Thu, Nov 18 2004

They'll Get You And Your Little Blog Too

Well, maybe not. After all the talk about blogs not being real journalism, it seems that the monster media companies are beginning to see the possibilities in these little gems. Some companies are even beginning to buy blogs.

The internet has given easy access to people who might never have been hired to participate in traditional media. Many writers have gotten attention they could never have gotten by sending queries to overworked editors. In recent years many publishing companies have begun to accept manuscripts only from agents. So writers have found themselves pitching not only to editors, but to agents, in an effort to get their words into print. Now writers have figured out that they can simply bypass a lot of these barriers by getting online and uploading their work for all to see.

The problem with big media buying up blogs from all the many hard-working bloggers is the mistaken idea that this will make everyone richer and happier. But it's the minds behind blogs that make them a worthwhile investment. Media buyers may be able to corner the market on popular blog names, but that still won't give them the original voice and talent of the minds that created the blogs and maintained a faithful readership. If bloggers start seeing dollar signs and start selling their blogs, they might get richer, in dollars, but they won't necessarily get the satisfaction of being recognized as writers. So I hope they don't rush to sell out too soon. And I hope the major media companies wise up to the real genius behind blogs and start paying writers for good work instead of just trying to buy their blog names.

posted at: 09:20 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry