I've been perusing Clive Thompson's article Blogs to Riches in New York Magazine about how YOU TOO CAN MAKE MONEY FROM BLOGGING!
Once again, readers get the usual cast of characters-- Marshall, the Gawker bunch, Huff'n'stuff--and a lot of math wiz mumbo-jumbo from Clay Shirky of NYU. It's all meant to convince us that if we blog hard enough, and fast enough, and are very cleaver, we, too can make loads of money from blogging!
Like listening to the folks at Amway...
The emphasis of the article though on big-money making from blogs is really only selling another pipe dream--something that sort of smells like someone fanning the flames of the latest take on the old Horatio Alger myth. Seriously. Even if you work really, really hard, pay good money for the latest schemes, follow the best advice, there are still no guarantees of success. Ever.
Perhaps the best advice was from Corey Doctorow of uber-blog BoingBoing: "“I always figured my life was fueling my blogging, so I didn’t want to be just a blogger...”
BoingBoing's got the numbers for its bloggers to just quit the world and go full time blog, but, from what Doctorow says that's not the point.
Kinda runs counter to Thompson's premise, doesn't it??
Y'all may be wondering, then, if the reason to blog isn't to make all that big, big money, is there any point to it? Emailing my friend Susan Mernit yesterday to thank her for a link, I mentioned some some snarking going on re the A-list (Thompson alludes to the sycophancy of the B & C list to the A-list). Susan said " To be honest, the best thing about blogging isn't the influence you acquire--it's the other smart people you get to know and talk with..."
That--right there--is the point of blogging. Too bad Clive fell for the numbers rather than the people.
FishbowlNY has a good $.02 also.
citizen journalism, media, Blogging, Blog, Blogs, Weblogs
2 comments:
Sorry about the off-topic comment, but had to say that I love your blog. LOVE (and no, this isn't just cause of Valentine's Day).
I hit that "Next Blog" button and, for the first time, found something I've been coming back again and again.
Oooh, quasi-on-topic... If I were to make a top 100 you'd be on it - and near the top, for that matter (you made my blogroll, at least).
thanks so much jane...just took a look at your blog--you're doing some interesting things over there (certainly *not* average.)
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