Writers Find Blogging To Be a Stressful Method of Reporting

Andrew Feinberg points out a New York Times story about the stress put upon prolific bloggers to maintain a constant flow of content in order to satisfy both consumers and advertisers in the information age. When breaking a story first can generate thousands more page views and clicks, many bloggers are finding themselves chained to their computers, worrying that they'll miss something important if they step away. Quoting: " '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."

Comments

I wrote a poem about this once

[bigsmoke]

I once wrote a rhyme about this. Maybe you'll like it: http://www.bigsmoke.us/bloggers-block/

Also in the News

[eldavojohn]

Writers Find Blogging To Be a Stressful Method of Reporting Readers Find Blogging To Be Most Ridiculous Form of Reporting News Yet

Seriously, does anyone get their 'news' from blogs? Granted they can be interesting and helpful, they are often written with no editing and read more like "On the Road" than The New York Times.

Congratulations on developing income through traffic but it pains me to see people use this as a way to stay informed.

If you never leave your basement you're not reporting, you're aggregating or spinning.

Re:Also in the News

[value_added]

Seriously, does anyone get their 'news' from blogs?

I'm sure a small minority do (in the same way that some get their news from the John Stewart Show), but the real question is why those chanting Old Media is Dead haven't yet noticed that news comes from, and will continue to come from professional reporters. You know, the folks that took the time to study journalism and are typically employed by newspapers, news organisations, and a dwindling number of media companies that can still afford them?

Granted they can be interesting and helpful ...

Indeed. They do have a contribution to make, but usually that's in the form of commentary, added background or trivia, or even some personal insight. At their best they also provide links to some authoritive reporting, and at worst, incestuous links to other blogs.

Bloggers complaining about stress should visit a real news room. They might discover that the act of reporting (or the writing part of it) is a lot harder than sitting in a Starbucks with a Mac waxing poetic while contemplating current events.

Bloggers need better technology

[elucido]

Bloggers need both better technologies and better business models so that people can make a decent income blogging. It's a decent career but there's just not enough money in it yet to make it worth the pain and stress. We need alternative business models to increase the value of the blogsphere. Anyone got ideas?

You're going alone?

[Aaron_Pike]

Could it be that blogging is not a solo sport?

Re:Reminds me of Maddox

[PlatyPaul]

Yeah, I know you were being funny (and linking to Maddox which, for the record, is a practice I wholly support), but there's truth to what you're saying.

When you can see the news any moment, you expect the news every moment. When people read newspapers primarily, it was considered acceptable to not be up-to-date until the next day. Then came radio, then TV news, then internet news sites (with full-length articles), then blogs. Now, microblog services like Twitter are pushing the boundaries of what we consider "up-to-date". When 9-11 happened, I knew people who didn't found out until late afternoon. If the same happened today, it would be a shock if someone hadn't heard within the hour.

I'm not surprised that it's exhausting to be a news blogger; it's hard enough just being a paper reporter. But, then again: those who love to do it will continue to do it.

Re:Telecommuting is good for business, and us.

[tomhudson]

Just one minor nit to pick:

Getting dressed up to go to work should be a thing of the past.

Part of the problem with many people working from home is it "doesn't feel like work", so they slack off. They work in their kitchen instead of a dedicated room / home office. They use the same computer for work and fun. They slack off on their personal appearance. Etc. Etc.

Getting dressed instead of sitting in your undies is part of the mental preparation for "Now I'm going to work!" I don't know how many times, when I was working from home, people would call and assume that I had all this "free time". I'd usually let them talk for a minute or two, but if it went longer, I'd tell them to call me at night - I'm working and don't want to "lose the momentum | thought | zone | whatever".

They'd be miffed the first few times.

Re:You're a naive idealist.

[esper]

I want my time to be worth the absolute maximum amount of money possible. I value my time, and I love my life, and I don't want to waste my time and my life making somebody else rich.

I'm with you so far...

I want to make myself rich. ...but we diverge here.

I want my time to be worth as much as possible not so I can be rich, but so I can live comfortably while selling as little of my time as possible because "I value my time... and I don't want to waste my time and my life".

Given the opportunity to work as much as I like at $2500/day (and, yes, I have worked at that rate, though not consistently), I would prefer to work 40 days/year and make $100k rather than 5 days/week every week to get the $650k or so that works out to. I can live more than comfortably on $100k, including plenty of room for saving for leaner times, so why waste my time and my life to build up a pile of cash that I have no actual use for?

Re:No, you are wrong about that, money talks

[jollyreaper]

Congratulations, we've finally identified that professions with high barriers to entry (intelligence, schooling, well placed parents, etc.) make higher salaries. Blogging requires, um, a keyboard and an ability to type. Oh, sure, there are probably PhDs out there blogging. Okay, okay, I'm kidding - I sincerely doubt it - unless they were useless in their fields to begin with. Yeah, and all painters require is some oils and canvas, anyone can paint, right? Heh. There's a world of difference between what I could make pushing paint across a canvas vs. someone who knows what he's doing. The same goes for writing. There's low financial barriers to entry but there's a huge barrier when it comes to your chops. Stand-up comedians don't even need a keyboard, the microphone is provided by the house. Think anyone can do it and make money at it? Heh, think again. You have to be really, really funny to make it in that business, or be Jerry Seinfeld. (Yes, I said it, I don't think he's funny. Watch the rest of the world disagree with me.)

Re:Reminds me of Maddox

[electrictroy]

That's my plan. Earn a million, and then slow down and retire (still work, but only part-time).

If the blogger in the original article doesn't enjoy his life, then he needs to step back and re-examine if it's a life worth living. If the answer is "no" then he should limit himself to just once-a-day updates to reduce the stress, or else quit and find a different job.

Personally I'd rather work at a "cushy" job like Walmart than be a Blogger. May not pay much, but it's far less stressful. (Only reason I'm not at walmart now is because my office job is just as easy, but pays five times as much.)