Interesting Content

With the economy in the tank -- despite the headlines, it's NOT getting better* -- there are lots of hucksters afoot trying to sell people on the idea that you can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle by becoming a professional blogger! Yes, from the comfort of your own home, you can sit in your birthday suit tapping on your keyboard and live a life of leisure. To learn the secrets will only cost you x amount of dollars!

This same kind of sham gets trotted out every few years only in a different guise. When I was a wee lad the advertisements were for stuffing envelopes -- never figured out how stuffing envelopes could lead to a life of leisure! Another recent gambit has to do with writing internet reviews and there are countless more strategies.

Look, I'm certainly not suggesting that some people don't earn a living from blogging. If you have a blog with tens or hundreds of thousands of readers and you sell things, run ads and/or have a "donate" button on your site, you will probably pocket a pretty penny. But the number of folks who can earn enough to quit their day job probably is about the same as all the fellows and gals who play college sports who go on to become professional athletes (i.e., very, very small).

I signed up on an e-list for one of these outfits just to see the kind of garbage being peddled. It's really snazzy garbage, but it's still garbage nonetheless!

One of the "tips" I learned recently was that it is important to write about subjects that are popular. Folks should do web searches to find out what everybody else is talking about and then you should write posts on those topics. Hmm. Maybe I should be writing about Paris Hilton, Michael Jackson's death or what really killed Billy Mays...NOT!

I don't care what these self-anointed gurus say, I write about what's interesting to me and I read on your blogs what's interesting to you. I'd much rather read about an arcane topic that someone is passionate about than a popular topic that's being written solely to increase blog traffic.

Heck, if I wanted a super popular blog, I certainly wouldn't have chosen to focus on philosophical Taoism! Most Americans have no idea what Taoism is or it entails. However, Taoism is something I'm passionate about and so that's what I write about. If you don't share this passion or interest, you don't have to read my blathering. It's as simple as that.

Another important "tip" is only to write blog posts that include helpful information for your readers -- stuff they can use or apply in their lives. I still haven't figured out what this tip means because, from my perspective, important information can be gleaned from almost any blog posts. It all depends upon the person doing the reading.

Of course, when these self-styled gurus push helpful information what they really mean is products (often their own) and mindless lists. As I've written in this space before, I'm not a big fan of self-help lists, so don't expect to see any here anytime soon.

I guess this means I will forever be a non-professional blogger. I'm certainly not saying it wouldn't be nice to draw some income from a blog, but, if a person's whole focus is on making money, then that person's passion is in the wrong place.

* Read Maryrose Asher's great column in this week's Greener Times, "Pollyanna Creep in Latest Job Report from Department of Labor". Teaser -- Current unemployment rate is REALLY around 16%!