NY Times: Writers Blog Till They Drop
The NY Times looks at the business of full-time blogging and the associated stress that comes along with “blogging for dollars.”
Matt Richtel points out that being first to break a news story is wreaking havoc on bloggers’ well-being, causing everything from obesity to heart attacks. Michael Arrington from TechCrunch has put on 30 pounds in the last three years and most people in the tech world know about Om Malik. The 41-year old had a heart attack in December. Worse, ZDNet’s Russell Shaw died 2-weeks ago of a heart attack.
Is blogging to blame? To me, this is just a manifestation of work habits and addictions that would likely be brought out by any job that rewards timely performance. It’s no different from anyone who’s a work-alcoholic and compensated exclusively, or at least largely, by their performance (ie. most sales positions).
But eerily enough, Shaw’s last email to his editors at ZDNet summarized just how committed he was to blogging: