MSN Blogs

An old friend and I reconnected after several years' separation. She asked what kind of writing I'm doing now. With a half-smile I revealed, "I'm a blog 'ho' these days," wondering if she'd recognize the term. Her eyebrows arched as her eyes enlarged. She stuttered. "Yeah, I write in other people's blogs for pay," I confessed. The brows lowered as she murmured softly. She probably thought at first I was pimping products in my own blog like one infamous ad system. Last week MSN launched its new content channels (anonymous blogs) called MSN Filter. Other bloggers, like Pro Hip Hop cried foul:

Launching an official blog without identifying the writers basically reduces it to a content management system and feeds into Microsoft's 'you will be assimilated into the cyborgsphere' public image.

You gotta hand it to the public for making things happen. By the end of the week and popular request, the blog managers began identifying themselves. Perhaps they were tired of being unknown in their seemingly unrewarding positions. When MSN advertised for writers earlier this year, it estimated the work (more than just blogging) would take 15 hours a week, but didn't mention payments. PaidContent quipped: "It has been hiring for these blog writing positions for some time now. The MSN blogs don't have any writer names, which is a bit strange, considering what blogs are." When you're a seasoned writer bylines become far less important than seeing your name on the paycheck. What difference does it make who wrote a piece, anyway? (No, I'm not an MSN "ho".) [blog writing]

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