Lessons From Blogging Will Kill You

Bloggers on blogging ... Larry Dignan's blog, about Matt Richtel's article, In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop, in the New York Times, was a great behind the scenes look at how a story is written and why some info makes it and doesn't make it.

Larry's blog points out two important things 1) for all of those people who get interviewed and get angry or disappointed that they were misquoted or neglected to be quoted at all in a journalists article; and 2) how addictive blogging can be.

The first lesson should be 1) be realistic about the journalist. They are not god-sent to present your point of view. They could have a very different angle in mind for the story. Try as you might, your point of view may never be presented, even if the journalist seemed to be totally digging you during your interview.

The second one, and perhaps most valuable is - take care of yourself, no matter what your profession. Know your limits in stress and don't let your job kill ya'. I loved Matt's behind the scenes look at the types of personalities and work habits today's blogosphere has attracted. There are some people that will do anything for a story including staying up late at night, going through garbage. Bottom line - anybody enjoys a good scoop. It doesn't matter if it is gossip about Britney's underpants or the latest widget. However it comes at a cost - from a paparazzi's foot to, in extreme cases, a lifestyle that just isn't sustainable.

Full disclosure: I read The New York Times, GigaOM and People Magazine daily ... ok ... hourly ... ok ... maybe more ...