The Blogging Journalist

San Francisco Chronicle Profiles Federated Media's John Battelle

On December 24, 2007, the San Francisco Chronicle published a profile on Federated Media Publishing's (FMP) John Battelle. See "True believer: John Battelle tries his third media enterprise."

FMP, as staff writer Sam Zuckerman notes, "handles back-office chores - most vitally the sale of advertising, which is the life blood of Internet publishing ventures -" for about 140 bloggers and "online entrepreneurs" so they "can spend their time thinking great thoughts and writing great copy."

On December 19, 2007, Battelle told  PodTech's Robert Scoble that some of his blogging clients make $10,000 a month, with a few making $100,000. FMP gets a 40 percent cut of each client's ad earnings, which is not bad.

Technorati Tags: Federated Media Publishing, John Battelle, San Francisco Chronicle

Is the International Blogosphere the Big Growth Area?

While reading PodTech founder and former Chief Executive Officer John Furrier's December 22, 2007, post headlined "Blognation Editors Will Survive - Tris Joins Jeremy at B5media," I was struck by the following observation:

The blogosphere has been experiencing ’civil war’ lately.  In my opinion this is  ‘growing pains’ due to a huge surge of growth coming.   I believe that the blogosphere is about to break out and grow exponentially in the next 24 months.  International is the big growth area.  The world is flat.  That’s where it’s heading then I wonder what the A-list will look like?

"When I talk about the blogosphere," explains Furrier. "I’m not talking about just content bloggers but I’m talking about infrastructure. Blogging networks are infrastructure based not content based." While I'm not informed enough to debate whether "Blogging networks are infrastructure based not content based," I do believe, as Furrier says, "...that the blogosphere is about to break out and grow exponentially in the next 24 months." I've come across many, well-written blogs on a variety of subjects while traversing the blogosphere.

I'm really impressed with what I see coming out of Europe and Asia. I think that's where we will see a lot growth among folks interested in more than casual blogging and keeping an online journal. Of course I have no concrete evidence, just a hunch.

By the way, the Tris referenced in Furrier's post is Tris Hussey and Jeremy is Jeremy Wright of B5Media.

Technorati Tags: John Furrier, Tris Hussey, Jeremy Wright, B5Media

BlogWorld & New Media Expo Set For November 8-9, 2007

According to PRWEB, "Thousands of bloggers, vloggers and podcasters" are expected "to descend on Las Vegas for BlogWorld & New Media Expo, the world’s first, industry-wide blogging tradeshow" in November 2007.

"The inaugural event, to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center Thursday - Friday, Nov. 8 - 9, 2007, with pre-show seminars Wednesday, Nov. 7, will bring together professional to citizen journalists, entertainment icons, industry pundits, and popular social communities, as well as Internet radio and TV producers and podcasters in the most important assembly of future new media moguls. Registration is now open," PRWEB announced in an August 20, 2007,  press release.

Technorati tags: Blogworld & Media Expo

Scott Karp: 'Should Newspapers Become Local Blog Networks?'

Scott Karp at Publishing 2.0 asks in a July 20, 2007, post:"Should Newspapers Become Local Blog Networks?"

It's a good question. Imagine the screaming and hollering that would probably ensue from so-called "traditional journalists" and so-called "citizen journalists" if newspapers did become blog networks. It would be good to see the two camps go head-to-head and toe-to-toe in this realm. Competition can bring out the best -- and the worse -- in us.

Technorati tags: Scott Karp, Publishing 2.0, Traditional Journalists, Citizen Journalist, Blog Networks

Michael Parsons: 'Successful Blogging is Hard, Dirty Work...'

"Successful blogging is hard, dirty work: it's the hand-to-hand combat of the writing world," contends Michael Parsons, editor of CNET.co.uk, in an article I read in the July 6, 2007, edition of the Times Online. He made the observation in response to Wired [link added] correspondent Fred Vogelstein "excellent" profile of  "Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch, a very successful Silicon Valley [link added] blog about new companies." Vogelstein's article is in the July 2007 issue. Advises Parsons, "once European correspondent for The Red Herring [link added] magazine, according to The Times:

 If you've got a friend who thinks they can make money with their blog, get them to read this piece. Like all people who rise to the top of their profession, it demonstrates a simple truth: good bloggers work like dogs. You can't expect readers to show up unless you show up. And the Internet never closes.

Parsons, who "spent five years working in Silicon Valley and worrying about technology," according to The Times, notes that, "Arrington is at his desk in his house about ten minutes after he wakes up. Then he writes all day. Then he goes out to Silicon Valley parties to schmooze. Then he comes home and does it all day. He reckons he has worked every day for the last two years on his blog. Every successful blogger I've come across is the same. Eat, sleep and drink the work. No time out, to holidays – in Arrington's case, 16 hours a day, seven days a week."

Parson's makes one of the more realistic assessments of problogging I've come across. You can read his post at "Bloggers want my steak baguette."

Technorati tags: Michael Parsons, Times Online, CNET.co.uk, Fred Vogelstein, Michael Arrington, TechCrunch, Sillicon Valley, Red Herring

Would It Matter If a Problogger Left the Blogosphere?

J. Angelo Racoma  at Blog Network Watch asks: "Are Network Bloggers Like Magazine Editors? " The post seems to have been prompted by the b5media Technology Channel Editor Jayvee Fernandez's June 24, 2007, question at A BuggedLife headlined If a network problogger left the blogosphere, would anyone care?

Each bloggers asked a good question and each offers an interesting perspective. As for whether anyone would care if a network problogger  left the blogosphere, I say someone would care. However, the better question is: Would it matter if a problogger left the blogosphere?  I say it won't.  The world won't come to an end.

We bloggers are similar to entertainers. Some of us are good and some of us are bad. Some of us fall in between.  Some of us are professional bloggers or want to be. Some of us have aspirations for stardom and some don't. Some are stars in the blogosphere while most of us blog in obscurity.

Some bloggers such as Robert Scoble, Duncan Riley, Jeff Jarvis, Michael Arrington, Om Malik, Jason Calacanis, Dave Winer, to name a few, are Blog Stars. They  have made reputations an enormous contributions to blogging, blog networks or blogging technology. If they quit blogging tomorrow they will be missed for a while. But over time, new talent will emerge and relegate them to an entry in Wikipedia or a search engine archive. In otherwords, they will be history.  It's the life cycle of anything.

I think the important thing is to make a statement while you can. The above-mentioned (and countless unnamed bloggers) have done that. I always tell bloggers who ask me how to reach the next level to do their best at creating content and keep plugging away with a passion. I also tell them that not every blogger with become famous or a professional in the sense that he or she will make a living at it. However, that doesn't mean one shouldn't try if that's a blogger's aspiration.

However, if a blogger contributes to some of the many conversations that go on in the blogosphere, some future researcher will know you were here. Google will see to that.

Technorati tags: J. Angelo Racoma, Blog Network Watch, b5media, A Bugged Life, Jayvee Fernandez, Robert Scoble, Duncan Riley, Jeff Jarvis, Michael Arrington, Om Malik, Jason Calacanis, Dave Winer

MocoNews.net Has Job Opening For 'Journalist/Reporter'

PaidContent.org founder Rafat Ali announced March 1, 2007, that:

We’re expanding our editorial activities on our mobile content business site MocoNews.net. It is the leading site covering the business of mobile content, focusing developments on content companies (mobile video, music, gaming, among others) operators, handsets companies, technology companies and venture capital and M&A deals in the industries.

Ali said, "The site forms part of ContentNext Media [link added], a rapidly growing news and information media company based in Santa Monica, CA, covering the business of digital media and content."

If you are interested, there's more at "Job Opening: Journalist/Reporter For MocoNews.net."

'The Single Hardest Thing About Running TechCrunch...'

"The single hardest thing about running TechCrunch is simply keeping the site live," proprietor Michael Arrington revealed February 12, 2007, at his Crunchnotes blog. "Some weeks, more hours are spent by various people trying to keep the site up and running than are spent actually writing."

Arrington, an attorney, said, " There are many culprits. First, we have a lot of third party widgets, ads and analytics apps running on the site. They are often the cause for slow load times. FM Publishing, our advertising network, often slows down the site and then other things pile on to crush it.

"Today we had three problems," he added. If you care to read about them, see "TechCrunch Down. I’m Pissed. The comments from readers are very informative.

By the way, the site was up when I checked before posting this item.

GigaOmniMedia Is 'Still Looking For Web Workers'

Web Worker Daily, which is part of Om Malik's GigaOmniMedia, Inc., reported February 12, 2007, that the network is "still looking for web workers who write well to occasionally review software, services, and gear."

For detail's, please see "Pro Blogging for the Not So Rich and Famous."

Gawker Gets New Management For The Fifth Time In Four Years

"Gawker Media is shuffling the management of its flagship Gawker blog for the fifth time in four years, as the site faces increased competition from upstart gossip sites," The Wall Street Journal Online reported January 19, 2007.

To read why, see "Gawker Shuffles Its Editors, Again, Amid Increased Competition for Gossip."

Valleywag Posts 'A Warning To Niche Blogs'

Valleywag reported January 19, 2007, that, "AOL is closing down a slew of smaller blogs it bought from entrepreneur-provocateur and Valleywag staple, Jason Calacanis, in 2005."

Nick Denton's Silicon Valley watchdog said, "The Time Warner [link added] Internet unit has told editors of smaller and unprofitable sites that they will be shuttered at the end of the month."

Good performers such as Engadget, Autoblog and Joystiq have nothing to worry about, yet.

To read why Valleywag issued the warning, please see "A warning to niche blogs.

The Concentration of The Economic Value of Content

Recommended: Rough Type proprietor Nicholas Carr's "Sharecropping the long tail." It's about the concentration of "the economic value of content" rather than content in the hands of a few players such as "MySpace, Facebook, and many other businesses" that "have realized that they can give away the tools of production but maintain ownership over the resulting products."

I think Six Apart's increasingly popular Vox social networking blogging service is a great example of what Carr wrote about. With Vox, users get free blogging software and hosting for their Six Apart designed blogs. In exchange, Six Apart gets to put small, content-related ads on users content pages. So far, Six Apart doesn't share the revenue with content creators. At least that's the impression I get.

The pressure to change this will likely increase if geeks start to use the service, which came out of beta on October 26, 2006, in great numbers. It's currently aimed at the masses.

Finally, I think Carr did a good job analyzing "Richard MacManus's new analysis of web traffic patterns" that helps "illustrate the point" referenced above.

NOTE: This post can also be found at The Technology Free Press, my technology blog.

Technorati tags: Nicholas Carr, Rough Type. Sharecropping the Long Tail, Richard McManus, MySpace, FaceBook, Six Apart, Vox, Social Networking

The Guardian Interviews Gawker Media's Nick Denton

James Silver at the Guardian of London today posted an interview with Nick Denton, the former Financial Times Silicon Valley reporter who in "2002 "started gossip-driven Gawker Media."

Silver notes that, "Today the company has numerous sites, including flagship showbiz and media gossip site Gawker, Wonkette (Washington politics), Gizmodo (gadgets), Valleywag (Silcon Valley), Defamer (LA showbiz) and Deadspin (sport)."

I found the interview worth reading. If you're interested, see "Gawk, don't talk." 

Technorati tags: Gawker Media, Nick Denton, Gawker, Defamer, Wonkette, Gizmodo, Deadspin, Valleywag, Gawk, Don't Talk

Recommended: Bloggertalks.com's Interview With Matt Craven

Thord Daniel Hedengren over at Bloggertalks.com has a fascinating and informative interview with "Matt Craven on buying and selling The Blog Herald, and the future of ex-BlogMedia." There are lessons there. I highly recommend it.

After you read the interview, go over to Thord's TDH blog and read "The trouble of finding a good dotcom name." I can relate to it.

Duncan Riley Not Looking Forward To Returning To Toronto

Australian Blogger Duncan Riley is heading "back to Toronto tomorrow" [November 20, 2006] and is "not looking forward to it. See "For the want of a Caramel Tim Tam.  While he did not say it, presumably he is not looking forward to finalizing business with his former partners at b5media. Hopefully, he will let me know if I'm wrong about this.

Last week, the veteran Australian blogger flew into Toronto from Australia for what b5 president and CEO Jeremy Wright called week-long "strategy and operations sessions" involving a "chunk of the b5 team." See "Not replying to emails." Duncan quit or was forced out of the company shortly after he arrived in the Canadian city. Why? None of the principals, including Duncan, are saying.

"Sorry again to everyone I haven’t gotten back to on email, or people expecting some more comment on things going on..." he wrote in a November 19th, 2006, post.

In a November 17, 2006, post headlined New York, New York, Duncan wrote: "Oh yeh, nearly forgot, I’ve got no comment on b5 at the moment." In New York, he spent several days seeing the sights, being interviewed, meeting people and going to attorney and TechCrunch proprietor Michael Arrington's November 16, 2006,  party in Manhattan.

As best I can tell, The Blog Herald founder left for New York shortly after arriving in Canada, on or around November 15, after presumably meeting some of the b5 team.  It is not yet publicly known whether he resigned or was pushed out after a discussions with his partners, especially b5 president and CEO Jeremy Wright, a b5 founder, and someone Duncan was reportedly meeting for the first time. As the quotes above indicate, he's not telling just yet. See 1938 Media Podcaster Loren Feldman's November 17th, 2006, interview with Duncan. 

However, before leaving Toronto for New York, Duncan wrote in  I’m alive, just, an account of "the single worst flight of my life":

I won’t share my thoughts about Toronto until I get back home, but suffice to say it may have been more enjoyable under different circumstances. But time to go now, the wounds in my back are twitching and I’ll got to go and sign some papers. Till NY, aurevoir

Again, B5 is also not giving details. But on November 15, 2006, the blog network announced on its blog that:

The last few weeks have been very exciting for b5media, but we are sad to announce that effective immediately Duncan Riley is leaving b5. [See "So Long, and Good Luck, Duncan" for the entire post].

As I noted in "Why Did Duncan Riley And b5media Part Company?", Matt Craven over at The Blog Herald, which Duncan founded and sold to b5 in early 2006, interviewed Wright in an attempt to learn more. See his November 15, 2006, post headlined "Brief conversation with b5’s Jeremy Wright on Duncan’s departure. Wright told Craven: "To be honest, our public statement is our only statement."

Meanwhile, there has been a lot of speculation about what happened between Duncan and b5. The company's decision to offer no further explanation, which is its right, only adds to the speculation. Why? Because both Duncan and b5 are major players in the blogosphere. Things they do and say, and in this case don't say, generate publicity. For a blog network to announce the departure of a major partner on the eve of an important, week-long "strategy and operations sessions" is news whether they like it or not.

And the best way to end speculation about what happened is full disclosure. By not offering full disclosure, b5 is inviting bloggers and traditional media to speculate and possibly start digging.  It's not like the private company is being asked to disclose its finances. As The Blog Herald recently wrote: B5 and Duncan - What Happened? This inquiring mind would like to know, although I don't have a right to know. Nor does anyone else.

In a related matter, thanks to Robert Scoble over Scobleizer for mentioning The Blogging Journalist in his November 17, 2006, post headlined One for Valleywag: Duncan Riley leaves B5 Media. Scoble's post was also picked up by WebProNews.  See "Duncan Riley Leaves B5 Media.

I got a spike in hits as a result of Robert's mention. I always do. 

Technorati tags: Duncan Riley. Jeremy Wright, b5mediaedia, Michael Arrington, TechCrunch, 1938 Media, Loren Feldman, Matt Craven, The Blog Herald, Robert Scoble, Scobleizer

Why Did Duncan Riley And b5media Part Company?

I stopped by The Blog Herald this morning and was surprised to see a Matt Craven post that said Australian blogger Duncan Riley and b5media have parted company.

"What's going on here?" I asked myself. "Was Duncan ousted as Vice President of b5media during a meeting in Toronto with b5's Jeremy Wright, president and CEO; fellow Australian Darren Rowse, "a co-founder and director" of b5, and the rest of the team?

Wright noted in a November 15, 2006, post at Ensight, his personal blog, that, "Over the next week, a chunk of the b5 team is locked down in strategy and operations sessions."

I visited duncanriley.com to see what Duncan, founder of The Blog Herald, had to say about this. He writes in I’m alive, just, an account of "the single worst flight of my life":

I won’t share my thoughts about Toronto until I get back home, but suffice to say it may have been more enjoyable under different circumstances. But time to go now, the wounds in my back are twitching and I’ll got to go and sign some papers. Till NY, aurevoir

I went over to b5's blog looking for an explanation. A November 15, 2006, post headlined "So Long, and Good Luck, Duncan, says in the first paragraph:

The last few weeks have been very exciting for b5media, but we are sad to announce that effective immediately Duncan Riley is leaving b5.

The post is short, so I won't quote it all. if you're interested in this development, go to b5's site to read it. The comments are quite interesting. 

Matt Craven interviewed Wright in an attempt to learn more. See his post headlined "Brief conversation with b5’s Jeremy Wright on Duncan’s departure. Wright told Craven: "To be honest, our public statement is our only statement."

The next stop was Darren Rowse's problogger,  a valuable blog designed to help bloggers earn money. I wanted to see what he had to say about Duncan's departure. He has a post about Toronto but nothing on Duncan's departure. See "Toronto in Autumn.

Finally, I wish Duncan the best in whatever he does. I began reading his posts when he published The Herald. When he sold it to b5media, at the beginning of 2006, I  followed him to duncanriley.com. Why? I like his writing. 

Technorati tags: Duncan Riley. Duncan Riley.com, B5Media, Jeremy Wright, Darren Rowse, Matt Craven, Ensight