racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

A lot of people are trying to make a good living off of blogging, but sad to say, most are not successful, at least in terms of being able to monetize their blogging activities enough to quit that day job.

Sadly, most think that blogging is easy money. But that is not the case. Blogging is hard work—or at least it involves a big amount of effort in writing, marketing, planning and even socializing. Most people would not get that, and think that the fact that you’ve opened a blog, put in some ad units, and posted a few posts would already make you rich.

But I’ve come to think that the age of monetizing blogging purely for the content may not exactly be the best business model (or at least the one that earns the big bucks). It’s not that publishing as a business, per se, is no longer good. For me, blogging is just what it is: a medium. Blogging is not the ends, but rather it is a means.

That’s why it’s a medium.

There are several ways of earning from blogging, and it will be very fruitful if you get it right. But the big money could be somewhere aside from directly earning from one’s blog. Think of marketing. Think of networking. These days, people are able to generate sales, business leads, consultancy jobs, and other such opportunities because of their blogs.

Think of it this way. You can build up your profile online through your blog. Show people how good you are at what you do, whether it’s a skill, profession, or other business that you do. And the opportunities will come. Be a Joel Spolsky. Be a Jeff Atwood.

An example: a blog network can earn more from blog-related consultancy services, or from selling books, or from selling software than from ad revenues. Besides, writers are expensive. But if you’ve built a good product (software, etc.) or service, then they will pay for themselves, and will give you good money down the road.

Blogging is a medium, and not the end-all be-all of things.

On the Blog Herald, I recently posted about blogging internships, where I cited the experiences of a high school student interning at a writer/blogger’s home-office. This makes me think—would anyone in the Philippines be interested in such a setup? I know students in various fields (college level, at least) are asked to do on-the-job training. Would schools consider interning with a blogger good for experience-points?

Given that I’m very very busy these days, I might consider such a setup, although I would be very reluctant to welcome a stranger into my home office. Perhaps a virtual setup would be better, given the nature of blogging and other online work.

Personally, I’ve never interned for anyone, as my undegrad degree didn’t require internship. I did get to work with interns, though, both at my government post and my private sector job. My observations varied. Some interns I knew were assigned great work, and they were even hired after they graduated. Some, on the other hand, were assigned the crappy jobs and the good things they did other people took credit for.

Blogging has its share of crappy work, too, but I guess it’s part of the experience. But of course I’m not inclined to burden anyone with tedious, nitty gritty work.

What do you guys think? Will this idea take off?

I was interviewed by Miriam Quiambao on problogging. The interview will air at The Beat tonoight, 25 August at about 10:00 p.m. There will be a replay this Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Myasuseee.com is growing fast, and I’ve recently launched a new blog about netbooks: koobten.com. I already have a writer focusing on my personal blog network project, but he’s quite loaded. So I need another writer who can write about all things netbook.

Obviously, myasuseee.com focuses on the Asus EeePC brand. Koobten, on the other hand, covers the entire netbook industry, and this includes news, reviews, and other features on the various brands and models out there, like the HP Mini Note, Acer Aspire one, MSI Wind, etc.

If you own your own netbook, that would be an advantage. If you’re passionate about your choice of model or brand, then even better!

Since these are just startups, I can’t promise that the pay will be lucrative, but I will offer traffic and growth bonuses, and if you grow with the site, then I can say it will be at least a good start with the problogging industry. We may also be sent review netbook or notebook units once in a while. Sure, there may sometimes be long waiting lists for review units, but it’s worth it getting to road-test borrowed equipment every now and then.

Please get in touch with me through my contact form or the other usual means.

I’m in need of a few bloggers who can fill in several contributor spots in some Splashpress Media blogs. Head over to WordPress.PH for more information.