Over the last few weeks, I seem to find myself spending about an hour a day researching offline blogging tools (more about that soon), blog catalogs, RSS services, widgets etc...
Some of this is for the revived My Thermos and some is to keep myself informed on trends and services. I am starting to get more and more clients who are inquiring about blogging so this exercise is really helping me be more prepared with real usage examples and experience to be able to assist them.
So in my travels, I am looking at a log of blogs. I've already mentioned the blogs that are overloaded with bling. You know the ones. Hundreds of flashing banners pointing to and from various places hoping to raise a page rank or get a reciprolink. Whoring just about anything in the hopes it leads to a digg.
You can almost see the desperation in these blogs. Every widget is the one that is going to lead them to fame and fortune. Every inch of real estate is covered with something that could bring them traffic or money. And somewhere in the middle of all of this is content - maybe (I honestly don't know - I don't even bother to read most of them that look like this)
I know that blogging has turned into a business for some, and that monetizing a blog can yield financial rewards. I guess I understand that. If my little site gets to the point where I can make a little something-something, that won't be a bad thing and I would be lying if I said I would turn it down. It isn't my motivation though and I don't understand why some let that desire overpower their message by littering their pages with ads and other stuff - at the expense of their content.
Anyway - this all came up again after Phil over at ThoughtSparks wrote a great post the other day about the "value" of his blog and how he figures it a bit differently than the folks at Technorati. I think his take on it is just perfect - blog because you love it. Blog because you have something to share. Blog because you meet great people who have similar interests.
That is the value - That is the reward.
SB
By the way - according to Technorati - my blog is worth $1,129.08.
Do I have to claim this on my taxes?
