Full-time bloggers, who are often given incentives based on the number of page views they generate or the number of stories they write, put their health at risk due to the 24-hour demands of the
profession. Being first to a story can generate a page view boon. Hence, bloggers rarely sleep, are addicted to coffee, are constantly connected to their computers. It uses the examples of tech
bloggers Russell Shaw, who died of a heart attack two weeks ago, Marc Orchant, who died of a massive coronary, Om Malik, who nearly died of a heart attack in December, and TechCrunch creator Michael
Arrington, who says: "At some point, I'll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen. This is not sustainable."
Some question the
impartiality of the Times' article. The blogosphere isn't blogging itself to death. Sure, some bloggers (link: http://gigaom.com/2008/04/06/relax-chill-and-maybe-blog/) work too hard trying to
grow their company or make more money, but these are personal choices. Bloggers, like any professional, choose how hard they drive themselves. Truth is, there are many overworked people across a broad
spectrum of professions. As Marc Andreesen says, let's not blame the bloggers for it (link: http://blog.pmarca.com/2008/04/the-new-york-ti.html) Many bloggers are overworked, but so are many
advertising executives.
Read the whole story at The New York Times »