Bloggers’ Union Strike

Luca Beltrame | November 23rd, 2007 @ 3:57 pm

Let me be blunt about it: I doubt anyone will even notice. (I have a blog myself, but I never understood how people could be “pro” bloggers…)

Martin Espericueta | November 23rd, 2007 @ 4:57 pm

Now that was the funniest 6:52 minutes I have had in…like…an hour or so…

Seriously, I was LOL.

Daniel | November 23rd, 2007 @ 5:03 pm

lol (← The best response I could come up with.)

radiohode | November 23rd, 2007 @ 5:39 pm

Good one, guv’nor!

Stephane Daury | November 23rd, 2007 @ 6:32 pm

Hey, ya never know, there’s been talks of a blogger’s union after all.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/06/politics/main3136399.shtml

Deas | November 23rd, 2007 @ 11:06 pm

Guess I’d be a scab? Though…seriously…thinking about how much entertainment I get from other people’s blogs and comparing it with the writers in Hollywood is an interesting exercise. I do love me some blogs.

Annaphis | November 24th, 2007 @ 1:35 am

The world would suddenly be full of blank-eyed people desperately searching for something to fill their time with!

Philomena Ojikutu | November 24th, 2007 @ 5:41 am

Against whom? in the first place. Blogging is both entrepreneurship and passion. Its like saying entrepreneurs going on strike.

Bloggers are like freelance actors that entertain their audience, when you go on strike supposedly against your visitors, you die and wld be buried in the tomb of the blogosphere.

nika | November 24th, 2007 @ 8:58 am

one has to make actual money and work for “the man” to strike.

The bed-head kids were borderline funny in a pathetic way…

I do not have loads of “sympathy” per se for hollywood writers (who make something like $200K on average) but i support strikers as a general principle.

We bloggers? Eesh, like gen Xrs on ‘ludes (I pre-date gen X).

The striking writers should watch the video and bless their favorite deity they even HAVE jobs!

Scott Frangos | November 24th, 2007 @ 1:36 pm

Hi Matt & All -

Interesting question. Very funny video. As the responses so far indicate, there’s room for humor because:

* Bloggers are usually working for themselves (so who would they strike against?)
* Bloggers are eccentric characters (present company excepted?)
* Bloggers aren’t earning that much money now

But, on that last point, I think there’s room for some serious discussion (after those bloggers in the video get done looking for pictures of Terri Hatcher. Hey… when is the last time that 2nd guy on the video has made his bed?).

Discussion points:
* Some companies pay bloggers… but not very well. Bloggers get $5 - $10 a post (according to many jobs on blogger job boards). This works out to about .02 cents a word. Many professional writers earn .50 cents to $1 a word, or more.
* Why don’t more bloggers think of themselves as writers?
* Would a “Guild” be the right sort of organization to address these points?

Hey… maybe I’m wrong. Maybe to remain independent, bloggers are willing to work for the equivalent of $2 an hour, and sleep with their laptops in beds that go unchanged for months, because the utilities have been turned off. Or maybe those guys are independently wealthy?

I know… we’re doing it for love. But you know the old saying… “do what you love and the money will follow?” When’s that going to happen?

- Scott

Dawn | November 24th, 2007 @ 6:13 pm

Thanks for sharing, that seriously made my four day weekend (yes, it IS that lame of a weekend). I am now going to draw up a list of demands for people to ignore, join the faux bloggers strike; and then more than likely complain that my visitor stats are so low.

Milorad | November 25th, 2007 @ 7:33 am

These are the posts Matt makes when he’s on strike.

Scott M. Stolz | November 26th, 2007 @ 2:19 pm

I can see it now. Thousands of bloggers blogging about the other thousand bloggers on strike. LOL

It’d probably increase the volume of blog posts.

sketchfeed | November 27th, 2007 @ 8:47 pm

This video was hilarious. Thanks for sharing!