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)

So, in contemplating the latest tech issues that are floating around the blogosphere, a thought came to me during my morning constitutional. Disclosure is a Big Thing amongst bloggers, and perhaps even so amongst bloggers with influence. Witness the hubaloo over the weekend where Federated Media’s attempts at “Conversational Marketing” (and rather old attempts at that — Valleywag needs to improve the quality of its bird-dogs, methinks) created a giant stink … and some of that had to do with disclosure.

And I think the issue of bias, truth, and disclosure is going to be one of those perennial topics that bloggers love to get riled over. Probably because there is a perception that blogging is somehow, or ought to be, more truthful, more honest, more sincere, and have more integrity than other publishing mediums. When a blogger says something or does something contrary to that, there’s a conflict in perception, and the bigger / more beloved / more hated the blogger, the bigger reaction.

But how about this angle on things.

I blog about technology, web startups, social media and all manner of things. I’d like to think that my opinion has a certain amount of currency amongst the people who read this site, or who subscribe to my feeds.

But do you ever wonder if I have a vested interest in blogging about what I do blog about? And, no, I’m not talking about advertising, like Federated Media.

Rather, have you ever wondered whether I actually hold a position in any publicly (or even, let’s say, privately owned) companies that I may have blogged about? Do you think that might affect what I write about? What I “cover”? What I don’t? What I write positively about? What I write negatively about?

It should. And, maybe it should get you to start thinking about what your other favourite bloggers own.

For example, would it shock you if I told you that I hold shares in AOL, which owns Netscape, a direct competitor to Digg, of whom I have criticized endlessly?

(I don’t, so don’t worry).

Disclosure on this kind of level, as far as I know, happens when its convenient for bloggers, or when its topical. For example, Mike Arrington has told us on loads of occasions that he is involved with the startup, DayLife. That is a clear potential bias for his coverage, but he tells you right off the bat.How about the ones he doesn’t tell you about? And, not to single out Mike, but what about your other favourite bloggers?

And let’s be really clear and “transparent” about this argument. How about the biggest players in the business who we all love to blog about? Who owns shares in Microsoft? Google? AOL?

How about Apple?

Could anyone who owns shares in Apple — and let’s crank up the hyperbole for a second, and say, “what if your IRA is counting on it?” [or, if you live in Canada, RRSP] — really and truthfully write an honest review about its chances pre and post iPhone? Isn’t it in their best interests … even on a subconscious level — to either not write about it, or generally agree with the reviews at large that its going to be the next biggest thing since Jeebus?

So, here’s where I come in.

“What does Tony own?” … you might ask.

Well, I’ll be completely honest. I *do* own shares of Apple. Not a lot. And I mean, *really* not a lot. But, that’s an investment that I made because I believe in Apple’s long term growth, and more importantly, the svengali powers of Steve Jobs.

My own take on the iPhone is that it doesn’t really matter what it *doesn’t* have. The magic was in the marketing that lead up to this point, and more importantly, everything it *does* have. And from a company point of view? Apple is going to keep up making more and more of these things. And by “Things” yes, I mean newer, better, versions of the iPhone — just like the iPod (and therefore, it really doesn’t matter what it doesn’t have). But also other things that people are going to fall in love with.

Steve Jobs — I swear, you better not have a heart attack any time in the next 10-15 years! ;)

But that’s it.

I don’t own shares in Microsoft, or Google or anything else. Maybe I should.

But in thinking about things, it really got me thinking.

“There is absolutely no way I can write anything honest about the iPhone. I mean *really* honest.” Because I’d love for it to do well. Gangbusters well. So Apple stores can increase their revenue per square foot even MORE (did you know that Apple stores have the highest revenue per square foot in all of retailing?) Part of me wants it to fail, because I love schaedenfreude much as the next man — heck, possibly more. But I can’t revel in it fully — or even be myself — because of what I own.

So there you go. Its out there. I own a few shares of Apple.

But, what do your favourite tech bloggers own? And do you think its going to bias their coverage of tech companies now — and in the future?