Forums: Blogging

How does a financially strapped city with a shrinking manufacturing base and rising unemployment attempt to make a little extra cash? Tax the bloggers. Philadelphia is demanding that bloggers pay $300 for a business license, whether or not the blog brings in a fraction of that amount in profit, according to the Philadelphia City Paper. Marilyn Bess blogs about eco-friendly living in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. She occasionally contributes to the DIY site eHow.com. Her profit in the last few years - $50. She told the City Paper that she received a letter from the city in May, demanding...

Are you a blogger in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Do you have Google Adsense or some other sort of low-return ads on your blog? If so expect a letter soon from your friendly city treasurer demanding that you pay a $300 tax on your "money making business." For most people that maintain an active blog it is just a hobby. Some people blog daily but most only do so a few times a month. Many bloggers also participate in Google's advertising program called Adsense but few make much more than $20 or $30 a year from the effort. But...

A website that lists the victims of Righthaven LLC's "shake down" lawsuits that are causing irreparable harm to the blogging, non-profit and small business communities. Righthaven LLC -- a bottom feeding legal outfit -- has teamed up with the Las Vegas Review-Journal to sue 'mom and pop' websites, as well as nonprofit, political action, community action, writers, and forum board operators for copyright violations. The strategy of Righthaven is to sue hundreds and thousands of these websites and counts on the fact that many are unfunded and will be forced to "settle out of court." All cases are being filed...

Well, folks, this is bound to happen more and more as time rolls onward in this New Media world of ours. A blogger is in trouble with local Ohio officials who are trying to Shut him down using a badly applied campaign finance law all because he has been critical of county officials on his blog. That's right, a county board is trying to silence the free political speech of a local Ohio blogger because he is critical of them. The Geauga County Board of Elections has filed charges against the owner of the Geauga Constitutional Council blog, independent blogger...

Ever wonder where the intemperate, aggressive name calling comes from on the Internet? Could be newspaper people blogging from their offices. Let’s face it; the Internet is filled with ad hominem attacks on people, often in the crudest terms. But here’s a perfectly good example that you don’t even have to turn on your computer to find. It’s right there on the opinion column of the Virginian Pilot (link to paid subscribers). It’s penned by Gene Smith, an editorial writer for the Fayetteville Observer and here’s how he characterizes people who don’t agree with him on the illegal immigration issue:...

Blog comments are like the graffiti of the untamed digital continent. Some are helpful, like the spray paint on the fence that says “beware of dog.” Others are very impressive, like a beautiful mural. Some obviously took a lot of time and thought. Others are done passionately and quickly. Some are for self-promotion, like a gang sign. Others are done simply to exercise our power to do harm and cause suffering. Many are angry. And still others leave us scratching our heads. As bloggers and blog readers, it’s helpful to distinguish between the different types. Blog comment sections can...

Getting to Know You Bethany Stotts, April 23, 2010 For all those bloggers out there who read our columns (and this blog) … Academia.org is now using pingbacks. If you write about us, be sure to ping our articles so we can visit your blogs and maybe post a link to yours as well!...

This was in the Rockford Illinois Craigs list volunteer section.Are you afraid of having the best health care in the world nationalized, like General Motors was? Are the taxes already too high for your liking? Has the policies of Socialists like Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, Chuck Schumer, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and other Democrats left you or many of your friends and relatives unemployed and angry? Well maybe it's time you did something about it. I am looking for volunteers willing to write for a growing, nationally recognized political blog. Write hard hitting news articles and political opinion pieces...