For all the discussion lately about Professional Blogging, both here at 901am, Performancing and elsewhere, one name has continually sat in the back of my head: Arieanna Schweber. Arieanna is the only person I know to be anything close to resembling a professional blogger. When I first met Arieanna she was writing for something like 20-30 blogs. The number has since decreased, but she’s still making her living primarily first and foremost from blogging. What follows is my interview with her.
Would you call yourself a professional blogger, and if so why?
I use to call myself a professional blogger, but not only does that cause confusion (what’s a blog, how do you make money?), the continued misunderstanding of a blog as a ‘journal written by teenagers’ can devalue the work that one does ‘professionally’. The activities of ‘blogging’ are also unclear in the title, since as a hobbyist I might simply write a journal, but professionally, my aim has more purpose. Meaning, working with business clients to design and manage blogs, working on SEO, developing strong cohesive communities, and of course passing on my knowledge to other bloggers in b5[media]. I am part blogger, part consultant, part manager.
Originally posted on February 21, 2007 @ 10:26 pm