billso.com

From tomorrow’s New York Times comes a sobering examination of the dominant blogging business model.

“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”

“This is not sustainable,” he said.

I discussed blogging for a living on 27 March 2008, but I didn’t discuss stress. Two prominent technology bloggers, Russell Shaw and March Orchant, have died in the last 5 months.

Some bloggers have decided to chase the headlines, and post up-to-the-minute comments about news events. For a solo blogger who is also managing their own comments and web site, the duties can pile up. Another blogger mentioned in the Times article, 22-year old Matt Buchanan of Gizmodo, sleeps about 5 hours a day, and drinks protein supplement lattes to stay buzzed.

“There’s no time ever — including when you’re sleeping — when you’re not worried about missing a story,” Mr. Arrington said.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we said no blogger or journalist could write a story between 8 p.m. Pacific time and dawn? Then we could all take a break,” he added. “But that’s never going to happen.”

One advantage of blogging in Honolulu is that I can check the news later in the day, before the East Coast bloggers really get rolling.

Exercise also helps me a lot. I go running early in the morning, partly to get away from the computer as the US news cycle is full swing.

On Tuesday, 8 April 2008, I’ll post an article about how I manage billso.com and avoid some of the issues I’ve discussed in this article. When that a