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9 CommentsThe NYT article is making the rounds about bloggers stressing out and dying.
There are some things that are over-exaggerated to me. For example:
Speed can be of the essence. If a blogger is beaten by a millisecond, someone else’s post on the subject will bring in the audience, the links and the bigger share of the ad revenue.
Yes, that millisecond makes all the difference. o_O How often have you seen a story several days old make the front page of Digg? I do realize that being first to break a story in some niches provides an edge for traffic but to imply there aren't opportunities to gain traffic without being first to break the story is ridiculous.
Here is another one:
The pressure even gets to those who work for themselves — and are being well-compensated for it.
“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”
“This is not sustainable,” he said.
He makes millions from that site. Get an office and get the employees out of the house. The money is there to purchase a couple of exercise machines. A friend of mine jogs while he surfs the net. The money is also there to hire the employees to work around the clock (in different countries) to get those stories to give people a break. To avoid the argument of who broke the story: have Arrington post the entry. I could see that scenario for anyone trying to complete with Arrington (or even worse Engadget) but for Arrington himself? Fix the situation, the funds are available.
Personally, I've never been one to care about "breaking" a story and I do realize if a site is reporting the news getting the connections to get those stories (and getting them published) can be challenged. Is it worth my health? I don't think so.
Do you guys agree with the article? Think it is worth it, even if you love it (which I guess would put a different spin on it, wouldn't it)?
Kamigoroshi
Written Apr. 7, 2008 / Report /
I do agree...at least looking at the after effects of the small time pro-blogging. There are people who still think that there is money to be earned from constant posts for the sake of getting there first with keywords for their ad-swarmed posts. These are the sort of people that litter the bulk of the blogging world.
Never underestimate the pull of the promise of easy money. Not until they realize it's actually hard work that they back off.
Money can always be earned through other means on the net. Of course I'm all out of ideas here cause it's not my territory. I'll stick with my day job than playing midnight mad writer.
Mike
Written Apr. 7, 2008 / Report /
Having a solid balance is key, and if it means you're "beaten" on an exclusive a few times then it's totally worth it. Feeling completely stressed out at all times and not spending time with your family is the route to an unfulfilling life. The same holds true for all professions, not just blogging.
shadowsun7
Written Apr. 7, 2008 / Report /
This only applies to blogs that 'break' news stories. The people behind blogs like Airbag or ideasonideas won't face the problems Scoble faces ... these guys only post when they've something of worth to say, and their writing is long-term, quality content.
shadowsun7
Written Apr. 7, 2008 / Report /
PS: 'break' is a relative word here, considering these guys are essentially reposting stuff. And, really now, does post frequency matter in this day and age?
Tyme
Written Apr. 7, 2008 / Report /
Actually this applies to any site owner trying to compete with a larger company/blog/site etc. As an example, I used to have a gaming community. I used to get a gold copy of the game before the average person got their hands on the retail copy. When the game hit retail, my review was up, so were a bunch of screens and perhaps an interview. Depending on how long I had the game in advance a couple of strategies might be up as well. Obviously I wasn't the only one with this privilege. The sites with gold copies were competing with each other on what was written, screens displayed, etc. because unless something went wrong, we were all posting our stuff within the same time span.
If a gaming enthusiast (someone trying to break into gaming), wants in on that first week "buzz" and traffic surrounding a game, he or she has to work hard because the person doesn't have the advantage. While people with the gold copy could have potentially finished the game, the gaming enthusiast just got theirs. Until he or she scaled the odds of breaking a story is slim. The focus for that person is just trying to stay afloat and those people are the ones I have sympathy for because it is truly hard work that takes consistent dedication.
Scrivs
Written Apr. 7, 2008 / Report /
The problem is people try to compete on the same level with sites that have more resources. If you are a tech blog, trying to break stories against Engadget or Gizmodo is mostly pointless. Work different angles, build up your audience until you can build up the resources and reputation to be able to break stories. Those two sites have the size now where major companies go to them to break stories, nothing to fight against that.
With regards to TC, I can't recall anything major breaking there that set the world on fire so to be honest any stress caused is his own undoing. People are going to go there for the analysis anyways so he has every right to delay.
A perfect example is The Superficial. Fish never breaks a story and many times comes a day later than the rest of the world yet has one of the most popular gossip blogs on the net.
If you are a blogger and your blog is so stressful on your life that it ruins the quality of it, get a new job.
cooper
Written Apr. 8, 2008 / Report /
The article dealt with teach or web 2.0 people so I wouldn't have a clue.
I would guess that no matter what career those particular people had chosen they would be stressed. Plenty of non blogger people keel over daily from their jobs, gain weight due to stress, and so on.
estarla
Written Apr. 8, 2008 / Report /
Wait. You mean making millions of dollars from blogging isn't easy?
shadowsun7
Written Apr. 8, 2008 / Report /
Oh, estarla you crack me up.
Tyme, what I'm trying to say is that this stress applies only to bloggers who have those kind of 'break stories compete with big sites (like Scrivs points out)' models ... others that write non-time-specific content do perfectly fine.
Though I suppose it helps to exercise once in a while ...