After a day stuck in front of computers, I am not in the best shape to form great sentences about this subject but I’ve been thinking about it since BlogNashville ended last Saturday. Frustratingly, I did not think of it during the session related to it.

I attended Henry Copeland’s session on “Making Money” at BlogNashville. There was what I perceived to be a misperception among the attendees about what exactly a blog is and should be. The term “business model” was bounced around so much that John Cox had to remind everybody that we blog because it’s fun. The thing is, there already exists a business model for blogs: the same one successful that ‘zines use.

There are tons of print zines dedicated to miniscule subject matter that can sell ads to cover costs. Blogs are essentially personal zines. Instead of thinking corporate, bloggers who want to make money need to think local. Very local. That doesn’t necessarily mean local geographically. But audience-wise.

While many people wonder how to get Levis to start buying BlogAds, I just want to convince the bar down the street that spending $10 on NashvilleZine advertising is a good use of money. I’d like to see alternatives to BlogAds arise and localize. It would be nice to have a third party co-ordinating advertisers with blogs.