Careers for Bloggers

I’m struck by the similarities in careers of so many bloggernackers (and probably bloggers in general). In fact, outside of four major groups, it’s fairly hard to think of others. The major categories are:

The lawyers: Myself, Nate, Adam, Greg, Matt(?), Steve Evans, Aaron Brown, Dave Underhill, etc.
The professors or students: Russell, Jim, Gordon, Adam when this blog started, Logan, Bob(?), Ben Huff, Ben Spackman, Melissa Proctor, Taylor Petrey, etc.
The stay at home mothers: Kristine, Julie
The techies: Clark Goble, Grasshopper, Eric Stone, Kim Siever

That seems to largely cover it. Where are the doctors? The accountants? The bankers? The architects? They don’t seem to write Mormon blogs (or perhaps I just haven’t noticed them). A rare exception to the trend is our current guest blogger Jeff Lindsay. There have been a few other exceptions, such as frequent commenter Gary Cooper.

I suspect that it has to do with the requirements for blogging. One needs a computer, time to access it, and some writing ability. Professions that spend a lot of time by a computer are more likely to contribute to blogging, while professions that don’t — fire fighters, park rangers — are less likely.

And it probably has something to do with connections. Existing connections make it easier to jump into the bloggernacle. Nate and I communicated already on the LDS-Law e-mail listserv, so it was a natural next step to hop into blogging. Steve Evans knew me from law school, and (I think) caught the blogging bug from T & S. And so forth.

As a quick side note, casual observation of mine suggests that the bloggernacle is similar to the blogosphere in general, which has a lot of lawyers (Talkleft), professors (Reynolds, Volokh), techies, and stay at home moms (A Small Victory, I think). However, the blogosphere are large also has a lot of journalists — Josh Marshall, Mickey Kaus, Andrew Sullivan, Gregg Easterbrook. I wonder where all the Mormon-journalist-bloggers are?

19 comments for “Careers for Bloggers

  1. Kristine
    August 23, 2004 at 2:44 pm

    Well, we know Peggy Fletcher Stack at least lurks here occasionally. Are there any other Mormon journalists? :)

  2. August 23, 2004 at 2:53 pm

    Isn’t spare time another requirement? My mind boggles trying to figure out when it is that many of you lawyers/mothers/professors (some with children) have time to sit down and write 500 word essays AND comment on other posts AND read other blogs in the blogernacle. I mean, don’t you guys have corporations to litigate?

  3. Mary
    August 23, 2004 at 3:17 pm

    I’m a full time library assistant and a part-time student working on my Masters degree in Library Science. So, you’ve got one librarian-in-training reading.

  4. sid
    August 23, 2004 at 3:26 pm

    How about a guitar-salesperson? Or a “retail worker trying to get his/her life together” category? Or “unpublished writer”, or “part-time literary journal editor”? (all these categories can be used to describe me!!!)
    Yes, seeing the number of academics and lawyers here, I am surprised to see not a single medical professional posting here. Wonder why?

  5. LoneWriter
    August 23, 2004 at 4:34 pm

    I’m a technical writer who works in a biotech company. That makes me both a computer techie and a medical worker, doesn’t it?

    My son also posts to this blog, but may not know that I know :). He works in customer service for a well-known anti-Word-of-Wisdom company. Oh, well, we can’t all be perfect…Wait! That’s a different thread!

  6. Scott
    August 23, 2004 at 4:45 pm

    One reason I do not post very often is a professional distaste for lawyers- but I am sure that you are all very nice in person. I do enjoy browsing the 2 major Mormon blogs (bcc/t&s) for interesting topics. Keep up the good work.
    Dr. Wright

  7. cooper
    August 23, 2004 at 5:12 pm

    Just FYI Kaimi, Michele at A Small Victory is NOT a stay at home mom. She’s articulate, funny, obscene at times, political, angry occasionally, employed, music and film lover, and a mom. Not to mention her affinity for all things “Commodore 64ish”.

  8. Adam Greenwood
    August 23, 2004 at 5:26 pm

    Scott is non compos mentis. His first two sentences are deranged–not like lawyers? bcc?
    I assume he will be suitable disciplined by the thought police.

  9. August 23, 2004 at 6:34 pm

    Adam, if only your English were as good as your Latin. You should be “suitable disciplined” yourself!

    Scott, I understand very well your distaste for hanging out with lawyers.

    yours truly,

    The Thought Police

  10. Adam Greenwood
    August 23, 2004 at 8:10 pm

    Mr. Evans is non compos mentis. His first two sentences are deranged–my English isn’t as good as my Latin? I should be censured? I assume he will be suitably disciplined by the Thought Police.

  11. Mike
    August 23, 2004 at 9:23 pm

    I agree with Rusty- I often wonder how people have time to write the things they do.

    I think the careers mentioned have the common thread of being careers in which there may be a huge time requirement and lots of work involved there is
    a. almost always a computer with internet access nearby when doing that work
    b. some degree of either flexibility or a schedule which has periods of rest amidst the chaos.

  12. August 23, 2004 at 10:01 pm

    Kaimi writes: “Where are the doctors?”

    Start a thread on malpractice premiums and tort reform–that’ll bring out the Doc’s. ;->

    Guy

  13. Julie in Austin
    August 24, 2004 at 12:22 am

    It may also be that academic and law types are used to writing lengthy (long-winded!) pieces without batting an eye and are therefore able to fire off extensive missives without it being a big deal. Those in professions that are less wordsmith-y might require longer to formulate, write, and post, and, perhaps, not find the time investment worth their while.

    Just a theory.

  14. Brian Duffin
    August 24, 2004 at 12:03 pm

    Doctors? Blogging?

    I fear that even with the aid of a keyboard and spell checker, their posts would yet be illegible! :-)

  15. Geoff B
    August 24, 2004 at 12:30 pm

    Hmmm. No other former journalists who are now corporate executives? On my own once again.

  16. August 24, 2004 at 12:36 pm

    I thought all bloggers were journalists. (cough, cough)

  17. August 24, 2004 at 2:43 pm

    What happens when you fit into multiple categories? Kaimi has me pegged in the student category, which is true. But I’ve also been a network engineer now for over three years. And I like to think of myself as somewhat of an entrepreneur as I started a profitable side business over two years ago. But ultimately I’m hoping to get my M.B.A. and join the Geoff B club (I’m not a former journalist, uh, unless you count high school publications :-), but I have always enjoyed writing). Maybe I’m just fickle.

  18. Nathan Tolman
    August 26, 2004 at 11:10 am

    I am a PhD student myself. I find myself looking here more than I post (except for my occasional bought of insomnia) because there is something about the predominance of lawyers here and how lawyers argue certain points that annoys me. I can not put a finger on it quite yet.

  19. Maren
    August 28, 2004 at 10:52 am

    Well I certainly don’t fit in. I work for a non-profit organization teaching adults with disabilities, and when I go back for a masters degree, it will be in social work. I wonder, though, where age fits in. Are the majority in their thirties? I was a psych major, I like stats.

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