Blogging at the Time of Global Economic Recession

I live in Bangladesh and I am a fulltime blogger. But one of the good things of living in a third world country is that the living expenses are very small compared to the western countries. So, you can be a fulltime blogger if you like it because you do not need to earn a lot of money like U.S. and Canada. I’m happy with whatever I get and I have been professionally blogging for three years. It is not that I have become rich by blogging but I have to admit that I could easily manage a middle class lifestyle and I’m not a person who is addicted to money and I do not have any high ambition like most people. That is why I’m very happy with my profession.

But now, it is the time of global economic recession and because my work is related to the global economy, I have seen decreasing income in the last few months just like everyone else. It is not that I have to be worried that much at this moment but if this kind of decrease continues then I see very bleak prospect for blogging in the year 2010 not just for me but for many other Bloggers around the world.

The ongoing global economic recession is a very tough challenge for people like me who decided to have a nontraditional career. I love to write and I have been writing for almost fifteen years in newspapers and magazines but blogging is entirely a different ballgame.

 

In the traditional kind of writing, the writer or the journalist is not concerned about the marketing of his writing. He or she does not care how many copies of the magazine will be sold or if the newspaper will become a top newspaper within a few months or few years. In fact, they are not bothered about this kind of thing at all. Their only concern is whether they can sell their writing or they can get the salary after each month. The same perhaps goes for book writers who focus on writing a book and it is the publishers who try their best to sell as many copies of the book as possible.

In blogging, you are entirely on your own. You have to write something and you have to ensure that many people Come and read your entries. Not only that, you have to also make sure that people actually talk about your entries in other web sites and Blogs. Then, you have to think of the search engines like Google. Even if you can bring all of these things, you have to run after advertisements to earn money. You have to know how to place your advertisement to get maximum amount of revenue. You have to write a comment in other people’s Blogs to let them know that you have a blog too. When you write something that is good or you feel that it has good potential to attract other people then you have to inform others by e-mail and submit them to social book marking web sites like Digg.

There is no doubt that blogging is a very time consuming and difficult profession. Of course, if you do not want to earn money by blogging then there is no problem because then it is a very good hobby. But however, for people like me who depend on blogging for their livelihood, it is really a very difficult time because of the economic recession now.

It is in the time of economic recession that I have decided to open a new blog and I am trying my best to make it successful. 

Should Writers have their own Blogs?

This is a questions often asked and I think that the answer should be positive. I think that each and every writer should have a blog of their own. Well, I intend to increase the length of this entry gradually so that you can get my opinion fully. Until that time, I would like you to visit my latest blog: http://www.southasiablog.com/

Writing is Difficult: How to Overcome it?

I enjoyed reading a lot and from my childhood, I knew that I always wanted to be a journalist or writer. So, I enjoy blogging simply because it is a kind of writing. It is almost three years that I am Just blogging and doing nothing else. Can you imagine giving up three years of your life just for bogging? I guess that not too many people would want to do that. I can assure you from my experience that it is very tough to earn a living through the work. It’s in fact more than writing. You’ll not only have to write but also have to make sure that you can’t get enough visitors to your writings. This is the most difficult part- you have to be a writer and a marketer at the same time.

When I was a student, I had very difficult time to write my assignments because writing seemed to be difficult to meet. I understand that it is a common problem among the most students around the world and The first thing I like to say to you is that even after finishing your studies, you are going to face this problem. Writing is indeed very difficult and it is of course more than just typing. In no way, you can write whatever you want. You have to organize your thoughts and then write something decent. You have to think of what you are saying and you have to also look at your use of words and grammatical structures. Thus, there is no doubt that writing is a very difficult process no matter what you want to write.

How to overcome the problem? I have to say that of finding the answer to such a question is very difficult simply because what works for me may not be a good solution for you. I’m just sharing my ideas about this matter and I really like you to think a lot and try to figure out what may work for you.

Normally, the first thing I do is to talk with myself. I try to figure out What is the alternative to me. For example, if I do not want to write or do not enjoy writing or even want to write but nothing is coming out of my pen or computer then what I can do for a living? I have some university education and maybe, I can find a job in teaching are as an executive in a company. Still, I will need to do writing because I studied literature and writing is perhaps the only skill that I have. I tried to do 9-5 jobs but I understood at a very early stages that it was not something for me. When I think of the alternative, I really can get some motivation back for sitting in computer and write something.

 

Really, if you were restored and then you should also perhaps the same kind of question: what is the alternative to you of studying? I think that if there would be two answers or options to this question. One answer will be that really there is no alternative for you (like me) to continue studying in university or college. The second answer may that you can do another thing. For that another thing- still two things will come. If it is indeed a good option for your career and future. Secondly, if it is something that you will really enjoy or enjoy more than reading and writing?

I am assuming that you have decided just like me and you want to write. Fine, now what you need to do is to write. Well, writing becomes boring from time to time and even, writing becomes difficult and nothing comes out from our head no matter whatever we try. This is the problem that sometimes happens to me and today is one such day. I have started a new blog about South Asia. This is the fourth blog that I am working on South Asian topic. So, I know about my field a lot. Still, I am tired and I have little motivation to write. Yes, I told myself about the alternatives and I found the same reply that I like nothing more than writing and this is the thing that I really know best. Still, writing seemed difficult for me. So, in the evening, I decided to change my topic and instead, I wrote this entry for this literature blog.

I feel more refreshed now. I would urge to give it a shot. I mean when writing appears to be very difficult for you then try this way. Just write anything you like. Do you maintain a diary or journal? Then write there. Write anything anywhere you feel comfortable. Just write and write.

If you want to have expert advice about it then I would like to direct you to this article of Anne Wayman:

Can’t Get Your Writing Project Started? Just Start Anyway!

 

Anne Wayman is a veteran freelance writer who has been in the freelance writing business for nearly 3 decades. I took her interview a few weeks ago and you can read that too for some more advice. 

Amazon Kindle vs Apple iPhone

Do you know about these two products? I guess you. iPhone is now like a buzz word and it is doing fine in the market. It seems that iPhone is becoming like a fashion statement to many people. If you do not have one then you are certainly missing something- this is the attitude of many people and I do not agree with them. Instead, I like Amazon’s Kindle. Kindle is a cool gadget for all the people who love to read. Reality is that in today’s world, we have to read through our computer monitor. This is a big problem if you want to enjoy your favorite novel in an old fashioned bookish way. Good thing is that Kindle is just like a book. It has a display which is almost same size like a book. And you can read it even when you are lying in bed. Good news is that Kindle is now competing with iPhone in terms of sale of products in the market. Bad news is that people like me living in South Asia, will not get this kind of products in near future.

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