Professional Blogging – Not An Oxymoron
As the blogosphere starts to mature in bits and spurts, earning a full-time living as a “professional” blogger is a notion and dream for thousands.
A New York Times piece from the weekend looks at the growth of jobs stemming from the blogosphere. Interestingly and perhaps not surprisingly, blogging gigs tend to be much more lucrative – at least from the start – for paid positions from corporations who need bloggers rather than the advertising income one could hope to gain from blogging on one’s own.
This really highlights the power of blogging as a marketing and promotional tool, and shows that some companies see the benefit of paying full time employees to enter the blogospheric conversation.
Robert Scoble is quoted in the NYT piece, noting that just being a “blogger” is not enough; you have to bring some other qualities or expertise to the table. While I’m not a professional nor full-time blogger, I can relate to this. It’s part of the reason why I shed writing about politics and television, subjects I’m passionate about but do not have the time to cover as authoritatively as I’d like.
Tony Hung of Deep Jive Interests brings this conversation to a whole new level in thinking about what it would (and likely will) mean when bloggers in the third world can make full time livings through writing online full-time.
Tony mentions Philipino bloggers who can write “pound for pound” with their North American counterparts. I immediately thought of the huge and bright English-speaking population in India and the chapters focused on India in Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat.
In essence, bloggers will face the same competition from the “flat world” as many other industries. Which is all to the good: more writers making more money in more parts of the world can only help to facilitate better communication, better ideas, more innovation, and more cooperation throughout the world.
One of the many reasons I’m proud to be involved with Blogcritics is that it truly is a global community of “superior writer/bloggers.” The company is run by three dudes from three different US time zones who have met in person exactly once, has editors around the globe who help bang out edited pieces around the clock, and receives on-the-ground unique coverage and perspective from places like Israel, Northern Ireland, India, Pakistan, Germany, and on and on.
And speaking of India and Pakistan, Desicritics is a BC Network site and web community that focuses exclusively on that part of the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of our best Desicritics (of which there are many!) are making a full time living through blogging before too long!
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June 11th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Yeah, I titled my article “biggest blogging issue of 2008″ as a tongue in cheek as its something that’s going to affect things in a much slower way if anything.
Hiring non-North American writers for English blogs has already happened, and will continue to happen; what will be interesting is if there’s a negative price pressure on blogging salaries because some of them would be willing to accept a different payscale.
I don’t see the competition for blogging jobs as all that competitive at the moment — but if it does this whole issue may come au courant again.
Cheers
tony.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
“more writers making more money in more parts of the world can only help to facilitate better communication, better ideas, more innovation, and more cooperation throughout the world.” — I like that idea !!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 12th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Tony — 2008 is a long way off in Internet years, could be many more people than now making a full-time living from blogging by then, many of whom may reside outside of North America and Europe!
Janice — Me too!
June 23rd, 2007 at 5:43 am
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April 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 am
I really liked the way they came off