Blogger's Yoke, A Stressful Addiction

Yes, we here at guestofaguest are all too familiar to the "blogger's yoke", or as we like to call it the blog ball and chain.  Its a constant vicious cycle, where you are always updating, checking the inbox, and looking for new content to post.  And then once you find content, you strain to put your own brand of reporting/humor/wit/sarcasm/snark on it. Om Malik, of GigOm, has been finding it a bit too consuming these days.  So consuming that he just had a heart attack at the tender age of 41.

“The trouble with a personal brand is, you’re yoked to a machine,” said Paul Kedrosky, a friend of Mr. Malik’s who runs the Infectious Greed blog. “You feel huge pressure to not just do a lot, but to do a lot with your name on it. You have pressure to not just be the C.E.O., but at the same time to write, and to do it all on a shoestring. Put it all together, and it’s a recipe for stress through the roof.”

We wish Om a speedy recovery, and warn all of you current and soon-to-be personal bloggers out there to stay away.  That's in order.  It's one thing if you are getting paid to blog.  Then at least you can justify the health hazards involved.  But if you are looking for another addiction to kill some time, why not try gambling or drinking instead?