Sarah Perez at Read/Write Web wonders whether or not content is finally / just now becoming a commodity, referencing the Shyftr saga over the weekend, and with particular reference to bloggers.  The funny thing (of course, not in a ‘ha ha’ way) is that this truth that she is stumbling upon, is one of the oldest and well known — and yet, hardly appreciated — by most bloggers.

Blogging, as an activity in and of itself, rarely pays.

More to the point: up until recently, it has never really paid for anyone.

And by “pay” I mean that it the most mercenary, and yet, the most metaphorical terms.  Compared to whatever day job you hold or once held, on a per hourly basis, it will not compete (perhaps even within an order of magnitude) with that level of compensation and never will.

Nor, for many individuals, will it ever pay out in the larger sense — from a sense of joined participation, of the validation of one’s thoughts and one’s words, and perhaps thought leadership in any one category.  Not that it doesn’t ever return any of that at *all*, but that compared to what many bloggers put *in* to this hobby, the return is infintismal.

No, unless you command the attention of hundreds of thousands, or perhaps, millions of eyeballs very few bloggers will have the indulgence of having their thoughts and opinions (i.e. their content) subsidized at a high advertising rate by anyone.

And that’s the problem, I suppose, that this weekend meme is getting to.

There are many *many* ways to answer the inevitable questions “… so now what?” and “what can I make of this?” and “should I just be happy with writing as a means in and of itself?”

The way that I will answer it is thusly.

The actual content in your blog may not be worth so much that anyone is going to pay for it; but blogging as a vehicle and not a means to an end is how many bloggers find success, however they want to define it.  I am going to presuppose that you have the will, the time, and the energy to keep plugging at it day after day, when no one is listening, no one is replying, and it seems like no one even knows you’re writing.

And furthermore, that you have no inclination to sell anything except yourself and your words.

But that base of content is something free that you will build upon.

And once you know — and accept — that its something in and of itself that you will probably never be paid outright for, certainly not in a way that can compensate you for the blood, sweat, and tears that have made your blog what it is, you can turn get over how little you’re getting out of your work, and leverage that blog into something else.

A lever for what you do and what you stand for; what some people recognize as your personal brand.

What you ultimately do after that is up to you.

Will you use it as a stepping stone to a new job?  Another occupation within the new media sphere?  Perhaps as a paid gun at part of a well known blog?  A means to meet more like-minded bloggers and personalities?  A a font of ideas where perhaps you *will* end up selling something?  Perhaps your unique services and opinions on your particular area of interest?  Or perhaps organizing a conference in that same area?

And that’s just one way to answer this broad question around what bloggers can do to leverage their time and energy.

If you’re comfortable with selling something now (products or services), and the circumstances fit, it can complement your writing nicely.  Or perhaps you’re going to make it your goal to achieve stratospheric numbers in terms of eyeballs, RSS subscribers and attention.

But at end of the day, one of the first things any blogger needs to know is that blogging as an activity unto itself doesn’t pay.  We live in a world where content is devalued.  And its up to every one of us to make the most of what blogging *can* do.

And for some people, given the right time, the right circumstances, and the right amount of work (hellishly hard amounts), it can work out like gangbusters.

Just ask Robert Scoble.

(Who doesn’t monetize his site at all; but rather, has used his blogging fame and brand to launch PodTech and now FastCompany TV.  Being a blogging rock star is nice, but it, by itself, doens’t pay your mortgage — unless it actually does, as I have no first hand knowledge of being one)