b5media

June 10th,2007

Want To Be a Problogger? Check Out the NYT

By Mark

If you’re at all curious about whether it’s possible to blog for a living, the New York Times has a story in today’s edition about it.

Barbara Whitaker, who writes the Fresh Starts column, quickly concludes that “while running a Web log is a skill that more and more employers seek in their employees, finding full-time work in that world is still unusual.”

Nevertheless, the article provides several examples of people who are doing well by blogging for a living.

Our very own, Jeremy Wright, is quoted in the NYT story that one of b5media’s entertainment writers/editors, for example, is doing extremely well financially. Jeremy said although most b5media bloggers make a $100 to $250 a month, the real money is to be had from traffic bonuses.

Of course, blogging offers plenty of great benefits other than money. For most people, blogging is simply an excellent way to demonstrate their passion about a particular topic, and share that passion with the rest of the world.

In a professional setting, blogs can provide an effective way to build your brand within a company or industry. They can also be used to create a new kind of “online resume” to demonstrate your industry knowledge. And if you want to really boil it down; blogs are just lots of fun!

Paul Forster, CEO with Indeed.com, which runs a job board, said while opportunities to be a full-time blog writer may still not be a common, “there’s almost an ecosystem of jobs that have emerged around blogs. It’s an emerging area where there are many more opportunities related to the blog rather than being a dedicated blog writer.”