Is Summer the Season for Social Media Malaise?

Recently I just haven't been feeling it as much--blogging, tweeting--just the whole social media thing. Life is too busy and sometimes I question why I put all this other stuff on myself when I already have a more-than-full plate with kids, a husband, a full-time job, etc. I blogged about it last week with regard to Twitter. Since then I have come across a few blog posts that lead me to think I'm not the only one experiencing some social media doldrums.

The NY Times recently ran an article about blogs fizzling over time as people either get tired of pouring effort into something that either nobody reads or something that sucks up so much time even if it does get read. Then today I read this post, Why I'm Quitting Social Media, and started thinking maybe I'm really not the only one who's not feeling it so much lately.

I've blogged before about the reasons I blog. Bottom line, I guess, is that I love writing. But blogging, which can be all about numbers and subscribers and ratings, isn't really about the writing. Mack Collier had an awesomely-titled post last week talking about how blogging isn't just about writing content. His post was great and his points were totally true...and totally illustrative of how blogging can be such a big, tentacled endeavor that you just want to throw in the towel. It's not just about writing--it's about then going and cultivating a following--a never-ending, incredibly time-consuming exercise in futility. Fun and gratifying endeavor, yes, but when you have a full-time job and kids and real life stuff--it can get overwhelming fast. And discouraging.

I had a great Twitter conversation with Mack after I read his post and he told me it took Chris Brogan 8 years to get his first 100 readers. It's been a year and a half for me and I have 60 subscribers and get an average of about 25 visits a day.

How about you, faithful 60 readers--do you feel less inclined to blog/participate in online communities during the summer? Or is it not even about the weather and sometimes it just gets old?