Can Blogs Become a Big Source of Jobs?

The New York Times ^ | June 10, 2007 | BARBARA WHITAKER

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

SEARCH “blog,” “blogger” or “blogging” on the Indeed.com job board and more than 13,000 jobs come up. But narrow the search to job titles containing those words and the opportunities dwindle to just over 50.

The bottom line is this: while running a Web log is a skill that more and more employers seek in their employees, finding full-time work in that world is still unusual.

Blogs, short for Web logs, tend to be informal journals that track a subject on a regular basis. The topics are varied, and personal observations are often included. But as blogs have matured, they have also become a communications tool within companies, from the C.E.O. on down.

As blogs gain in popularity, demand is growing for employees who can write them or have the technical expertise to support them. A few Web sites, including ProBlogger and Performancing, cater to bloggers and include job opportunities.

“There’s almost an ecosystem of jobs that have emerged around blogs,” said Paul Forster, chief executive at Indeed.com, a job search engine with postings from more than 5,000 sources. “It’s an emerging area where there are many more opportunities related to the blog rather than being a dedicated blog writer.”

For example, a posting by the search firm S4 Partners in the San Francisco Bay Area recently sought someone with an understanding of the world of blogs and the software used to support them. The goal of the company was to find a blog administrator, to establish the blog and to run it.

“This was our first search of this kind,” said Chris Shaw, president of S4 Partners, who would identify the client only as a well-known company in the high-tech sector. “We had to do some unconventional searching. This isn’t just a blogger.