Death by blogging
Real estate blogging tends to be a low key part time endeavor. On the other hand, professional blogging has become an obsessive pursuit for media fame. Bloggers realize they can essentially replace traditional online media sources by demonstrating their first to press advantage, and by doing so can reap the rewards of building an online media property (or empire). The New York Times reports on this obsessiveness to 24-by-7 reporting today by citing the deaths of two well known tech bloggers and the heart attack of a third over the past four months.
The point here is the reason why many are blogging until they drop... the new media is a wide open frontier for entrepreneurial blogs wanting to "make it". The obsessiveness to first to press isn't apparent in the real estate blogosphere... note the many articles about Zillow mortgages chronicled by Zillow's Drew Meyers... news interpretation seems to be the first priority over getting an article up one minute after embargo ends.“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”
“This is not sustainable,” he said.
Related article: Blogging collides with journalism
if fully self-invested in the work, any work can be dangerous. it is simply one of the most modern...
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http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/
is an example of a blog where intelligent comment, not motivated by advertising or career pressures, can shed light on complicated situations. Would be great if transparentre could do more of the same for real estate.
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I've often thought of modeling TRE after Calculated Risk... and realized I just couldn't keep up with breaking economics news. You've given me an idea to possibly try shorter interpretations and posting more articles... thanks for the advice!
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Note also that CR now offers a premium monthly newsletter in addition to the ads they serve - I have no idea how much revenue either generate for the authors, but it's an example of the need to generate more than links and reputation from one's writing.
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The pressure to stay ahead of the rest is always apparent....especially when I wake up and dive into my Google reader every morning.
But most of us have regular day jobs, families, kids, and yes, hobbies other than blogging. Still the pressure does persist and I can only imagine how consumed I would be if I wasn't running a company and a household with 3 kids (Reggie included).
Thanks for opening my eyes to the harsh side effects of blogging. I bet Oprah is putting together an expose as I type this. You are always ahead of the game Pat!!!
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Frankly, when it comes to breaking news, I tend to be the last to respond because I only do the writing after 9:00pm. One nice thing about the real estate blogosphere is the camaraderie of the community (and you Niknik seem to be at the heart of it!)... perhaps because we're all part-timers without a lot of incentive to kill ourselves writing. The only full time, real time industry coverage exists at journalistic endeavors like Inman News, RISMedia, etc., and possibly highly trafficked real estate economics sites like Calculated Risk, Housing Doom.
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Ugh! I don't like being on the list you use for an example with death being in the same conversation!
The key to life is balance. I think Zillow is masterful at marketing and "using bloggers" to get their word out.
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No question it can be exhausting. Even my simple format can suck up an hour a day sometimes with returning email etc. That's not even trying to keep up with the feed reader.
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The first time I had an embargoed press release I think I had my finger positioned on the publish key waiting for the clock to strike 9. By the third it was no big deal.
You also learn that sometimes you are being used and the news isn't really newsworthy at all.
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Hilarious story Ardell, I think everyone has experienced trigger finger! Most of the news isn't a big deal, and I'm usually 2-3 days late in reporting, but that gives me a chance to ruminate, study others' comments, and develop a better analysis.
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See points 8&9 in the Case Against Blogging
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