Hugh points out some interesting arguments on when a blogger is most effective. First, a quote from Jason Kottke:
Consider Six Apart as an example of what I'm talking about...Folks who, a year or two ago, were among the leading voices in the discussion of how weblogs were changing our culture...or were pushing the edges of web design are now focused on making software that generates revenue and aren't saying a whole lot about it. (Sort of ironic that working for 6A kills the weblogs of their employees, isn't it?) That's great for them, for Six Apart, etc...but it kinda sucks for the community as a whole.
Next, a return comment from Mena Trott:
I don't buy the idea that most companies are creatively stifling their employees....Frankly, I know that my heaviest periods of blogging came when I was unemployed or not feeling fulfilled at work.
Huh...Kinda strange for the co-founder of a blogging company to make that point. Also, not sure what that comment says about the blogging industry as a whole (our target market is the jobless masses!)
I think the earlier comments beg the question - is a good blogger a bad employee? And in a way I would say yes (at least on a personal level) but I also think there needs to be some clarification. Certainly there are successful or effective individuals who are also excellent bloggers (Mark Cuban, Zach Braff, Seth Godin, come to mind) however, if you look at that list, I wouldn't say any of them are typical employees...ie: they're all self-employed and I assume don't keep 9-5 schedules, etc.
So, anyone have any examples of a corporate slave who's also a prolific blogger?
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