When I read on Debra Ng's About.com "Weblogs" page about this new blogger's magazine, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or throw up....and the reaction had nothing to do with Scoble on the cover....
Rather, it had to do with the tagline for Blogger & Podcaster magazine: "For Aspiring New Media Titans."
So, that's what this has all come down to--one giant aspiration to be a New Media titan.... Editor Larry Gelkin's podcast statement drastically understates (almost to the point of hyperbole) what it might take to become a blogger or podcaster who actually makes money from what he/she does. I know. I make money from what I do--not fromt his blog, but from my other projects. It takes networking and making connections. Stuff just doesn't fall into your lap because you think you're cool...
And it does indeed take MONEY to make it big--ask Mike Arrington and Arianna Huffington.
Another irony is the print edition, which at a hefty $79 a year, kind of proves my point about having money in order to make money in new media. Sorry. Low-rent losers get very little free content--right now, just blog posts by "Larry" "shelly" and "Anne."(Note: Larry sez we can dowload the digital and pod versions for free.) And maybe I'm not "bloggery" enough, or A-list-y enough, but I don't recognize any of the folks on staff as bloggers (then again, there are bloggers who don't know who Tim O'Reilly is either...)
Makes me wonder though if the staff really know anything about the community and culture of blogging, or if they're just a bunch of people who know a bunch of other people who blog....
They definitley made sure they had their media kit ready before they launched! Odd, I don't remember seeing a question in Blogger's FAQ about putting together a "media kit."
I can't say I wish them luck. I can't say I wish them anything. I feel kind of the same way I felt when I saw "punk outfits" in Macy's Junior section at the local mall. Kinda sick. Kinda hysterical. Not in the mood for an Orange Julius.
Guess I'll have to take a trot down to the old Barnes & Noble and pick up my copy today! (yeah, right...)
More on the Moment: Scoble blogs it--but maybe he can't see the entropy....I sure hope Business Blog Consulting's got it right....but are the "publishers" bloggers or journalists???? Perhaps we should all be reading Andrew Keen's The Cult of the Amateur instead....
Journalism, citizen journalism, media, Blogging, Blog, Blogs, Web 2.0 podcasting new media marketing
2 comments:
Tish, not sure I agree anymore with the person who said "all press is good press." The one clarification I would make to your post is that the digital and podcast editions are available for free. You can subscribe at www.bloggerandpodcaster.com. Once you have a chance to look through I'd be curious as to what you think. You or your readers can email me and my editorial team at feedback@bloggerandpodcaster.com. I look forward to your critique.
- Larry
Publisher
Blogger & Podcaster Magazine
hi Larry,
Thanks for clarifying on the free content--will move that note into the post.
I'll take you up on your offer to look at the digital version--I don't have time for podcasts (oddly)
But to address another point--I really kinda reigned in the long knives on this post. I'm very skeptical and wary of anything that elevates blogging into some kind of weird media business that anyone can get into. I think that's the biggest problem with what's going on today with blogging and part of why big media companies are looking for ways to bamboozle the people out of their content (but that's another issue.)
Further, I can't understand why a bunch of non-blogging folks put together a magazine for bloggers. It's just ironic. And, from what I've seen so far, you're not even looking at blogging beyond the celebrities. The mag, so far, looks like you could re-title it "Celebrity Blogger" and do just as well (albeit there'd still be major irony in that title.)
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