Who Even Reads Blogs Anymore?
Seriously, what happened to the good old days of surfing the web? Now, every time you click on a blog or some random website, BAM! It’s like you’ve been ambushed by a digital flea market. You wanna find solid info, deep reviews, honest opinions, just go read a nice blog post, chill with your teh ping.
But now? You go any blog or random website, wah piang eh, before the content even load fully, you kena smacked by 5 pop-ups, 3 cookie banners, and one stupid video ad that auto-play with sound. Bro, I just want to read your review, not feel like I’m dodging landmines.
Ads, Ads, Ads
Most websites now damn desperate. Every square inch of their site is covered in banner ads, affiliate links, sticky ads, newsletter pop-ups, lah lah lah… all these just make you rage quit. You know why? Cos they not making enough money from normal readers anymore. Google ads pay peanuts, and publishers just wanna milk every cent.
They sacrifice the reading experience for short-term revenue. Who suffer? Us lor. The user. Even if the content not bad, I also cannot tahan the nonsense layout and loading issues.
Comment Section Ghost Town
You wanna leave a comment? LOL, good luck. Need to create account, confirm email, sometimes even verify you’re not a bot. By the time you finish all that, you already forget what you wanted to say. Nobody got time for that lah. That’s why all the comment sections now kosong kosong (empty), maybe one or two weirdos fighting each other, or nothing at all.
Compare that to Reddit or YouTube, comment thread got real conversation, got upvotes/downvotes, memes, everything. People engage.
Writing in WordPress Feels Like Medieval Times
Writing an article in WordPress nowadays feels like time-travelling back to medieval era. You open the editor, kena overwhelmed by all the blocks, sidebars, plug-ins, SEO tools, formatting problems, loading issues, like wah lao, I just want to write one post leh, not build a bloody skyscraper. One small change can crash the layout. Need update plug-in, need configure this, that… headache sia. It’s like trying to code your own CMS for no reason.
Compare that to Thoxt or Medium — you log in, click “create”, type, and publish. Done. No distractions, no lag. Got autosave, clean interface, plus the bonus of embedding videos, images, and even links with just paste-and-go. Everything so snappy. Feel like you’re using something made for 2025, not some dusty relic. You save time, brain cells, and still end up with a clean, professional-looking post.
UI Like 2008, Not 2025
I dunno what’s going on, but many of these so-called tech websites got UI that look like they haven’t updated since Obama’s first term. The fonts small until can blind your eyes, layout all cramp cramp one, and mobile experience. Don’t even go there. Then you look at Insta, YouTube, Thoxt, Reddit — wah, smooth, interactive, got dark mode, can swipe left-right, got recommended content, everything power.
Like bro, you call yourself a “tech site” but your interface looks like secondary school project?
Should You Start Your Own Blog? Or Use Platforms Like Thoxt or Medium?
Honestly, if you’re thinking of getting into content creation, just starting your own blog these days damn hard.
Finding a decent and registering domain at godaddy is such as pain. They seem to own almost every sensible domain the world, and charge you a $49,999 for it. And they make you pay a recurring cost of $20 with compulsory added security. What as scam they are — I mean you GoDaddy, get out of my life!
Then you need to worry about hosting ($80 to $100 a month for anything decent)
SEO, it will test your patience like no other, google will make sure they keep you in the dark and will make you their slave. Unless you’re some SEO god or already got fanbase, your personal blog going to be like screaming into void. No traffic, no engagement. The list goes on security, spammers, design, etc etc. Very siong.
But you go Medium or Thoxt, they give you the platform, the tools, the built-in readers. You can focus on your content. Especially Thoxt, which now is one of the few rare ones still supporting quality long-form, with video integration, and where you can get actual social engagement. Like, if YouTube and Medium had a smart baby, that’s Thoxt.
Don’t Be Scared to Be Different
Look, if you wanna create content, don’t follow the old methods just because everyone else did. Traditional blogs? Outdated. Those spammy news sites? Sell their soul to the ad gods already.
Try something new. Publish where people actually read and respond. That’s how you grow as creator. Whether it’s long-form text, or video, or even short burst content, go where the audience still care.
So… Why Am I Not Writing This on Thoxt or Medium?
Eh good question lah, if I say those platforms so power, why I not writing this article there right? The irony not lost on me ok. But you know what? If I write this kind of roast on Thoxt or Medium, like a bit awkward… like going to someone’s house then start flexing about how nice their sofa is. Later people say I bootlicking or what.
But honestly, the real reason I write here? Just to prove a point lah. You see how hard it is to even read this in peace? Imagine trying to comment. You wanna drop a “nice article bro” also need to sign up, create password, verify email, answer captcha “click all images with traffic light”. By the time you done, you forget what you were saying already.
As a writer, that part damn sad ok — I put in effort, but I got no idea who read, who share, who agree, who angry. Zero stats. It’s like shouting into a HDB corridor at 3am and hoping someone replies.
Thoxt or Medium? Wah, different story. I get all the reader stats, where they from, how long they read, which part they drop off — everything. Got real comments. Got reactions. I post something, can see actual human beings responding. That’s how a platform should work lah.
So yeah, maybe next time this article will be on Thoxt… assuming they don’t sue me for being too honest.
TLDR
Websites today not reader-first anymore. They ad-first, profit-first, nonsense-first. You wanna read something properly? You kena bombarded first. That’s why people moving to platforms that actually respect the reader AND the creator.
So if you’re thinking of publishing a blog still can, but better use a smart platform like Thoxt or Medium. Better chance to get noticed, connect with people, and not kena drowned by banner ads and 2008 UI.