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| BREAKING NEWS: Blogs Don't Make Alot of Money | |
| 2004-09-13 | |
| EFL Bloggers at this summer's political conventions brought heightened visibility to blogging, but the money, for most bloggers, is still missing. If you think those Web journals of opinions and obsessions are a way to get rich, consider Jeff Soyer, a self-described "gay gun nut" in Vermont. I'd rather not. Oh, what the hey. Soyer, who runs the journal Alphecca.com, pleaded for donations last month alongside an image of a tip jar topped by gun-toting cartoon character Yosemite Sam. "Ten bucks buys a box of bullets or feeds my cats for a week," he wrote on the blog. Days passed and he received nothing. "By next week this domain could belong to a porno site," he subsequently posted. "Maybe you folks think that would be a better thing. I'm starting to think so, too." Only after other bloggers linked to his request did he receive enough donations to pay the $117 for a domain name and a year of Web hosting fees. He's not the only blogger not getting rich. This is a news flash, according to AP. "There's a very tiny percentage of people who are making anywhere close to a living from blogs," said Sreenath Sreenivasan, professor of new media at Columbia University. Andrew Sullivan, former editor of The New Republic, has a high-profile blog that takes American Express and PayPal payments and posts an address for checks or money orders. Bloggers point to Sullivan as the blogger most likely to be succeeding. No, he's the only LLL that's succeeding. But Sullivan said in an e-mail he makes his living through freelance writing and speaking. "I've managed to pay all my expenses and an intern and give myself a minuscule salary, thanks to the generosity of my readers," he wrote. "I couldn't live off the blog alone, and I see no prospect of that happening in the near future, despite having one of the biggest audiences." The money that is in blogland goes to only a few. The usual Dummycrap zero-sum explanation of economics, which is 100% wrong. Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and "The Manchurian Candidate" movie remake have advertised on a handful of blogs. Nike hired blog company Gawker Media to produce a three-week blog this summer. Must have missed that one. What do they think of the terror wars? Henry Copeland, owner of blogAds.com, said some of the bloggers he represents make $120,000 a year from ads - though he won't say how many - and that "dozens" make $1,000 a month. His clients include Glenn Reynolds, a law professor who writes a popular conservative blog called Instapundit.com, and Tucker Max, whose site features his own drunken exploits. Can't mention Reynolds without counterbalancing with the "drunken exploits" of some other guy. Conservatives, drunks, same difference. The two are equal, you see. A handful of organizations have added paid bloggers to their staffs. Among the bloggers is 19-year-old Towson University student Brian Stelter, whose TVNewser.com blog about the television news business was bought this year by Mediabistro.com, a Web site that posts events and job listings for journalists. The money is "good, for a college student," said Stelter, who recently broke a story about MSNBC airing incorrect information from a satirical Web site. "It pays my tuition. For a living, it wouldn't work. I'm hoping I won't be blogging forever. I'm hoping to go into journalism, not blogging." Hello? McFly? You are PAID to blog. You ARE a paid journalist. Some people have no clue. Meh. There is more if you care to read it.
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| Posted by:Chris W. |
| #16 I donated lol hope that helps, And I stand for what "Rantburg" Means So If U Believe and rant then contribute May be blogs might get powerful if enough like minded people take a stand from the pocketbook of empowerment.. not saying that posting to blogs is empowerment but it shore feels good |
| Posted by: SCpatriot 2004-09-13 10:56:35 PM |
| #15 I'd be happy to do it - a lot of people tell me I've got a face meant for radio |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-13 10:55:48 PM |
| #14 I've been thinking that Rantburg might have a future in other media, though. The bloggers at the Northern Alliance have expanded into occasional radio shows. I've been meaning to suggest that I think Fred and the rest of the editorial staff, plus some of the frequent posters around here (OldSpook, for instance, although if I started a longer list I'd be here a while) could do the same. I think it would be a hell of a lot more interesting and informative than Steve Quayle and company. Then again, I'm not suggesting this as something to be done more than once or twice a month. This would be a show more for analysis than breaking news. What do y'all think? |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-09-13 10:51:33 PM |
| #13 Chris, I think you may be a bit doomed on this one. Bloggers don't pull their punches, making their posts too dangerous to take in-house if you're a corporate pogue. If some company did buy you out, they'd have to institute content control, thus killing the material. Though I suppose they could just hang Rantburg off to the side of their portal, a kind of semi-supervised playground like Slate's Fray. Still loses something in the translation, I think. |
| Posted by: Mister Write 2004-09-13 9:26:36 PM |
| #12 Okay, I'll take $1,000 a month each from the Saudis and Iranians to not post comments about my strong desire to use nukes in the region, and I'll give half to Fred. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-09-13 9:21:18 PM |
| #11 My thought for the day is; Perhaps the most important issue that the MSM fails to understand is"People ie. bloggers and commenters have the arrogance to publish their own thoughts, observations, and conclusions outside of the money stream which supports the old guard". |
| Posted by: dorf 2004-09-13 9:19:00 PM |
| #10 I suppose the Saudis would pay up big time for NOT posting...LOL |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-09-13 9:11:27 PM |
| #9 pay me (and the editors) fat salaries Ready, willing and able. Well, ready and willing at any rate. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-09-13 4:05:13 PM |
| #8 If you want to make a small fortune on Rantburg, start with a big one. Heh heh. People do not realize that weblogs are a work of dedication by their owners. I think that the neat thing is that people hit paypal and keep the RB site operational without being told. It is almost a financially self maintaining unit. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-09-13 3:12:54 PM |
| #7 Blogs Don’t Make Alot of Money Other than Glenn and Sully. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-09-13 2:51:53 PM |
| #6 Who here would pay for links to snippets of expert, informed opinion? Who would provide same if he could be paid small sums for same? Am thinking of an online info exchange in which price of info is determined by a market of bloggers who scan abstracts of the info and credentials offered by a universe of experts providing info on (florida election law)(proportional spacing)(dan rather's daughter's political activities in Austin TX)(the situation in Fallujah)etc etc. The goal is to link media sources of info with the bloggosphere's experts and to use the price mechanism to assign value to the info/opinions/expertise on offer. For ex, take Charles J of LGF's remarks re the fonts, superscript etc: He would "offer" this to the exchange rather than LGF with an opening offer price of, say, $1,000. Publishers of all kinds-- AP or CBS or whoever (Rantburg?? Rove? WKRP in Cincinatti, whoever) could come to the exchange, check out a two-line abstract containing the subject matter, the causal argument, and Charles' relevant credentials. Publishers would then "bid" for access to the full info and to the provider's contact info, and the iterative process of bid/ask would eventually result in a fair market price. Scams would be minimized by forcing all the "experts" offering info to disclose their credentials, emails, phone numbers to prospective buyers of the info prior to settlement of the trade, which would be announced to all participants as "Pending." If other prospective buyers see lots of "Pending" trades that fail to settle, they will likely conclude that the offerors' credentials and/or info is bogus, and the price of his proffered info will sink faster than Kmart. Settlement would be by pay pal and transfer would consist of the full link, plus Charles J's contact info, being provided to the buyer. Any thoughts from Rantburgers are welcome-- email me. -TPM |
| Posted by: lex 2004-09-13 2:23:31 PM |
| #5 I've read your comment, Fred, and, given my vast journalistic experience, I believe there is an oportunity for us to work together. As I will soon have additional time to devote to informing the public, I am seeking new venues from which to utilize my talents, and I can think of no better place to do so than Rantburg. Therefore, I am interested in acquiring Rantburg for a very attractive price. I can assure you that all discussions will remain confidential. I have never betrayed a confidential source. |
| Posted by: Dan Rather 2004-09-13 2:03:58 PM |
| #4 I'd always wanted to ask the questions you just answered, but I hate dealing with ticky tacky matters like money. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-13 1:46:07 PM |
| #3 the problem with the blogosphere is that we do this stuff for FUN! Bwaahhaaaa! Read it and weep - LSM. Off to hit Fred's tip jar. I'm long overdue. |
| Posted by: Anonymous6417 2004-09-13 12:07:14 PM |
| #2 I'm reading this and wondering if the author has ever conceived of people having hobbies. You know, like plastic model airplanes or something? |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-09-13 12:02:46 PM |
| #1 I've had only one offer to buy Rantburg, from a company in the UAE. They wanted to "incorporate it into their web portal." Interesting. For some reason I interpret that to mean "make it go away". |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-09-13 12:01:21 PM |