Blogging is Beautiful.

The debate about blogging vs. the traditional mode of journalism has reached a new crescendo with Leandra Medine's post, on her fabulous site Man Repeller.

If there is one thing I would like the status quo to know about blogging it is that blogging opens doors. 

Bloggers sit in the front row at fashion shows, and may or may not give a hoot about the fact that they are even on the front row as opposed to any other row. (I could be wrong, here.) But the point is that being a blogger in today's world is stating that you are creative, entrepreneurial, flexible, savvy, and to a certain extent, undefinable by the old standards. These are traits that lead the way toward paving new career paths. Blogging is by no means over, but it will have to continue to change as media changes.

If anything, blogging is becoming a valid form of citizen journalism, and many bloggers are former professional journalists. There are times when I read a blog and I wish that the traditional standards of journalism applied such as having multiple sources, and remaining free of "graft". But by acknowledging sponsorships, bloggers act as both the creative and the business side of their endeavor. 

Bloggers should be complimented by those in the status quo media for their display, and oftentimes mastery, of a variety of skills. Bloggers should also be compensated, an issue that past organizations (IFB comes to mind) have cogently addressed in the past. This issue of compensation needs to be re-addressed, especially in this age of Internet applications such as "Square". Realistically, though it is more likely that bloggers will earn compensation from their spin-off pursuits, i.e., styling, design-work, expertise consultations, etc. 

Blogging can certainly be taken seriously. It is a new cottage industry - or what I like to call icottage-industry - that deserves to be taken seriously.

I, for one, am growing my blogging pursuit into a spin-off consultation practice that I hope will develop as I continue to develop.

What are your blogging goals for 2013? How can we best achieve our blogging goals?

- G.T.