New York Times Article - Can Blogs Become a Big Source of Jobs?

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I was over at the b5 Media blog yesterday and found a post that led me to an article (the Internet can be a dangerous web ) written by Barbara Whitaker, author of the Fresh Starts column published by The New York Times. I found this article very encouraging, interesting and enlightening.

As blogs gain in popularity, demand is growing for employees who can write them or have the technical expertise to support them. A few Web sites, including ProBlogger and Performancing, cater to bloggers and include job opportunities.

“There’s almost an ecosystem of jobs that have emerged around blogs,” said Paul Forster, chief executive at Indeed.com, a job search engine with postings from more than 5,000 sources. “It’s an emerging area where there are many more opportunities related to the blog rather than being a dedicated blog writer.”

The article also mentioned b5 Media blog network and how some bloggers are earning a full-time income blogging for them.

At b5media, a global blog network out of Toronto with about 200 blogs on subjects ranging from sports and entertainment to news and technology, writers work on a contract basis. They are paid a fee of only $100 to $250 a month, based on their experience and the quality of their work. The real money can come from bonuses that are tied to the traffic their blogs receive.

My favorite part of the article was quote from Robert Scoble who said:

“A good blogger is passionate and authoritative on something. If you’re not passionate about what you’re communicating, you’re going to be missing something.” Read the rest of the article here.

Jeremy Wright, president of b5 Media, posted about this article on his blog ensight.org. He suggested that the best source of revenue is making money because of a blog rather than from a blog.

Now, a year ago, the answer would have been “someday, but the number of people making full-time income off blogging is probably less than 100″. Hell, even 6 months ago at 3 conferences where this was asked the consensus on the panels became “maybe, but the best source of revenue is making money because of your blog, not from it”.

So what does a statement like this mean for those of us not seeking to “get a job” because of our blog? Well, I think there will be more and more people earning a decent income from their blogs. Most bloggers will probably never make the six figure income that many are trying to achieve because they read blogs like Problogger, Shoemoney and John Chow. It’s hard to tell what direction the changing web will take, though I believe it will new income sources will launch because of the growing blogosphere.

Personally I love blogging for myself rather than a network or a blog owned by someone else is because it gives me the freedom to do things from home, when I want and how I want. Am I starting sound a little selfish here? Well actually it’s the opposite. My family is first priority and blogging has offered me the ability to generate an income working around my family’s needs. I also have a few control issues Will I ever make a six figure income blogging? Not likely but it’s a worthy dream.