Blogonomics

So, I'm thinking a lot about blogs as a literary genre. First because as a blogger and a writer, this interests me, and second because I'm gearing up for the panel on this very subject at the Washington Independent Writers All-Day Fiction Seminar on February 9th. One inevitable question: Is there money in it? Some blogs, such as Beatrice, Bookslut, and The Millions, sell ads--- in fact, check out the blogad for the new paperback edition of my book, Miraculous Air, on those very blogs. But some bloggers actually get paid to blog--- a salary or a fee, as for an other freelance writing. For example, Shawn Westfall, who will be participating on the WIW panel, blogs on the DC literary scene for DCist. Over at World Hum, an outstanding cornucopia of a travel writing blog, the founding writers sold the whole package to the Travel Channel and now they get paid to blog. Here's a fascinating article on the economics of writing for blogs, in the Columbia Journalism Review. More anon.

Gone to the Litblogs: Narrowcasting & More Notes Towards a Taxonomy

Dinner conversation this evening with my amiga K., a DC writer who works in a media organization, about blogging. K. says the successful ones are narrowcasting, i.e., aiming a highly specific blog at a highly specific audience. Indeed: in the litblog world, a good example would be Wendi Kaufman's The Happy Booker, which focuses on news in literary Washington DC and environs. Novelist Leslie Pietrzyk's Work in Progress focuses on, yes, work in progress. In the news world--- for example, for news on Iraq--- a blog I often check in on is Informed Comment, in which University of Michigan Professor of Middle Eastern History Juan Cole offers a daily summary of and commentary on the news in the Middle East. They may not be the end all of the All on this Subject, but between Juan Cole and Col Pat Lang's Sic Semper Tyrannis, I get a better sense of what's going on in Iraq than from reading, say, the Washington Post. For example, last week, when Turkish troops invaded Iraq, to get a sense of what this meant, I skipped the papers and went immediately to these two blogs because (1) both Juan Cole and Col Pat Lang are highly knowledgable about this subject and (2) their blogs often go into far more depth than scant newsprint can. (Though now and again, Col. Pat Lang dips into movie reviewing and showcasing excerpts of his civil war novel...) But back to the litblog world: for literary travel writing, another excellent example of narrowcasting would be World Hum. What of Madam Mayo? I'd put this blog in the category of a Individual Artist Blog. It's about my work and what interests me, as an artist. Some other blogs in said category: David Byrne (musician), Margaret Cho (comedian), Moorish Girl (writer Laila Lalami), Coffee with Ken (Kenneth Ackerman, the writer/ historian/ lawyer). Last thought: It occurs to me that few people over the age of 30 have heard the term "narrowcasting." K. said the under 30s in her office didn't recognize the phrase "Drink the Kool-Aid." Interesting juxtaposition. Possibly meaningless. More anon.

UPDATE: In Clusterfuck Nation--- a hybrid (as per my defintions) of Narrowcasting (comments on current events as related to his book The Long Emergency) and Individual Artist Blog--- Jim Kunstler writes, that this is "a society of envious slobs deluded into thinking that they could become the next Trump if only the Baby Jeezus would whack them over the head with a sock-full of silver dollars." That's pretty much the tone throughout. Post up, bingo, 193 comments.

Gone to the Litblogs: Jim Benning on World Hum's Representative 5

Today's post is a "Gone to the Litblogs" column--- by ace travel writer and World Hum blogger Jim Benning.

"World Hum is an online travel magazine with a literary bent and a global perspective. As we put it on the site, “World Hum is dedicated to exploring travel in all its facets: how it changes us, how it changes the way we see the world, and finally, how travel itself is changing the world.” We publish stories, essays, interviews and book reviews, and we maintain a daily weblog. I co-founded the site six years ago with writer/editor Michael Yessis after complaining about the dearth of outlets for literary travel writing. We’d been maintaining the site as a labor of love while juggling day jobs until a few weeks ago. That changed when World Hum was acquired by the Travel Channel. We’re jazzed that we can now work on the site full-time.

C.M. asked me to recommend five posts. Here are five that I think are representative of what the site is all about.

1.) Unlocking Beirut by Catherine Watson
This is a lovely essay about travel and people and the passage of time. It’s the kind of travel writing that, sadly, you just can’t find in many publications these days.

2.) Top 30 Travel Books
This is our take on the top 30 literary travel books of all time, with writers explaining just what makes each book great. Titles range from Jan Morris’s Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere and Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad to Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar.

3.) How to Kiss Hello in France
Our “How To” section shows readers how to dive deep in a culture. This entry is a primer on how to properly greet someone with a kiss on the cheek in France--- a delightful custom that needlessly confounds many visitors.

4.) Invasion of the Kilt-Wearing, Buttocks-Baring Scots!
While we take travel seriously, we like to have fun, too. This is a recent news item from our weblog about a rather, uh, troubling trend in European travel.

5.) The Speed of Rancho Santa Inés by C.M. Mayo
You may have heard of the author. We were honored to publish this excerpt from Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico. I’ve spent lots of time traveling in Baja California, and I’ve read a bit of writing about the place. I haven’t come across much that captures the magic of Baja as well as this piece does."

Well (blush) gracias Jim!
For the previous "Gone to the Litblogs" post, by DC poet Kim Roberts, click here.

Newbies on the Blogroll

Jim Benning (travel writer); Coffee With Ken (historian and lawyer); Huffington Post Blog (it's a circus, everyone from the elephants to the mice); Rhymes with Camera (a well done literary blog from the other Washington, Washington state); Todos Santos Pages (viva Todo!) ; World Hum (the best travel writing blog out there). Relatively new: Work in Progress (novelist Leslie Pietrzyk's). Note: The other day Phronesisaical (DC-based professor of Philosophy aka "Helmut") listed several especially interesting blogs.