I can sit down at a blank page (or terminal), draw up a vision in my mind, and which a few experienced techniques turn that vision into reality. The AI does the work, but I’m still creating — so that I can spend more time with my art, and eliminate rote routines. And that’s exactly what I think the world needs from AI: tools that take the tedious work off your plate so you can spend your time on the good stuff.

What I don’t love AI for is actual creation. LLMs are pattern-matchers by nature — they remix what already exists; they don’t invent. I’m beginning to see AI summaries of AI summaries of AI summaries, and quite quickly it’s clear that there’s no depth or soul to a piece of content. At some point, between hallucination and compacted information, you begin to wonder what the truth actually is. My greatest fear is that those who love to share their knowledge will fall away due to the onslaught of AI; and that we’ll lose the truth.

That truth is exactly what I hope to capture here: the joy of discovery, of thinking something all the way through, of being one voice in a sea of (hopefully few) blogs filled with slop.

Where AI fits in my process

None of that means I write in a vacuum, though. I do use AI in my process — just not for the creating. I’ll have it review my layout, catch my bad grammar and the spots where I repeat myself (I’m prone to it), flag where I could link to another piece or where an idea needs more filling in. It runs the platform analysis and the trend research so I can keep my focus on the writing. But the writing itself? That’s mine.

So, should artists still blog in 2026?

Which brings me back to why I’m here. My purpose isn’t to drive traffic or build an audience — it’s simply to share what I know, and this is the right space to do it. And whatever ends up here will always be authentic. Always written by me. That’s the thing you don’t get from AI content: connection, and creation.

So — with all of that said, I’m looking forward to leaning further into this blog over the next several months, and to turning my Claude management system loose on trend analysis as I go. Which means you can look forward to my recommendations down the line. 🙂