Remember when blogs were a big deal for mommy bloggers and fashion blogs alike?
Now YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok are the platforms of choice.
I thought I’d revisit some of my original favourites and see what they are up to now.
Dooce
I started reading Dooce as my child was born around the time as her first child. Her writing was refreshing and raw, with a pinch of insanity.
Her journey from hero to outcast has been well documented. Still posting irregularly and irreverently with no history.
Ain’t No Mom Jeans
Now called The Mom Edit, this is an example of a site that went from blog to an ongoing business.
I started reading this blog before Shana got breast cancer. I left when she started adding posts from other writers. I loved her writing and her style. If I go back now, I just look at Shana’s posts.
Loobylu
Clare Robertson is an illustrator and doll maker. Originally from Australia she now lives in the PNW, and maintains a website and IG in her name.
Mamamia
Mia Freedman’s site, Mamamia, is another example of a successful blog that turned into a successful business. Back in the day, the forum / comment section was pretty active. Mia would post and then there’d be this massive ongoing discussion which could have 100’s of comments.
The site now looks and reads like a professional magazine. I no longer read it as I preferred the personal and amateur aspect of the original blog.
Go Fug Yourself
Go Fug Yourself hasn’t changed too much since the early days. Heather and Jessica have managed to retain their personal, unbiased, funny writing style.
Mimi Smartypants
I’d say that Mimi Smartypants is one of the few blogs that has retained its character. Still anonymous, she continues to post irregularly. I love her funny random thoughts, and the insight into her life.
I HAVE AN ONLINE DIARY, STILL
I think I want to write more about my life when I feel less sure about it. When things are a little dim or grimy or blurry and I turn to a Google Doc like it’s a magnifying glass or a flashlight. (Or a sponge? To be perfectly parallel with the previous sentence. Details are important.)
Mimi Smartypants
PostSecret
PostSecret is still going strong, unchanged. Except I would say it’s less of an art project these days and more of a secret sharing site. Earlier each postcard was a mini artwork. Now more commonly it’s some writing and a copy of some basic image.
PostSecret is the largest advertisement-free blog in the world.
PostSecret
I still visit every Sunday when it is updated.
cupcakes and cashmere
I used to visit cupcakes and cashmere occasionally but back in the day it was already too aspirational / nowhere near my lifestyle. So I mostly stopped visiting it.
The site is still going. It’s now a business rather than a blog with a team of contributors.
The Satorialist
Wow. I had completely forgotten about The Satorialist. I used to love the street clothing sites like Street Style in Vogue.
I think it just got too stupid fashiony for me. But looking at it now… I might start visiting it again.
I wonder if for a while there stupid clothing was fashionable? Now sites based around that stupid fashion – like Man Repeller the personal fashion blog-turned-lifestyle website started by Leandra Medine Cohen in 2010 – are no more.
Design*Sponge
Design*Sponge is no longer. However Apartment Therapy and Desire To Inspire are two interior design sites still going strong.
Bloggies
The bloggies were a yearly award voted for the public which ran from 2001 to 2015.
After 15 years, I have decided to bring the Weblog Awards to a close. Visitor participation has declined to the point where there just aren’t enough nominees to form a broad enough spectrum of competition.
Bloggies
A lot of the sites listed here were nominated / won Bloggies in their time.