And then some of us blog because we just like to. We started our site, aginghipsters, in 1996–before blogging software–because we wanted baby boomers like us to have a space on the brandy new internet thing. Once Movable Type came along, we were liberated from coding and being on the bottom of the ToDo list. Yeah, there are now like a gazillion baby boomer blogs, but we still love what we do (when we get around to doing it) and have never felt entitled to make money from it. Money’s nice but who said you deserve to be paid for what is essentially vanity publishing?

Great read! It has provided me a lot of insight in terms of my strategic future direction for my business. Thank you.

As they say…everything in moderation…….As for me, I have dropped my website and am turning my blog into a place to put my artwork and explain what I am doing. I think other artists are doing pretty much the same thing. Blogs are much easier to keep up and gives you the opportunity to meet customers and other artists.

Hi Jason,

I think your article has some real valid points and the one I would ask is “why do people blog?”

I get people coming to me and asking how much money they can make from blogging … I send them to the guys who focus on blogging for money. For me and my clients, blogging is a way of giving away useful content because we are selling a service or, a product.

The number of hits may not amount to nearly as much as the professional bloggers but I’m offering something unique, my services and so I’m trying to attract those people looking to build a blog rather than those looking for advertising space or those who don’t mind clicking on AdSense ads.

I’m certainly not saying there is anything wrong with professional blogging, but I certainly think people have to look at the longevity of their business model and dig deep to ask the question, “why do I blog anyway.”

Thanks for the thought provoking post.

Trish

One thing is certain – everything changes. If blogging is losing a battle, it must be because something else is on the way.

Maybe it is the social networking, maybe it’s twitter, or maybe there is just so much clutter in the cloud, that no one really believes they will be seen, so then what’s the use?

As alway, the ones that really have something on their minds/hearts, will keep the information flowing.

In may respects, blogging is no different from authoring a book. There are many reasons people author books even though very few many money. Authors and bloggers should know this before they start. If you expect to make money writing a book, the odds are very long.

If you are intent on writing, whether it be a book or a blog, you should set realistic expectations on how much time you will be able to devote to writing, and what you expect to happen as a result of your efforts. In writing books, I see three primary motivations for authoring content:

1) Make money through sales (already covered)
2) Become perceived as an expert in your topic to drive qualified prospects to your main business
3) Build professional credibility (Like a Doctor who writes on a subject)

One’s expectations and strategy for success should be clearly through and will vary depending on which of the three motivations one has. Jim Stovall, who I know through my own work said some great things on a very similar topic that might be helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC-6H-AX_BY&feature=related

I’m glad to hear there are still others out there who want to continue writing…I have just launched a website where people can contribute their stories, and if selected will be published in a hard copy magazine. I have been searching blogs and bloggers and such in the hope that they might be interested in contributing an article and do not know how to reach this audience of writers. I do not have a blog, I am a complete newbie to the internet, and all of the ‘new social networking’ sites…everything is a bit intimidating for me. Maybe someone can give me some insight as to how I could spread the word. Thanks!

Wonderful insight, although as a female, my friends have compared my blog to a newborn, constantly needing nurturing–and when the screaming baby which is my creative hankering sounds in the middle of the night–it’s to the computer I go.

Having said that, the baby needs shoes, so it’s off to work (or as some would call a “real job”) I go … Blogs are an important creative outlet that can most likely allow the writer to feel like he/she has some kind of purpose here — I would hope.

This is just a sensationalist column by Lyons. What did he learn? That humor sites aren’t big money earnings. No kidding buddy, but it still helped you get a much better job and book deal. Maybe if he started a blog about mortgage loans he would understand how much money there is for online publishers

I’ll tell you one very simple reason why bloggers are leaving the field…

The web 2.0 platform is made for a different type of connection then blogging..

Lets look at some differences…

In theory, someone writes a blog. then tries to connect with like minded people.

How much influence do they have…

One reason people blog is to try to advocate for a cause & enlighten people..

President Barack Obama didn’t use blogging to gain momentum on line…

The creators of one of the original web 2.0 apps (facebook) helped to set us his site….

It was Howard Dean.. quite a few years ago.. who inspired people & popularized the concept… people would write short testimonials in his behalf, hoping that his philosophy & ideology would foster a huge following, and the goal was that he would be elected President of the US.

His fans didn’t create blogging.. if you google the history, you will see it started in the late 90′s.

The notoriety he created popularized it….

I think blogging is just another step in an evolving evolution you see taking place on line..

Web 2.0?

Some say it is already on the wane.. .whats next?
web 3.0 is just a more modern version of the semantic web, according to some articles you can read about it…

Driving the entire culture?

the ever increasing speed of download..

In 2000, T1 was considered to be like lightning.

Today… fiber is considered standard fare (15 -20 mg per minute)

high speed service today delivers 100 Mbs per …

Computer speed.. a combo of processors, front side bus & ram…
along with good videocards

whats next??

Good question… perhaps the beta community can tell us what they have on the horizon…..

Passion is the fuel of any career success. The blogging career or profession cannot be an exception. Blogging is first and foremost, an expression of passion.

I strongly sense an abortive attempt here to redefine blogging. When Justin Hall started out as the world’s first blogger in 1993, money was the least of all his consideration and motivation. Pls friends, don’t let us re-write the noble history and purpose of our blogging profession.

I find it ludicrous on this day of our ‘blogoscopic glory’, even acknowledged by New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/us/politics/10media.html when President Obama recognized one of our own: 26-year old Sam Stein, from The Huffington Post, among the elite White House press corps during the White House news conference a few hours ago this evening. This was a day when web titans like, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Time, were marked present but not recognized.

Thanks for the money, if, and when it comes, but the greatest joy of any blogger is AUDIENCE. It’s always and would continue to be great joy, when you write from the corner of your room or even from a corner of a football stadium and thousands and hundreds of thousands locate you, to feast on your post. That has always been our joy – RELEVANCE! and FULFILMENT!! I dsay this because I run the 3rd-most visited site (and it is a blog) – 54,000 daily hits, from the digital jungle called NIGERIA! I am happy to earn well above $1.5K monthly in a depressed economy.

True, its a weakness on our part that we are so consumed by production of quality content to the detriment of savvy marketing skills for converting our traffic optimally for great incomes. That is a subject for another day, but it would not rob us of the joy of royal contents that still rules, and would forever rule the web.

Like I always say, CONTENT is a King that must not be stranded in the wilderness of the web, but must find its way to the Palace of the web, where a royal crown and a kingdom awaits it.

Walking away from Techcrunch by Mike cannot rob Techcrunch of its glory just as walking away now, from Huffington Post by Ariana will not rob Huffington Post of her throne in the blogosphere.

Like lots of things, if you don’t enjoy it to some degree, don’t do it. Unless someone’s holding a gun to your head, just don’t blog.

Blogs are great for marketing other sites and I plan to do that for my safety and security web site. My products save lifes and I want people to know how to stay safer even if they don’t have one of them so until I set up a blog, I exercise my blogging skills on my forum.

Thanks, Jason, for this great article.