As sold as I am (now!) on the idea of blogs, I am not necessarily sold on them because they might turn a profit. I understand that business sees them as the newest Internet cash cow and I’m sure they might be. But…is chasing a profit really the point?
For some, it is. Someone who wants to be a published author has a much better chance of being noticed if he/she is blogging with an audience, much as Andrew Sullivan writes:
“And I worked hard at the blog for months for free. But the upshot is that I’m now reaching almost a quarter million readers a month and making a profit. That kind of exposure rivals the audiences of traditional news and opinion magazines..”
For Sullivan (an already-established writer), the blog simply served as an outlet to reach more readers and profit from it. More power to him.
In my blog-browsings over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been completely turned off by the blogs that drop an ad in after every entry or otherwise promote themselves for sheer profit. I understand the value of the ads, I understand the desire to make money and I don’t begrudge it. While not begrudging, I don’t much like it either, nor do I like the idea of the really big corporations snapping them up as their next pixel profit center.
Town squares should exist because…well, they’re part of living in a community. People should get to sing, dance or spout off without having a hat in front of them and still have an opportunity to be heard. The push for blogs-for-profit is my blog bummer of the day.
Ramblewoman writes:
You may go to their grassroots meeting or read their blog or board and think “why is this person so popular and I have nothing? They can’t write. They have dopey topics and who wants to talk about this day after day?” But everyone you know is crazy about this person. Then you see, this person radiates a wee bit of magic, that magic comes from passion, for the topic, either a natural magic because of whatever sent that particular person to want to build community regarding that topic or the magic of just being passionate about community…”
This sums up the essence of what I think is the best about blogging — the possibility of finding the person with the magic and the passion to say what’s on their minds to please their audience and themselves without the trappings of the almighty dollar, especially when that person is like-minded with me, or at least manages to express their differences in an articulate and polite fashion. 
So with yet another nod to Denise and her Top 10, here is my current top ten and why:
Denise’s blog, because she’s always right, and she’s passionate about blogging…well, she’s just passionate… and isn’t afraid to say so, no matter what.
Nancy White’s because she is kind to blogging newcomers, and because she makes me think.
Ramblewoman because she’s the only person I’ve read who can write a “fish story” and link it up with community and actually make some sense. I can hardly wait for the next installment of Bert’s escapades with blogs, feeds and fishy egos.
Mrs. Noah’s because I’m amazed she’s still standing at the end of the day, she is doing such good things in her community for kids who would otherwise just fall through the cracks, and still manages to have a sense of humor about it all…Besides, her kid is a drummer!
Dooce because everytime I read her blog I end up laughing, no matter what kind of day I’ve had.
The Adventures of Tonka because Tonka is one of the cutest pugs I’ve ever seen. I can take or leave the narrative, but those little pug pictures are wonderful!
The Princess Mom– Giftedness, ADHD, homeschooling and cooking classes all in one blog, not to mention hamsters.
Scobleizer – with a handle like “Microsoft Geek”, what’s not to like? He’s fun to read.
Photography at theZeal.com even if he does shoot with a Canon — he’s got some great hints, tips and photos there.
Bonus pick: The Nikonians.org news blog, because their site ROCKS and Nikon’s digital SLR’s rock! Just visit the photo blog for recent samples. (yes, a shameless plug, but hey — no ads over there…just photo fun!)
Let’s see some more of these top 10s so I can go visit other blogs that don’t necessarily turn up on the searches…another bummer of mine that will wait for another post. For now, who’s next?
