Blogging nowadays is a lost art. It’s hard to believe that back then, it used to be a big mainstay in the internet. Many early internet celebrities like Arianna Huffington began their careers from blogging. But as the internet continues to evolve into its social media-dominant form, blogging is now seen as old-fashioned, becoming a footnote in the history of the web.
Even so, many people who have left a large impact on the internet and literary culture, started as bloggers. And before their names would eventually disappear in the annals of history, let us take a look and hopefully document the rise — and dominance — of one of the most important bloggers in history. A writer by the name of Ben Thompson.
Thompson began his career during the golden age of blogging in the 2000s, specifically in 2004. During that time, forums and message boards reigned supreme, social media sites were in its infancy, and the idea of video-hosting websites were still being conceptualized. Web articles, written by professional journalists, were the only ways to gain information for homework and school reports. Such articles were corporately made, but they still ended up inspiring many people to try and publish their own web articles. This ushered the birth of modern blogging, with the first bloggers being emos writing about their feelings and opinions, and gamers making their own Top 10s and video game reviews.
Soon, companies noticed the market for this and created sites where people could post blogs and articles. Back then there were many from Blogger, Hubpages, What Culture, Listverse and the like. But some people choose to be more creative by buying their space and creating their own sites. There were blogs for a variety of topics, from music, movies, games, to even fanfiction and history.
Ben Thompson was already an accomplished writer and historian before becoming a blogger. Throughout his life, he has published 14 books. However, blogging enticed many who wanted to reach a wider audience. And so Ben made a website entitled Badass of the Week, where he can share articles and trivias about lesser-known but really magnificent historical individuals. These individuals consist of warriors, explorers, scientists, and other people Ben deemed awesome or “badass”. As a testament of being a blogger, Ben chose a less professional but way more entertaining method of writing. Like James Rolfe, Ben put slangs, profanities, and other colorful language in his articles, oftentimes exaggerating historical people to make them even more larger-than-life. This actually worked, as his writing elicited laughs and excitement in his readers. This became his iconic writing style, and he used it throughout his time with the website.
Badass of the Week has been running for over 20 years now, with Ben adding comics (known as Badass Con Carne) and even voice-overs. Throughout the years, the website has faced changes and even shutdowns, but Ben being a badass himself, continues to keep the site alive.
Blogging soon began a decline with the advent of online videos (vlogging), podcasts, and social media platforms and programs. By 2018, the number of blog sites has decreased by half since 2009. Many blogging sites died off, with the only ones remaining being Medium and Vocal Media. Ben also felt the decline, nowadays preferring to make podcasts than articles. Still, Ben and Badass of the Week have a profound effect on Millennials and modern writers, like Simon Whistler and his Today I Found Out series, as well as Slavic Affairs and various other fandoms.
