tiistai 9. heinäkuuta 2019

Finnish cosplay blog scene - is it actually dying?

This is what I've been thinking for a while now.

NOTE: this blog post is likely to become a huge text wall since I don't think that this is one of those posts that would need pictures. Read if you want to, but don't expect seeing pictures. Thank you.

As many of you know, I'm one of those "I'm active when I feel like it but then I truly am active" kind of bloggers. I've had this blog a bit over six years now and even during that short period of time I feel like the cosplay blog scene has changed quite a lot.

When I started blogging there were dozens of active cosplay blogs and the blogger community was... I don't know, it had this warm and welcoming feeling to it. I'm not saying that it wouldn't have it now but back then there were a lot of bloggers, professionals, amateurs and everything in between. But now... Now I feel like there aren't that many blog writers anymore. Some of the blogs I used to follow and actively read during the past few years don't even exist anymore. That makes me sad.

There have been a few new writers during these years but now I feel like they've pretty much disappeared. I get it if someone just doesn't feel like writing a blog anymore - I think that it's wise to have a break of it, at least, if it starts to feel like "Ugh, I have to make a blog post again". Seriously, I get it.

But it doesn't prevent me from wishing that there were more blog writers in cosplay scene too.

Of course there are still a few active blogs which I still follow and read, and I'm very happy that these people have kept to it. I myself try to become active again (I just need to make some content for this blog) since I don't actually want the blogger scene to fade away like I could actually prevent that, pfffff.
But well, I guess that most people are nowadays using other social medias, for example Instagram which seems to be one of the most popular platforms for publishing pictures etc. No wonder, it was made for it wow, such Sherlock. And I guess TikTok is quite popular nowadays too, at least I see a lot of TikTok videos on people's IG accounts.

Is cosplay blogging actually out of fashion?

Right now it is a bit, I think. A few years ago there was this "If I don't have a cosplay page on FB I'm not a real cosplayer" mindset going around but I guess that the FB page hype has lessened a little bit. Nowadays I see more people talking about IG, TikTok and, of course, Twitter. Are those platforms more fashionable now than blogging? Might be.
And I'd like to point out that I'm also on IG, Twitter (not so active but still) and FB too so I'm not attacking anyone who has an account on those platforms. I've thought about joining TikTok too but in the end it wouldn't be my cup of tea, at least I think so.

What does blogging mean to me, then?

Well, like I said, I started writing this blog in 2012. Back then it was quite easy to hop on the bandwagon since there were a lot of cosplay blogs back then; by reading them I slowly learnt who I am as a blog writer and what kind of content I want to publish. I know that my earliest blog posts are... How to put it? Well, I cringe at them a little bit nowadays since there ain't pretty much any logic, I published a lot but I might have not had anything to say actually. Nowadays I mostly write con summaries, circle lens reviews and publish cosplay photos on my blog. Back then I wrote about pretty much everything that had something to do with cosplaying, even if that 'something' was just a small mention about buying a new wig etc.

Blogging means quite a lot to me anyway. Had I not had this blog for these years I wouldn't have seen my cosplayer progression. Well, I'm still far from being a professional and I doubt that I'd ever get there anyway, I'm not THAT passionate with this hobby... But you get the point, right?
I've seen myself grow as a cosplayer and as a human being during these years. I was a teenager when I begun to write this blog. Nowadays I'm an adult, at least by law, and I think that it shows at least a little bit on my writing style too. I could say that I've improved my blog writing skills..?

I've documented many of my cosplay projects on this blog. Some of those projects are now buried, some are still somehow on my mind and some of those I'm still planning to (re-)make. On those "documentations" I've written about how I've made a costume and posted WIP pics. By browsing my blog every now and then and looking at those pics... It actually teaches me. "Do this but definitely don't do anything like that anymore".

But I haven't learnt just from my own blog posts. I've learnt from my mistakes, of course, but that's pretty much everything I've learnt from myself.

Most terms, techniques etc. I've learnt by reading other cosplayers' blogs. And I'm quite sure that those blog posts haven't helped just me but many other cosplayers out there too.
That's one of the biggest reasons why it makes me so sad to see the amount of cosplay blogs becoming smaller and smaller.
And it's not just Finnish cosplay blog scene dying; most foreign-to-me cosplay blogs I've followed have slowly died too.

But everything has its time, I guess. Or then I'm completely on a wrong blogging platform. Wouldn't be surprised.
Some people whose blogs I used to follow... Well, I haven't seen them in conventions in years so it kind of makes sense that they haven't been blogging anymore. People have other priorities. So do I - that's why I'm not too active anymore. Some people who have or have had a blog are quite active on Instagram - maybe they don't have the urge to make larger WIP posts of their costumes anymore? Maybe everything they want to say about the convention can be said in the photo caption? I guess I'll never get an answer to those questions and it's perfectly okay.

So, summa summarum; I'm quite sad about the cosplay blog scene slowly disappearing into the cosmos but in the end that might be the beginning of the new era. And I'm looking forward to whatever that era will bring to us. Everything changes around us anyway, technology improves all the time - we will see what will happen in the future.
If you're still there reading/writing cosplay blog(s) ; what is the reason you still do so? Tell me in the comments. I repeat myself: I'm not here to attack anyone, I'm just very curious about this topic.

Until next time.

-Firith

5 kommenttia:

  1. I feel you so much on this! Reading about a convention experience or cosplay making from blog has a different feel to it than reading about it from an ig caption... Kinda miss those days when cosplay blogs where bigger, but I will admit that uploading a pic on ig or twitter or whatever and write a caption is faster and easier.

    We'll see what platforms future brings us! :)

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. That's so true - reading about cosplay things from a blog has a totally different feel to it. Then again I understand why people prefer IG or Twitter; it's indeed a lot faster and easier. One doesn't need to write a kilometer long text when everything necessary about convention/costume making/etc. can be told with pictures and a photo caption.

      Blogging has always been more my cup of tea but well, I admit that I'm becoming kind of hooked on IG too. It's a lot easier to publish for example photoshoot pictures there - but well, I'm still more of a blogging type of a person. It's not everyone's cup of tea anyway.

      We will see! :)

      Poista
  2. This is something that I've noticed as well. When I started cosplay blogging all those years ago there were a lot of cosplay blogs but now many have either gone quiet for at least a year or completely disappeared. I think a lot of people moved over to the social media sites because it's "the new way to do things" and gives more instant rewards, engagement, likes etc for lesser effort spent than writing a blog post.
    But at the same time I also feel like Facebook cosplay pages are starting to die as well, at least I know mine does because the algorithm (spelling?) is frustrating and shitty af. xD

    I prefer to blog because it feels like there's a lot less limits and I was always the writer kind of person anyway. I like being detailed, I like the thought that my posts might be helpful for someone out there (eventually) and I like to be able to easily go back and see how much I've improved and yeah, it's nice to have almost everything thoroughly documented for my own pleasure. I did keep blogs long before having a cosplay blog though (the MySpace era anyone? xD) so it was natural for me and tbh, I won't be quitting any time soon. Blogging to me is fun and because blog posts are easy to find even years later it doesn't feel as fleeting as an instagram post that you like and instantly forget when you scroll down and see the next one. *shrugs*

    I do use social media sites as well, mainly because it's expected that you do nowadays but honestly, blogging is just more my style and I have not invested nearly as much time into using the other platforms. I feel like I have more control and freedom while blogging. On IG, FB etc I feel stress and pressure from having to constantly push new content out or you risk losing followers; it's so fastpaced and you have to keep up with what's trendy and so on to get the most reach etc. Just too much of a hassle, although I understand why many like it, because it's quick and photo-focused and you don't need to sit glued in front of a computer screen drafting for hours. xD

    Oops, well this got a lot longer than planned. Hope you get what I'm trying to say. :'D

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. I think I get what you're trying to say, don't worry! :D

      But yeah, nowadays many blogs have gone quiet or disappeared. Social media is the new way to do things, it's faster and easier - and let's face it: if you're following someone on IG (for example) it's easier to just check the picture and read the caption and after that click the 'like' button. The FB cosplay page trend has also been dying for, what, a couple of years now? Probably because of the algorithm and Facebook's frustrating way to ruin the quality of the pictures. I don't even remember when I was actually active on my FB cosplay page and I've seriously thought about deleting it but then again some WIP pics are there and agh, I don't know :/ Haven't decided just yet.

      I feel you so much on this - there are a lot less limits and well, I've always been the writer kind of a person too. It's fun to write detailed summaries/WIP posts etc. and the idea of them being helpful for someone is quite nice. It's also easier to see one's cosplay improvement when reading a blog - and I don't mean anything bad by saying this, of course one can see one's improvement on IG too for example, but blogging is... I don't know, it feels more detailed than posting on other platforms? Well, that's just my two cents. ^^

      I have to admit at this point that I've become kind of hooked on IG - it's the easiest way to post for example photoshoot pictures. Still I wouldn't even think about doing a WIP post kind of thing on Instagram - cosplay blog just serves that purpose better in my opinion (and note, I'm not saying that WIP posts on IG would be worse than WIP posts on a blog). But well, everyone has their preferences and that's totally okay of course. :)

      ...and now I hope you get what I'm trying to say xD

      Poista
  3. Thank you for your comment. Yes, many people have moved on to those other platforms - and it's totally understandable since, well, it's easier to get feedback on those platforms. Not everyone is a social media person though and that's totally understandable too, of course - it's not for everyone.

    I've also considered deleting my blog every now and then but like you said, it would feel like deleting all my "cosplayer career" and it would also make all the hours I've spent on this blog... Well, go waste. Documenting stuff is one of the biggest reasons I've kept my own blog alive and if someone gets any help from my posts then writing this blog has been totally worth all time etc. Point being; I get your point and I understand it well.

    I hope that you'll keep it up for many more years! :) And thank you! You're welcome :')

    VastaaPoista