Where Have All the Bloggers Gone?

I finally sat down to read my blog roll this weekend, having fallen way far behind on daily reading, and I noticed that almost all of the most recent posts were link posts- as in, "here is a list of links that I found and wanted to share with you" posts.  And while I find some of these posts interesting and usually find something to click on (because they are so carefully worded to make you click to see this and this! (did I get you?)), I am starting to find them redundant.  It seems as though bloggers have come to think that every post needs to provide information about something useful to other people. I was reading back through my own older blog posts in order to update some broken links, and I realized that I already touched upon writing for yourself just a few weeks ago, so I don't want to rehash what I'd written once before, but I'm wondering where is the narrative?  Where have all the bloggers gone?

I was never a blog reader before I had a blog.  I knew that they existed; I knew what they were (I had read Julie & Julia after all, and Waiter Rant, also based off a blog) but I never even thought to search them out and read the content.  From my basic understanding, blogs started as journals of people's everyday lives, an online diary sharing information from one's day.  Bloggers would sit and rehash the mundane, which didn't seem all that mundane to other people reading it.  When I started my blog in 2011, I think it was right on the transition from personal sharing to professional blogging.  So many bloggers have turned to trying to craft the perfect content to share on Pinterest, or to be considered an "expert", it seems, in hopes that someone will come calling with a book deal or a movie deal or some professional writing gig.

I've also been noticing a lack of comments lately, which in combination with the link posts and lists of interesting DIYs/activities/vacation spots that are just a collage of photos with links without any explanation, it's caused me to wonder if blogging is losing the personal element.  Are people so busy that they are putting together quick content just to keep something fresh on their blogs?  Is "expert" blogging and information sharing more readable than personal posts?  Is it just because it's summer and people are out and about and have less time to post?  Where have all the bloggers gone- the ones who really want to write?