Blogging and shining shoes
There has been some debate recently about how plausible it is to make money as an independent writer on the web using advertising. Daniel Lyons who used to famously be ‘Fake Steve Jobs’ wrote an article about how becoming rich as a blogger is nigh-on impossible. Two people who do make a living from blogging, Jason Kottke and Andrew Sullivan, have some interesting responses: Kottke has a nice metaphor; while Andrew Sullivan says “I wrote this blog for years as a labor of love. If you expect nothing, especially at the start, you’re doing it for the right reason.”
by Out of work? Browse the web instead.
Peter Kafka at All Things Digital parses recent results from various sources that more people are browsing the web, and wonders whether that it is related to American jobless figures. It could also, of course, be that people are simply going out less. Unfortunately and inevitably, the increase in traffic is not translating to people clicking on ads or buying stuff.
The problem with Content Management Systems
A good Content Management System (CMS) can be a fantastic help for people to easily update their website while keeping design consistent and use supporting technologies (such as RSS or clean, SEO-friendly semantic code). That said, if you use a CMS limitations and costs inevitably occur -it is a case of balance and what is important for your website. For example, in some situations a website that is highly focused on marketing a product or service and needs to be highly stylised may well find a CMS a hindrance. Paul Boag discusses some of these issues in his article The 5 Hidden Costs of Running a CMS.