Another post, another milestone — I just happened to notice that our Shared iDiz blog now has over 600 posts! WooHoo! Then, of course, I also happened to see an article on digiday.com that “everyone else” seems to be ditching their blogs in favor of other social media.

Well, burst my bubble.

According to a U of Mass Dartmouth study, only 37% of Fortune 500 companies maintain a blog, down from 50% two years ago. Meanwhile 12-13% of them have increased their use of Facebook (now at 74%) and Twitter (64%) in that same time frame. Marketing agencies seem to be following the same trend, opting to put their efforts into social media instead of a blog.

Why the change? Some of the quotes in the article boiled down to “no one reads a blog anymore” and “so many out there it’s impossible for people to keep up.” My guess is that it just isn’t the cool thing to do like it used to be, and all the buzz is now about sites like Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

Others were more honest about the effort a blog takes, admitting that “a social media presence is far less labor intensive than maintaining a blog.” And they are right. Several of our clients have professed to liking the idea of a blog, but once launched, found it to be too much work.

The biggest difference between social and blogging is content.

Social media is about fast connections, more of a series of touch points for sharing. And it’s certainly quicker to link to humorous images, unusual web pages, and type in 140 characters or less.

But a blog is one place that is built for original thinking, where you have the opportunity to provide the content, connect to your brand, and provide a true experience.

Each one has something to offer and they appeal to different people, just like different restaurants attract different crowds.

Me, I prefer to sit down to a good meal rather than drive-thru.