Jemima, your words are often like warm syrup over a fat stack of flapjacks, but I have to disagree with this post. I hear what you are saying in so far as there are so many people in a money frenzy clamoring for the all mighty consumer dollar that it can get ridiculous. But the fact is, no one is telling you or anyone else what they can or cannot post. Furthermore, if your ego wasn’t slightly involved in this equation then why don’t you simply write in your diary and tuck it under your bed?

The blogosphere and the myriad of channels out there that churn out content offer choices. Don’t like what you are reading or seeing? Click to the next web site or TV channel, cancel your subscription, turn the page, or don’t buy the book after reading the summary.

What you and your blogging buddy attended was a conference. Conferences are often about business. If you want to talk about blogging with your literary friends or others then meet up somewhere for coffee and conversation. Talk about how you can raise the bar for your profession using blogs and blogging tools. Clearly, you don’t need BlogHer to get the most out of blogging. Furthermore, your lack of satisfaction with the conference could have an impact on next year’s attendance. That’s how these things work.

The reality is that business continually pushes the ball forward. Business may be insatiable, aggressive, competitive, and even imperfect, but it also inspires innovation. Right now there are thousands of developers creating new applications for blogging because their egos are involved in the game. Yes, they do it because they love it and the challenge, but they also want to be noticed. They want to show off their skills. They want to work on the best projects, and guess what, get paid for it. Why? Because we all have to eat. And guess who in the end reaps the benefits? You. You get to use a free publishing software that allows you to communicate openly and freely with the world.

But of course you should blog for yourself. And I hope you will continue to do so. You have that freedom and no one is expecting you to do otherwise, not even the Internet. Now, can we please get extra syrup on that next post of your’s?