Originally published June 6, 2002
Reading about Oliver Willis’ idea for a subscription-based web magazine raised a lot of questions. Why pay to subscribe to a magazine that offers a service (hyperlinks to online content) that most bloggers provide free? Are bloggers writing because they expect to be “supported”? What if InstaPundit.com became a subscription service? Would I pay for it?
I had similar misgivings when I read Jeff Jarvis’ proposal for a weblog foundation (thanks, InstaPundit … I read about this two weeks ago and rediscovered the link by searching his archives). Who is worthy of being among the “selected webloggers”? Warbloggers only? Bloggers with literary and journalistic credentials? How ’bout lil’ ol’ me?
Perhaps I was in an idealistic mode at the time. I was excited about the further democratization of publishing. I was suspicious of the desire of some bloggers to earn money for their efforts.
What constitutes selling out? So what if a blogger makes a buck or two? I would love to earn a living as a writer. I long to be free of the 8-to-5 grind.
What do you think?
Will Leon 