Monday, August 06, 2007

Today is Blogging-Free Monday over here--but check out Is Blogging Ready for a Unionized Workforce? at TechCrunch...my feelings: no. We do, however, need to stop being our own worst enemies by cutting out the "blog evangelist" thing (that is, unless being paid to do so) and make sure that corproarte folks start paying us for our advice as much as for our writing. Yes, that means being paid to consult with them. Right now, some corporate people are descending on conferences where bloggers are known, and trying to get info out of them (more on this in a later post)...which is highly unethical. We should also insist that we be paid just like any other freelancer for content created for corporate projects. That is, unless what we're blogging is going to a 'zine of some sort--and, in that case, we may, just like freelancers, take the same kind of pay (free copies) for our content.

That's just me---what do you think??

Update just remembered...there's the Media Bloggers Association that's something like a union. They helped bloggers get credtials to cover the Scooter Libby Trial. Nothing about money negotiations--that's up to us, as most of us are freelancers. But, when we think of a union, we should be thinking of more than just wages. If we consider how many tech conferences are getting much, must tighter with regard to whom they give press credentials (mostly to what they consider "working journalists" and NOT bloggers) we might need an org that credentials us more than one that negotiates our wages.

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