More on blogging as a career

Guardian Unlimited posted an article yesterday titled "Posting for Profit".  As you may imagine, the subject matter of this article is making a living (or at least some money) from blogging.  The article covers events such as Eason Jordan’s recent resignation as CNN’s News Chief to the players in the blogosphere.  It makes for very interesting reading.  Here is an excerpt:

Weblogs, usually a
parade of the author’s private peccadilloes, have been hailed as a
phenomenon by a host of supporters. Many claim they are the web’s coup
de grace, the heart of a personal publishing revolution to rival
desktop publishing or the appearance of the first printing presses.

For
all the hyperbole, the heart of the weblog movement has always been
driven by amateurism – hobbyist pundits voicing their passions or
wannabe writers giving us a window into their world. There are now
millions of bloggers creating a network of interesting voices. Despite
the grassroots "free" ideology, the hype has expanded further ever
since it became clear that some people were making money out of the
medium.

ProBlogger, Darren Rowse, has written quite a bit on this topic.  His latest installments on this topic are titled "More on making a living off of AdSense" and "Earning a six figure income from blogging?".

 

That later post addressed a statement he made a little while ago about how he expects to earn a "six figure income" in dollar terms from his blogging this year.  I know that a six figure income in dollar terms would roughly double my current salary as an attorney.  That would definitely work for me.  This statement, which he made in an interview with Susannah Gardener a few days ago, has caused considerable debate.  Why the debate?  Well that is what I asked myself when I first read the post.  It turns out that there are many people who object to people making a profit off their blogs.  It seems that these people believe that the open spirit of the Web is tarnished by people who profit from their blogs, or something along those lines.

To those that are angry – I am sorry that you are offended by me earning money from blogging. A guy has to support his family somehow and I figure it might as well be by helping people on the net by providing them with the information that they are searching for.

For my part, I agree with Rowse.  This argument (if I have understood it correctly) is similar to the debate surrounding payment for services rendered by alternative and complemetary healers and spiritual teachers.  Sure the work is done in service to the people who receive it but those practitioners and teachers still need to make a living.  And what is wrong with making a good living?

What I appreciate most, as a newbie blogger myself, is what Rowse has to say to those who would like some help and guidance achieving what Rowse has achieved:

To those that want help to do what I do- sure thing – I’d love to help. I’d suggest the first port of call is to take a few hours to wander through the archives of this site. Virtually everything I’ve learnt is here for free. Yes I am open to doing some consulting work to help people but I’d recommend you start with the free stuff that I offer here on this blog. If after you’ve had a read you would still like to engage me for some coaching or consultation I’d be more than happy to do that. I do charge for this service.

I have certainly learned a fair amount already, just reading Rowse’s ProBlogger blog from time to time.  I believe that, if anything, this approach is more in keeping with the spirit of the Web than anything else.