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I’m currentl writing a post for my personal blog on 10 Steps for Social Media Success, and as I was finishing up that post I started to think of blogging specifically because aside from interactive design, I love writing. Writing for me is a key form of expression, perhaps because I can draw, paint, or compose music. But with my words I’m able to unite the hearts of many, inspire others to take action, and bring my readers to tears with raw human emotion that can be poured into my words. Still, in the grand scheme of things, we’ve seen blogging take on a huge roll in our daily lives, not just for personal use, but for financial gain, and the movement shows no sign of stopping.

Where do you stand in the movement? Are you a personal blogger or are you in it for the long haul with the hopes of a return? There’s nothing wrong with either, and both have their right and wrong ways to approach, but let’s understand what is happening before make that determination.

The Mighty Have Fallen

In the last year we’ve seen major traditional methods of media take a serious hit to their pockets. We as consumers and content creators are changing our consumption habits and as such, traditional media outlets are scrambling to survive this paradigm shift of what we consider quality content, or at the very least worthwhile content. It’s a race that not everyone will survive as we’ve seen major newspapers close entirely, or have entire teams of writers given the pink slip as traditional media and marketing/advertising attempts to trim their budgets.

Recently I was asked to be a local blogger for my metropolitan newspaper because of my reputation as a local media leader and my involvement with ongoing trends in media as they exist today. Standing on this new frontier I find myself amazed at how quickly old media is adapting and looking for ways to reach the eyeballs of their supporters. I wrote a blog for the paper’s online site that discussed how our attention is the 21st Century’s greatest finite resource, and it is. With so much competition out there to grab our attention for entertainment, news, sports, day to day tasks, we are consuming content faster, quicker, and in shorter spurts.

This trend is really pushing short video sites like YouTube and Hulu into the forefront of where people are watching their content. Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular as well as audio books for those looking at consuming content on the go. Micro-blogs and blogs in general are offering perspectives and insights that traditional media completely overlooks.

This is apparently what the consumerist society wants today, and we as bloggers have an opportunity to enjoy.

Blogging Can be Profitable

So now focusing on blogging specifically, where does this put you? As a blogger this is your biggest opporutnity for two things. First you can capitalize on this opporunity for big gains, not just financially, but also for reputation. Secondly, you stand to be at the cusp for greatness when this waves officially washes over the world.

I still think that traditional media will have its roots and I respect the medium entirely. I am not completely comfortable with the term old media myself, but it’s been coined and as such makes it easier for those to understand the difference between old and new media. Still, I started out as a traditional journalist and writer, and have transformed myself into a digital media maven of sorts spreading myself across the globe with access to so many free tools that make it possible.

Advertisers may have shrinking budgest and the economy may not look the greatest on a global scale, but this is all temporary. Like any storm the clouds will pass and you want to be sure your content stands tall as someplace any company big or small would want to place their ads. This is why content is king and readership is important. Make your deals now, line your strategies with opportunities, or re-align your blogs mission for the future for increased profits. Whatever it takes, this new day is approaching quickly and there is plenty for everyone….for now.

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Post Written by Luis Sandoval. He is a media strategist for Advantj Media, and writer on social media and technology on his blog The Daily Slackr.

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