Can you hear the  solitary bugler playing Taps across the cold, forlorn blogging graveyard, just as I am making a valiant effort to rejuvenate my blog?

GigaOm reported this week:

Blogging is on the decline, according to a New York Times story published this weekend — citing research from the Pew Center’s Internet and American Life Project — and it is declining particularly among young people, who are using social networks such as Facebook instead.

However,

according to the figures used by the New York Times itself, blogging activity is actually increasing, not decreasing. And as the story points out, plenty of young people are still blogging via the Tumblr platform, even though they may not think of it as “blogging.” What blogging is really doing is evolving.

… So what we really have now is a multitude of platforms: there are the “micro-blogging” ones like Twitter, then there are those that allow for more interaction or multimedia content like Facebook, and both of those in turn can enhance existing blogging tools like WordPress and Blogger. And then there is Tumblr, which is like a combination of multiple formats. The fact that there are so many different choices means there is even more opportunity for people to find a publishing method they like. So while “blogging” may be on the decline, personal publishing has arguably never been healthier.

I like that final observation … that personal publishing has never been healthier.  So, as I rejuvenate my blog, I will also try to leverage Twitter and Facebook to engage people out in my corner of cyberspace.  If you are so inclined, feel free to come along for the ride.

Such interesting advice from a child …

Brilliant idea, Crazy Eddie!

But maybe so-called social networks can be anti-social as well.  Have you seen any anti-social behavior on Facebook or Twitter?

Note: This little post chronicles my favorite social media exchange in a long time.  You need to see the embedded images to get the gist of an intriguing conversation.

The intrigue began Wednesday afternoon when I was waiting in the Chicago O’Hare airport for a flight to Central Wisconsin Airport, near Wausau, WI.  I tweeted my intentions:

Within a few minutes, I was being followed on Twitter by Wausau Loner:

I had never heard of the Zombie Apocalypse, so I started poking around the web.  I thought, “Do Zombies need Identity Management?”

I found that my tweet was listed on the Wausau Wisconsin Best Blogs and Tweets …

… along with my new follower, the Zombie Apocalypse expert, Wausau Loner.

This morning (Thursday), I received a nice thank you note from Wausau Loner:

I pinged him back and got this reply:

I posed the big question:  Do zombies have unique Identities?  Do they need Identity Management?

Sadly, the answer was negative:

Well, there are still many unanswered questions.  May be next time I visit Wausau, I’ll get together with Wausau Loner and get more details!   I’ll let you know.