Category Archives: Weblog as Power Tool

Welcome to the Pajamasphere – watch your fact-checking!

Posted on September 15, 2004 by David St Lawrence

We bloggers have been dismissed by another media mogul as guys sitting in our living rooms in our pajamas.

True to form, bloggers have unrepentently adopted the pajama theme and incorporated mention of our new uniform in post after post. Rathergate has even inspired new products and has inspired a major blogger, Frank J., to become a cartoonist.

Yep! Us pajama-clad bloggers have jammed a thousand wedges into a mighty media machine again and this time we may have damaged it beyond repair. CBS will have a really hard time putting Rathergate behind them.

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Clueless ISPs – is Verio joining the group?

Posted on September 8, 2004 by David St Lawrence

I was so frustrated with my current ISP, NTT/Verio, that I Googled "clueless ISP" to see if anyone else had experienced the same frustration with their ISP.  I came up with 24,400 results!

Is it possible that we have an epidemic of corporate stupidity springing up around us?

It is the wrong time for an established ISP like Verio to rest on their accomplishments of yesterday. Competitive pressures have recently reduced monthly charges from $24.99 to $9.99.

I have had very few problems with uptime or speed at Verio. It appears, however, that they have grown so large that they focus far more on sales than on customer service.

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Blinx – a new tool for bloggers and other writers

Posted on September 5, 2004 by David St Lawrence

Have you ever written a post and gotten the uncomfortable feeling that you might have covered the same subject before? Have you ever found yourself with hundreds of manuscripts and wondered if you had used the same plot device or … Continue reading →

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How do I make a living from my blog?

Posted on August 22, 2004 by David St Lawrence

I received an email today which captures the feelings of many enthusiastic new bloggers.

I move from super-evangelical about the various benefits/values of blog to almost semi-depression that will never be able to make a living with the stuff.

I was moved to offer the following encouragement:

I would not be too hasty about never making a living with your blog. As a citizen publisher, you are building a following and generating a buzz about your talent, your personality, and your abilities that you choose to showcase.

I think the publishing model of yore is slowly crumbling. What comes next is not too clear, but it takes lots of promotion to sell a book, or a product or a service. In the past, you would have had to hire a flack or hope that your publisher would place ads for you. Now you can talk about your creation until you are tired of it or until you drive away your visitors. Hopefully, you will be creative enough that you will be able to reach out and generate interest in what you do.

Nothing happens overnight. There is no magic about communicating to potential customers. You do it well and give them something that interests them and promise more to come.

Try it and keep at it until you see results. If the results aren’t what you want, make the necessary changes and continue.

I am sure that most of my visitors have thought about making money through or from their blog. I think that it is doable, but it is a matter of focusing on objectives and working towards achieving them, which can take some time. The only magic involved is finding a business proposition that works for you.

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