"Too Big to Succeed"

"The Japanese have a word for blogs that have fallen into neglect or are altogether abandoned: ishikoro, or pebbles. We live in a world of pebbles now. They litter the internet, each one a marker of writing dreams and energies that have dissipated or moved elsewhere.
"Many of the classic blogs do persist. You can still eavesdrop on learned conversations at Crooked Timber, or benefit from the political wisdom of Brad DeLong, Digby and Corey Robin. But the feeling of community and camaraderie in pioneering a new medium—the fellowship of the hyperlink—is no longer palpable.
"What changed?"

Jeet Heer at The New Republic laments the decline of blogs.