Hi, I'm Michael Mistretta, a student passionate about technology, photography, and design. Welcome to my online home where I write about technology, reviews, and my thoughts and opinions on technology-related matters. 
Some replies I received on twitter today caused me to think about people’s motivation for blogging - or at that, content creation as a whole.
There are those that drink the kool-aid, and buy the “$100 000 a month in 30 days” books and have dreams of rich and fame. They buy all the resources, and are convinced they could become millionaires in the first few months of blogging. They dream of the wealth, the popularity, and the glory of getting rich quick with blogging.
On the other side of the spectrum are the humble bloggers. They are the ones that constantly pump out great content. Their blogs - no matter the topic - have a voice to them. A voice that defines them. A voice that lures me, as a reader, in. A voice that make me want to read more. A voice that brings a smile to my face whenever I see an update from their RSS feed.
Now, ask yourself, which one are you?
In all fairness, it is rare to find someone on either extreme. Often, it is more subtle. A blogger sees the money to be made, and becomes consumed by it. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that content producers should get paid for their work, but the problem begins when the focus shifts from the content to the money.
Trust me, motivation by fame, money, or power will affect your content. And not for the better.
Let’s go back to how this thought got planted in my head. It started with me reading Chris Bowler’s latest blog post - ‘On Deck’. He wrote about his goal to one day become a full-time blogger, making a living off his work. Why does he say he wants to do that?
“To be able to research, to write and to experiment with the things I’m excited and passionate about — sounds like a dream job to me.”
He goes on to mention how the only ads that he would want to adorn his site would be via The Deck because it doesn’t “detract from the content the reader sees, while rewarding the author for his/her time and efforts”.
Precisely!
Chris gets it. Blogging is not about cramming as many animated ads as possible on a page. It’s about the content. It’s about letting the content speak for itself. Content creation in any form is not easy, and the content creators have a right to make money from their work. But there is a big difference between making money for your work, and working for money.
And that is why I admire Chris. He found his passion. He has a goal. And he has now found a spot in my blogroll. I don’t think he’s “big headed” or conceited - on the contrary, much more humble than I could ever be.
Focus on the content. Keep at it, and you won’t be going anywhere other than onward, and upward.
I completely agree. The vast majority of good blogs out there are good simply because the people writing them aren’t in it for the money, but rather for the pleasure that blogging brings with it. You can’t force good content out of someone; if someone is writing posts for money, they tend to become dry. You can feel it in the words they use and the topics they discuss. Ultimately, if you are motivated to create quality content, the money will eventually follow. Unfortunately, that doesn’t quote work the other way around. Motivation is everything (and primarily why I fail at blogging).
Comment by Noah — April 30, 2008 @ 9:01 pm
This is very true. Money can be a very alluring thing. Especially for technology bloggers which inevitably spend a lot of money on the latest technology items. There will always be the question in the back on someone’s mind; “I wonder if I can make some money of this”.
You’ve just got to choose the right time, to early and you’ll never get the advertiser back in the future, to late and you’ve missed a great opportunity.
If you start out blogging to earn a fortune you shouldn’t, because you obviously don’t know anything about your market, the internet.
Comment by Jonathan — May 1, 2008 @ 2:19 am
It’s like the old Field of Dreams line: “If you build it, they will come.”
Visit me @ http://www.momontherun.net
Comment by Mom On The Run — May 1, 2008 @ 6:41 am
Couldn’t agree more. I came through your blog through Mostly Lisa. I think it all comes down to how you approach blogging. In my case, I try to provide content that is fun, readable and will catch my readers’ interest. I don’t do it for money, I do it because I love it. And I still love it
Comment by Raul — May 2, 2008 @ 10:32 am
Hmmm… did it post my comment?
Comment by Raul — May 2, 2008 @ 11:05 am
Yup, it posted. Could be a problem with the javascript action. Refreshing should solve that though.
Comment by Michael Mistretta — May 2, 2008 @ 11:07 am
I express my sorrow for for the Tweet I replied to you there. Looking back on April 30th, I could have sworn I’d read something like 10,000 readers in a couple of months. If I had realized that was the blog post, I wouldn’t have replied in such a manner. I have no objection with people who plan out their career paths, I actually think it’s a very good idea.
The idea behind the Tweet there was the fact that expecting money, readers and international fame from blogging immediately is just being big headed. A real blogger, as you and Chris are, doesn’t want millions of readers awfully quickly, they want to push out quality content for the enjoyment of their loyal readers, its not just a race to see who has the most subscribers.
I must admit, I hear what you are saying in this post, I much prefer to read the blogs of those who are pushing out quality content no matter what, since they clearly love blogging.
Comment by Alex — May 4, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Alex, I hesitated to publish this post because I didn’t want to make it sound like I was “going after” you. I know you didn’t mean it in that way, but I just wanted to address the matter, and what I thought about monetization as a blogger.
Comment by Michael Mistretta — May 4, 2008 @ 4:08 pm
I’m not in it for the money, and I write about the stuff I’m passionate about. I still struggle with motivation. I guess I’m just too lazy. Also, I need to read GTD some time
Comment by Henning Stedtnitz — May 12, 2008 @ 1:53 pm