This Vox profile of Heather Armstrong — Dooce — is a deeply melancholy read:
In the time that Armstrong had been absent from her site, bloggers had been almost wholly replaced with social media stars who relied on Instagram to gain a following. The word “influencer” had taken over, and quickly. Bloggers had risen to fame thanks to deeply personal posts; Instagram personalities operated in a much more visual medium, relying on photos of cute kids and beautiful homes for likes.
It’s both affecting in its coverage of her mental health issues, but also in how clear it makes it that we lost something profound in the shift from blogger to influencer.
Lots to think on.