Blogging Is NOT a Business

Here’s what’s wrong with all the discussion about the future of blogging as a business — blogging is not a business!

Here’s the latest me-too analysis from The Chicago Tribune (which cites a recent Gallup poll on blog readership):

Even if blogging flops as a business and doesn’t attract more readership, many bloggers will still have loyal followings.

In the 90s, everyone thought a website was a business. It’s not. A business is a business, and e-commerce is just one way to conduct business.

So what is a blog? It’s a content management and publishing platform. All online publishers use a content management and publishing platform. The difference with blogging software is that it doesn’t come with the huge price tag.

Bloggers are publishers, like all other online publishers — and all publishers are struggling to figure out how to make money off of their content.

So don’t meditate on the future of the blogging business. Meditate on the future of the publishing business — and the future of the entire media business.