Yesterday, I saw a really interesting post over on Web Fugitive which contained a warning to bloggers about the bankruptcy of the Chicago Tribune. Here’s the premise:

Traditional media are losing their shorts due to the paradigm shift brought on by the Internet plus the economic recession. More and more career reporters will be losing their jobs and hence looking for their next thing. Many of them will turn to blogging. They are already good at what they do. They have connections due to their reporter position. Essentially, they’re coming into the blogging fray with a huge leg up.

So, the article says:

So to all the career bloggers – or even the casual ones like myself; If you don’t step your game up, you are going to get stomped. Maybe not today – or a year from now, but it’s going to happen. This is the starting line gunshot, and you are getting a head start. Make the most of it.

Since my blog (this site) is primarily about blogging for money, this is something that my readers need to take note of. If you want to be a hobby blogger, then by all means just enjoy yourself. If, however, you’re using your blog as a means to further your business ambitions, you need to step up your game. There is competition coming – and potentially lots of it.

With an economic downturn, I fully believe the Internet as a money-making medium will be even more popular than it is now. A lot of those people are going to turn to blogging as a cash source. Many of them will not realize that this is real work and those guys will fall by the wayside. But, a horde of former reporters coming into the fray is something to watch. These guys know how to do this stuff. They’ll need to learn the ropes specific to the online medium, but they’ll learn it.

I practically laugh out loud at those people who declare blogging as a dying medium. They’re imbeciles who haven’t a clue. Blogging has a lot of growth ahead of it.

Some people get it. Others don’t.