We Are Not Alone - A Quick Link Re: Monetizing Blogs
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Hey all. I was reading through my Google Blog Reader and I read a post from a recently added blog to my list called Dad Gone Mad. I found it through a very irreverant "Diaper Diary" or whatever they call parenting blogs. I go for the irreverance and not the kid stuff, since wifey Kim and I are a family of 2, but I found a recent post very interesting.
The author at Dad Gone Mad is at the SXSW thingee in Texas, as part of a panel regarding monetizing parenting blogs. It's very similar to the issue facing poker bloggers, and I would bet, any blogger out there that has a modicum of success and a topic that appeals to advertisers or a niche group. Whatever the case, here is the long quote that sounded like an echo to the feelings surrounding the monetization and privatization of poker blogs, and the poker blogging community in general (with bold text for parts I thought particularly related to our motley crew:
"What really struck me about being with other parenting writers is the sense of unity we share almost automatically. Because only one of us relies upon blog income to sustain our lifestyles, we are able to avoid the trap of taking ourselves too seriously and believing that every entry we write about potty training or Elmo is powerful enough to change the world. Still, there are “issues” to confront when you invest so much of yourself in a pursuit like this. How can we take advantage of our hard work and good fortune without alienating our readers, who made us what we are, and our passion for the work? Is snagging a paying blog gig worth sacrificing the control of our own writing pace and content and self-satisfaction? There was even discussion about the exceptionally low number of dad sites (in comparison to moms’) and why that disparity exists."
The LINK
Well, I don't have all the answers, but it is interesting to see others asking the same questions in a different field of blogging. I won't offer any suggestions either, as some bloggers can smoothly transition to a new location without any harm. The only thing I will say definitively is that I don't think there is anything wrong with making money from your blog, although I personally want to strike a balance between that and staying true to my readers. But you feel free to do what you want. After all, we aren't curing cancer. We are writing about donkeys and check-raising.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 4:29 PM,
1 Comments:
-
At 10:20 AM,
TripJax said...
-
I'm actually halfway through writing a post about a check-raising donkey who cured cancer.
Prophetic, good sir.
I might have to add dad gone mad to my list of reads since I think I qualify...
