contentious.com

An emerging field that should interest writers and editors is professional blogging – that is, creating and writing blogs for organizations, as an editorial service. Or, that can mean finding a viable revenue stream for a weblog, such as advertising or sponsorship.

All kinds of organizations (from independent consultants to major corporations and nonprofits) are realizing the value of blogging. Lately I’ve found many interesting items about this field…

TOP OF THIS LIST: The saga of Jeremy C. Wright, author of the popular weblog Ensight. This enterprising blogger made a splash in late 2004 by auctioning off 3 months of his blogging services on eBay. The winning bid was $3,350. (Wright did get in a little trouble with eBay over the auction, which blogger who are contemplating a similar strategy should keep in mind.)

Anyway, Wright immediately founded the blog consultancy Inside Blogging with blogger Darren Barefoot (who also auctioned his services on eBay, winning bid $2025).

Wright gave notice at his full-time job. In early January, he was stunned when he was summarily fired for blogging. The offending posting was a year old and pretty damn mild. But that’s how it goes sometimes. anyway, plenty of food for thought on many aspects of professional blogging. Oh, and on Jan. 9, Cory Doctorow published a list of companies that have fired people for blogging.

Read the rest of this list…

1. Blogger Jobs: This is a great resource. It’s a blog that lists “Jobs Posted By Bloggers or Jobs For Bloggers.”
2. Blogs and Money, by Paul Chaney, Radiant Marketing Group, Dec. 9, 2004. This article discusses a controversial advertising program offered by Marqui: The Blogosphere Program. (More coverage in Internet News.) Chaney observes, “Though some blog purists see this as blatant bastardizing of the very reason blogs even exist, I see it as another step in the evolution of blogs as business and marketing tools.” I agree. As long as there is transparency in this process, I don’t personally have a problem with it.
3. The Risk of Blogging a Scoop, by Darren Rowse, Problogger, Jan. 9. A bit of aftermath here: The chilling effect of lawsuits, acutal or threatened. Excerpt: “Apple’s recent decision to sue fan site Think Secret for publishing rumors (which look like they were too close to home) about an upcoming Apple product got me thinking this week about where I as a blogger who rights about technology would stand with regards to publishing such information.” (Thanks to Tris Hussey for this link.)
4. Again, Blog Advertising Isn’t Evil, by Jeremy Wright, Ensight, Oct. 28. 2004. I agree with Jeremy on this. I don’t think the pay-per-link model is inherently evil as long as it is completely transparent. As long as readers know what they’re getting, why should this be a problem? Of course, bloggers who accept this funding model might indeed alter their perceived independence and credibility. But that’s their choice – and the change may be positive or negative depending on the blog, blogger, and target audience.
5. About True Voice and the 20 Questions, Dec. 13, 2004. From the developers of Corante’s True Voice seminars: “A list of 20 core questions around the business of blogging.” The responses are in the comments. Very interesting!
6. Burst! Media Sells Advertising on Blogs and Bacon’s to Track Blogs, by Amanda Watlington, Portals and KM, Jan. 6. Excerpt: “The announcement that Burst! Media has started to sell advertising on blogs combined with Bacon’s Information notice that they will begin monitoring the most reputable online news blogs are further evidence that the camel of commercialism has slid not only its nose under the blog tent but has shimmied most of the way in.”
7. CEO blogs don’t have to be stiff. Check out Fastlane, a new blog written by GM executives, including CEO Bob Lutz. It’s a great example of what’s possible if companies decide to get a little human. (Thanks to Suw Charman for this link.)