DISQUS

Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins · 1 year ago

There's still a lot of room at the top, but the landscape is definitely changed from where it was a couple years ago.

I refuse to think that just because about 30 blogs have made it to a place where their income rivals old media institutions that it's impossible for a small blogger to leap into the fray on that level.

I think that it means we're going to see less niche celeb blogging - that's what Jason is. When FriendFeed and Twitter and their ilk make communications effortless with your fans, you don't really need the blog anymore.

Mark · 1 year ago

This is rich. Calacanis wanting "something more authentic and something more private." This coming from a guy who pimps Mahalo in every sentence that he writes. I do not know if Calacanis has ever written anything authentic or private in his life. This is yet another publicity stunt by P.T. Barnum 2.0.

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

If it hadn't been written like a press release or a newspaper article, it would have seemed more sincere. However, this doesn't really diminish your points, except that I'd worry more if it was someone who was more of a serious blogger and less of a businessman.

ChangeForge | Ken Stewart · 1 year ago

Sarah, I gotta tell you... I'm new to the blogging gig, but have been in tech for over a decade now... and there is way too much chatter going on... I just wanna have fun...

Of course I had some opinions that were a little longer than I care to repost in this box...

http://www.changeforge.com/2008/04/10/are-you-a...

(Geez, talk about link-baiting) ;-)

sarahintampa · 1 year ago

Yes, info overload is also a problem these days it seems

calebism · 1 year ago

Calacanis is pointing to something that possibly has historical precedent... I don't know enough about the history of print publishing to draw an analogy, but there probably is one.

elliottng · 1 year ago

The options that "normal people" have that Jason doesn't is to engage in the blogosphere (and the twittersphere and friendfeedsphere) in the tailored way that you want. There is no "Blogosphere." It is just who and what you want to make of it, of course. A few thoughts on his critique:

A-List Pressure - self imposed. No need to aspire to be A-List.
Link Baiting - everyone makes their own decisions about what they want to spend time posting about. If you focus on building quality viewers with similar interest and a community then the focus on link baiting goes away...at least on your personal blog (maybe not on your "day job" at a top tech blog like RWW)
Charged - that's the way the world is
Polarized - that's the way the world is...except that polarized, controversial views are disproportionally rewarded with traffic.
Haters - that's a function of who you are and how you have behaved in the past. There will always be haters if you are doing what you are passionate about. Just have to filter them out.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Sarah!

shonnoll · 1 year ago

Well said!

sarahintampa · 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing yours! And I'm agreeing with shonnoll below - well said!

EricFriedman · 1 year ago

I think getting back the original conversation is the key. People will always be on track and off track - but its up to the bloggers that stay on course to help guide the way.

BrianD · 1 year ago

Jason is having a moment of reflection. Must have had something bad happen to him lately, or he did something really stupid and is having a guilt moment and trying to make a life change.
He won't stop blogging. He should have said he is taking a sabbatical.
Here is a guy, along with Kevin Rose and Leo LaPorte, who are in an ego pissing match as to who can have the most Twitter followers.
Give me a break. All three of them crave publicity and unless Jason goes through a 12 Step Program from obsessive bloggers, he will be back at some point.
How can a guy whose life evolves, lives on, thrives on Web 2.0 technology walk away from the most significant element of that - blogging? If he does indeed quit blogging, he is finished, unless he delves into his serial entrepreneur frame of mind, comes up with some killer ideas (not Mahalo) and reinvents or disrupts something.
Perhaps he is spent; has shot all is bullets; is burnt out and has nothing left to offer and can now sit in his wicker chair and contemplate reality without having to worry about income.
Otherwise, he will be back.
Brian

Joe Dawson · 1 year ago

I agree he will definitely be back, whether this is for reflection or some form of social experiment. To an extent he is still blogging just through email, this then gets digested through his mailing list and they reply/forward/blog. Submitting their views, elaborating on the point he puts across, doing the leg work for him!

computerjoe · 1 year ago

Yeah, it was me on BlogExplosion. I got hung, drawn and quartered by the BE guys for promoting BlogMad! We met each other on BE, and I met a number of other contacts like Azhar Chougle who have gone into 9rules with me.

sarahintampa · 1 year ago

I thought so - I got kicked out for promoting them, too. Crazy times. But I'm glad you met Azhar and have since introduced him to me. He's great!

chantelle oliver · 1 year ago

Well...he could just blog with another name if the pressure is too much for him. This is just re-entrenching what he says he hates: hating. He is hating bloggers who blog now as inauthentic.

Mark Evans · 1 year ago

Sarah,

A couple of things: First, I would take Calacanis' "retirement" with a grain of salt. He's a player with a knack for self-promotion. If Brent Favre can unretire so can Calacanis. :)

The more important discussion is the A-list is irrelevant; if it ever mattered. And as much as traffic and getting on Techmeme are nice, the real value/joy in blogging is writing about things you find interesting and/or important - even it means producing posts that have no relation to the hot stories or applications of the day.

Just because one blogger decides he's apparently had enough doesn't suggest anything has changed. The blogosphere is very much alive and well...even if Mr. Calacanis is no longer a part of it.

Mark

sarahintampa · 1 year ago

I realize the whole debacle has now turned into a question as to whether or not it was genuine. I don't really care about that part. It's just that part of what he said made me think about some of my own feelings regarding blogging today.

Absolutely agree with you on finding the joy in blogging, though.

Chris Baskind · 1 year ago

I don't think this has any ramifications to the broader blogging community. Here's wishing Mr. Mahalo a productive mailblog.

Paisano® · 1 year ago

Good observations but I agree with the general concensus that Calacanis can't be trusted. I believe he believes his latest gut instinct but his past has shown that he can turn on a dime quicker than a politician at a fund raiser.
Still your reflections of what blogging used to mean is still poignant and valid. Who cares what these a-listers do or how they feel. We all need to write from the heart and try to be as original as possible. I've refused to go down the path of monetizing my blog despite potential to make decent revenue. I've seen what happens to those types of sites and bloggers. I want to keep it fun and pleasurable. Some posts are read and shared a lot and I love that, others are not, but I still loved writing them. I like the feedback I get when something helps someone (my tech blog) or touches them (my personal blog).
Period. No illusions of grandeur or financial windfall asperations. Just a man trying to share myself with others.

HS@OURDEBTBLOG · 1 year ago

My blog is bad, but just temporary... it should go away one day or stay online for archive purposes only.

HS

BLOGBloke · 1 year ago

Yeah, but you gotta admit the a-list really does suck. ;-)

I agree with most everything that was said in the above quote and I'm going through the same soul searching myself. It seems like everything has already been said and the pro-sploggers are just recycling the same old information to make money off it.

I'm so sickened by the mess that I've lost a lot of my original passion for blogging. I haven't blogged in 2 weeks now hoping for a good old fashioned revival ... and I'm still waiting.

Cheers,

...BB