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Professional Bloggers — More Popular Than Firefighters and Bartenders

April 21, 2009 6:17 AM | Columns


Blogging Comic

Now here’s a story that I can relate to. The Wall Street Journal ran an article today looking at the profession of a professional blogger.

In America today, there are almost as many people making their living as bloggers as there are lawyers. Already more Americans are making their primary income from posting their opinions than Americans working as computer programmers, firefighters or even bartenders.

Paid bloggers fit just about every definition of a microtrend: Their ranks have grown dramatically over the years, blogging is an important social and cultural movement that people care passionately about, and the number of people doing it for at least some income is approaching 1% of American adults.

Comparing the numbers shows that blogging comes in second to the amount of lawyers in the U.S. While 452,000 sets of hands pound away at a keyboard, 555,770 people are sitting in a courtroom somewhere.

While the statistics are purely based on American findings, the comparison to the amount of Canadians making their living blogging can’t be that far off. While I’ve been blogging personally for about four years, others I speak to in my niche have been at it far longer, and have the income to show for it.

Read the entire article.