Now that I have your attention (evil laugh inserted here), let’s talk about shameless self-promotion. A blogger (which is what I am) calls it link-blegging, a writer (Chris Rose) calls it being smart. To a blogger, you could have the best darn blog in the universe, but unless you link to bigger bloggers, you are merely an amoeba in the blogosphere (a real word). To a writer, a true writer, you have to be published on paper and have a few bucks under your belt to be considered successful. So let’s talk similarities and differences:

Chris Rose – openly promoted himself in the Times-Picayune to write for K-Ville (smart move) in today’s paper and it can also be found on-line at NOLA.com
Greta – well read on…… Then she produced this post which will either be completely ignored or embraced by her bosses, her fans and her potential readers.

Chris Rose – studied to be a journalist or writer with formal schooling. Bottom line- he knew he was going to be a writer and worked his whole adult life to become one.
Greta – holds a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science and a BS in education and has taught PE, Health and been a Certified Athletic Trainer. All this time, she wrote papers, her thesis, published in a major journal and then had kids….That was her BC (before children) life. Then she became a military wife, moved every 1-3 years for 12 plus years, raised her children (who are all in school all day now – yippee), developed a latex allergy that won’t allow her to go back to her previous career and started writing away on her laptop.

Chris Rose – wrote a book about his personal experiences, during and post-Katrina and just keeps on writing
Greta – started blogging the day she had to prepare for her husband’s deployment for Iraq (2003) and hasn’t slowed down. In 2007, Kiss My Gumbo was born to separate her military blogging and her LA blogging, to write to a new audience.

Chris Rose – measures his success by being read on paper and for being Chris Rose. His experiences and amazing writing style have lead him to become a diarist, similar to a blogger. But, since he was already a columnist, he gets paid to publish his diary.
Greta – measures her success by readers, # of comment, personal conversations about her posts, and the number hits per day on a dang statcounter.

Chris Rose – is a NOLA darling, a hero, a personality who can capitalize and continue his forward career momentum based on his past experiences and formal education.
Greta – is virtually an unknown in LA, a blogger who has lived here almost 9 months now and has developed a small cult following from people that like her message, her writing style and her personality that is transparent in her writing. She has also had a few on-air stints and is also a freelance contributor to a local Northshore magazine.

Chris Rose- gets top billing for NOLA.com, is featured every week on the front page left column for being a columnist
Greta – is jumbled up in hard to find places that change on a daily basis in the quagmire of NOLA.com blogs. She maintains her own personal blog for her own sanity and control of her blogging destiny.

Chris – doesn’t have to beg and bleg himself for the columns he has established. He will probably get a gig with the K-Ville staff as he should. He even has his own Facebook Club (yep I belong).
Greta – dreams of getting paid exorbitant amounts of money for becoming a regular blogger for NOLA.com. Well, maybe just a little bit more than $200 a month for freelancing. She would also like to be known as a sort-of local good-will ambassador, a local “personality” and positive influence for her new permanent home that she loves so much. Her husband dreams of her making more money to at least help pay for her .coms and hosting fees and thinks vacation money earnings would be nice.

So what will become of Greta? Will she continue to bust her behind and write almost every single day, despite a lack of income? Possibly. Will she strive to become a true journalist or news reporter? Nope. Will she remain true to her blogging passion which she enjoys every day? Most definitely! Will she get frustrated for having to continue blegging for herself? Yep. Will this shameless self-promotion post (typical blogger style that is unique) go down in history as a huge annoyance or a speck of brilliance that launches a new chapter in her life? Gosh-dangit – she sure hopes so!!!!

In a nutshell, Greta is not asking to replace Chris Rose, she is trying to create a new type of writer, a “Blogalist.” A blogalist would be a regular blogger who appears on the front page of NOLA.com and does not necessarily appear in written print. A true blogger “like myself” always welcomes comments and differing opinions immediately after each post. A true blogger also is never far from her keyboard and is often amazingly quick to respond to comments and/or personal e-mails stemming from a post.

So what do you say NOLA.com, are you ready to try something new and take a gamble on Greta Perry of Kiss My Gumbo to become the first paid “blogalist?” In true blogger fashion, I lay all my cards on the table, out loud, for all to read. So I have either shot myself in the foot or boosted myself from the back of the classroom!

If you like Greta or if you feel that she is a pathetic blog blegger who you feel sorry for, please let the higher beings know your thoughts and opinions. Thank you readers- you are the reason I write (well that and it is free therapy).
Mark Rose – General Manager
504.299.3501
mrose@nola.com

Jon Donley – Editor
504.299.3502
jdonley@nola.com
Update – my hubby did not laugh at my reference to “internet whoring,” so I have replaced all those words with blegging. Blegging is a blog beg. If you are in the blog world – there are certain phrases and words that have taken on a different meaning and are used differently in the “real” world. Sorry if I offended anyone and to all those bloggers – you know what I meant.
(c/p at NOLA.com)