Blogging: In Praise of Small

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My thoughts around this were solidified recently as I attended Gnomedex, a Seattle conference focusing on technology and the tech culture, where I was asked to give a keynote; I also got some valuable insights from Chris Alden, CEO of Six Apart, maker of the tools that power millions of blogs.

Three Types of Bloggers

I was reminded that there's no unifying sense of angst in the blogosphere because, of course, the blogosphere is not a monolith. Bloggers come in all shapes and sizes, but for purposes of this column, there are at least three main types. First, there are the professional bloggers; increasingly, they blog for money, even if they didn't start out that way. There are also the amateur bloggers, who blog for the love of it. Then there are the early adopters; they began blogging because they were fascinated by the platform.

Some professional bloggers have turned into the very media companies they used to rail against, and they miss blogging for the love of it. Many amateur bloggers feel like the professional bloggers have sold out—though they would love to blog full-time, too, if only they could figure out how to make a living from it.

As for the early adopters—a lot of them don't even blog anymore. Right now, they're all about Twitter and Friendfeed and probably will switch to the next communication medium that catches their eye.

Each of these subgroups has something to teach the rest of us. Let's start with the early adopters. To their credit, they're unafraid to embrace new technology and throw themselves into the latest thing. They started blogging in the early 2000s, and when they grew tired of it they took the blogging ethos over to new microblog formats. The lesson? Shorter, more interactive microblogs are a great way to push one's voice further into the Internet world, sparking conversation and luring readers—kind of like in the early days of blogging.

A Page from the Pros

What about the blogosphere's A-list? The rest of us don't have to aspire to build media companies à la TechCrunch or GigaOm, but we can certainly take a page from the pros. Even small-time bloggers can monetize thought-leadership developed through blogging—by consulting or speaking or even negotiating a raise if they're seen as a public face for the company. My hunch is many of the amateurs are already making these moves, whether it's conscious or not.

Finally, even the biggest bloggers can learn from amateurs and reconnect with their roots—doing what they love.

And whatever you do, don't cheapen content to maximize the number of posts or page views, Alden says. Establish a voice as a respected thought leader first, he says. "We're trying to develop a model that doesn't focus on selling blogs like pork bellies, but trying to successfully match advertisers to bloggers," Alden says. "As we do our jobs and others do their jobs, you are going to see the economics getting a lot better. Believe me—there is a huge opportunity in trying to more effectively monetize a blog."

But it won't happen until bloggers draw a line in the sand on page views and invest in their content, not link-baiting, page-view goosing. Only then will they build something of enough value that will force advertisers to think of the medium as not just a place to advertise—but a place to pay a premium. Until that happens, I'm not selling my insights on the cheap. I'm focused on building a site people want to read and one I want to write.

Lacy has been a business reporter for 10 years, most recently coverhas been a business reporter for 10 years and is currently writing a book on global entrepreneurship. Her first book, Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0, was published by Gotham Books in May 2008. She also blogs for TechCrunch.