Are Email Newsletters the Blogs of the future?

I just saw this interesting post on Gigaom about how prominent bloggers are moving away from the medium and switching to subscription based email newsletters. Why do this? Because they feel that Twitter, Facebook, and other real-time social media applications are easier to use and require less of a time commitment. But is the blogosphere audience really turning a blind eye to blogs as these other applications rise in influence?

I guess this practice of starting email newsletters might be worth it if you're a prominent blogger who offers quality content and has a loyal fan base. If that's the case then maybe people would be willing to pay $1.99 a month to get an email newsletter with content. I personally would probably choose to follow someone else -for free.

Nevertheless, this idea of a paid email newsletter could be indicative of an emerging trend. There is a lot of talk about how to monetize social media content. Facebook is exploring options and so is Hulu, who also launched a subscription service recently. Who knows, if enough bloggers start shutting down their blogs in favor of subscription services, that could completely transform the landscape for better or for worse.

Imagine what that would mean from a PR perspective. Subscriptions might make for even greater niche audiences. Which means if you're pitching to a blogger with an email newsletter, only those who subscribe are going to receive the content. That means no passers-by will see a story that you've submitted. However, if people are paying to receive updates and content from a blogger, then that means they are probably actively engaged. This could make reaching influencers easier if they are all actively reading this content and sharing it with others.

Any thoughts? Would you ever consider subscribing to an email newsletter from a blogger?