I read a number of blogs and feeds everyday.  Some work related and others personal.  Today, I am sincerely bummed to say that one of my favorite bloggers has decided to give up the ghost and stop blogging altogether.  Unfortunately, another person in a long list recently that have decided to move on and do other things.  There were probably a lot of factors that went into making this decision, but it calls to question – what happens to your audience when you decide to stop blogging?

This particular blogger (and I have decided not to link to her because she has shut down her site completely) was someone that I checked in with on a daily basis.  Her posts were original and provided much information and insight to the community she existed within.  At the same time, I also found the comments from her readers (and her posts routinely elicited 50+ comments or more) truly helpful.  When she announced that she was going to stop blogging she also indicated that she would shut down the site entirely.  I checked in late last night, a mere 12-24 hours after her original announcement, and almost 400 people had left comments wishing her well, offering suggestions etc.  When I went back this morning, the site was gone.  Needless to say, this has left a big void in the community.

I have to admit that I am a little shocked with the fact that this person decided to completely close the site.  I would have liked to see her archived posts and associated comments remain available.  But I realize this is selfish as it would require some maintenance or upkeep on her part.  Something she probably doesn’t have the time for at the moment.

However, it does underline an interesting question.  When you decide to first begin blogging, you may do it for your own personal reasons – some sort of catharsis, a chance to reach out to others in a similar situation, self-promotion and what have you – but once you are considered successful and have a following do you have a duty to remain actively writing and reaching out to your community?  Do you have the obligation to maintain your site for you community after you decide to stop writing?

Some would argue that this empty space will soon be filled by another voice, but I can’t help wondering will it be as strong and more so, does it hurt the community overall?  Some are left with a sense of – where do I go next?

That’s the point I am at today – just left pondering the state of online communities and blogging and sadly regretting that another of my favorite writers is gone from the scene.