In all seriousness, blogging as an enterprise doesn't seem to be all that rewarding. There's no money in it and no one respects bloggers anyway.

As a hobby, though...

I mean, I don't expect ever "quitting" my personal blog, mostly because it exists purely for my own amusement. I don't want to use it as a springboard for something bigger and better, don't want to be relevant in the political punditsphere, and I certainly don't want it festooned with ads because no one's hitting the tip jar anymore.

I look forward to the day when "blogs" are these more personal, less ambitious sites and the blogs...like OTB for instance...are just another website.

Her optimism is unfounded.

It's not just Hilzoy. I've noticed an enormous drop-off in blogging and, possibly more importantly, the zest of blogging over the last few months. Some long-standing bloggers have retired; others are posting much more rarely; far too many posts are perfunctory.

That's probably a result of the fact that many bloggers, like Hilzoy, started blogging for reasons that no longer exist. People who started blogging to criticize or defend President Bush must now either find zeal in defending or criticizing President Obama, or move on to something else that sparks their interests.

But it's not so much the end of the era of blogging, as it is a passing of the torch. I suspect a new crop of bloggers is even now coming up to take their place. Those who had little or no interest in blogging about the politics of President Bush may be finding reason to blog about President Obama. It would be interesting to speculate now, on who will stand out among this new generation of bloggers.

I've noticed an enormous drop-off in blogging and, possibly more importantly, the zest of blogging over the last few months. Some long-standing bloggers have retired; others are posting much more rarely; far too many posts are perfunctory.

Interesting. On the leeward side, at least, I'm noticing quite a bit of despair at the continuity of hated Bush policies under the Sainted One. On the right, there's the standard post-loss agonizing over whether the Republican Party can ever win another election and whether conservatives can get back to their roots vice the need to blow it up and start over.

The phenomenon doesn't seem to be confined to progressives hanging up the "Mission Accomplished" banner. There are conservatives who've hung up their spurs, too.

I may be too far outside the zeitgeist but I detect a whiff of despair, possibly mirroring a spirit abroad in the land.