A note received by LA Observed reveals that in its local effort, the Huff Po is pretty much sticking with what they know: getting people to blog for free on the promise of fame, exposure and influence.

The email reads:

I am pleased to announce that the Huffington Post is coming to Los Angeles. We'll be launching a local edition of our news and opinion site in early December, and are hoping you would like to be part of it.

A key element of HuffPost LA will be a group blog where some of Southern California's most knowledgeable and creative minds weigh in on everything that makes Los Angeles such a diverse and unique city. Any subject is fair game, from state and city politics to cultural and business trends to the local sports teams. From the beaches to the desert, Michelin-starred restaurants to taco trucks, the Staples Center to Disneyland, the Lakers to the Dodgers, USC to UCLA, our bloggers will cover all aspects of life in Los Angeles.

We're hoping you'll add your voice to the mix, weighing in when you see something on the street that strikes you or find a worthy cause you feel isn' t getting the coverage it deserves. The HuffPost LA will let you react to the news or make some of your own.

There are no deadlines or commitments. You can blog as often or as infrequently as you like, in posts short or long. (We've generally found that between 400-800 words works best.) Its a great way to impact the local conversation.

Could the whole decade-long explosion of blogging have been a mere fad — the transitory adolescence of a Web destined to grow up? Rebecca Mead's 2000 New Yorker piece about Blogger and Meg Hourihan and Kottke had referred to blogging as "the CB radio of the Dave Eggers generation." Nicholas Carr, meanwhile, compared the blogosphere to the flourishing of ham radio in the early days of broadcasting. It had taken roughly two decades for "social production" of radio to be absorbed into "corporate production," Carr observed. Now, he maintained, with only the slightest hint of regret, the same thing was happening somewhat more quickly to bloggers, as the amateurs got pushed to the periphery by the pros.

Historically, the succession of media forms and technologies follows a predictable pattern: every innovation arrives with a fanfare announcing that it will replace its predecessor. But when the dust settles, the newcomer almost always winds up having redefined that predecessor rather than eliminated it. Radio did not kill off the telegraph. (Although it is now, finally, dead — Western Union shut down telegram service in 2006 — it was the Internet that delivered the final blow.) Television killed off neither radio nor the newspaper. The cinema failed to kill live theater. Home video did not shutter the movie theaters. The Web may be wreaking havoc on the newspaper industry, but it is unlikely to wipe out all publishing on paper in the near future.

Similarly, as people have flocked to Facebook and MySpace and Twitter, they will not stop posting to or reading blogs — but their patterns of blogging will change. The social networks turn out to be an easier and more efficient channel for casual messages intended for a handful of friends. If what you want to tell the world requires only 140 characters, you may well choose to say it on Twitter instead of in a blog post. As a result, some unquantifiable portion of the world's blogging has already started to change, to become a little more deliberate, a little less telephonic in nature.

But there is scant sign of mass abandonment of the form. There's likely to be a long future in which a great number of people who wish to communicate online find the unique characteristics of a blog irresistible. Next to the traditions and constraints of older media on paper or the airwaves, blogging tends to look anarchic and ephemeral and superficial. But next to the crowd-driven networking on Facebook or the stream of Twitter snippets, blogs appear far more substantial and free-standing and powerful. A blog lets you define yourself, whereas on a social network you are more likely to be defined by others. Sure, blog readers can write comments — but the blogger can delete the comments, or disemvowel them, or turn them off entirely. Sure, a blog is dependent on the links you point outward and those that others point in; but it has its own independent existence in a way that no amount of messaging and chat and interaction on a social networking site can match. A blog is not necessarily better than a Facebook profile, nor is it worse; it is, simply, different.

So, while there is no question that the energy that has poured into Facebook and its ilk in the latter part of the 2000s has drawn some of the excitement and media attention that bloggers formerly took for granted, it is also true that the rise of the social networks clarifies exactly what characteristics made blogging last. They are the same traits that once excited its earliest pioneers. A blog lets you raise your voice without asking anyone's permission, and no one is in a position to tell you to shut up. It is, as the journalism scholar Jay Rosen puts it, "a little First Amendment machine," an engine of free speech operating powerfully at a fulcrum-point between individual autonomy and the pressures of the group. Blogging uniquely straddles the acts of writing and reading; it can be private and public, solitary and gregarious, in ratios that each practitioner sets for himself. It is hardly the only way to project yourself onto the Web, and today it is no longer the easiest way. But it remains the most interesting way. Nothing else so richly combines the invitation to speak your mind with the opportunity to mix it up with other minds.

Excerpted from "Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters," published by Crown Publishing, a division of Random House Inc.

You can read reviews at BusinessWeek, Seattle Times and Kirkus.

The book is also on sale at Amazon.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Scott Rosenberg.

If you're an author or a book publicist and you want to participate in the Gawker Book Club, send email to Gabriel Snyder.

Of course, he isn't writing for free. But he has, in the past!

And I don't think it is that terrible a thing if most journalists start earning less money. I wrote this blog daily for years for nothing because I love what I do. I've been really, really lucky to have landed at the Atlantic but the dirty secret is that I'd do this because I want to know more about the world and bring that information to as many people as possible, to advance those causes I believe are just and expose those lies that I think need exposing.

Hah. Andrew Sullivan had edited The New Republic for five years and had released two books by the time he started his little hobby blog, which he now does indeed get paid money to write. It is actually a lot easier to write for free or for not enough money to live on when you are already pretty comfortable! And for some crazy reason it is always those people who are already pretty comfortable who are just baffled by the idea of paying someone to produce content that someone else profits from!

Isn't that funny, how that works?

Such is my total devotion to Citysearch readers that, thanks to my nightly travels, so amply chronicled on my twitter stream, I have gotten the ailment all men long for. What a triumph! Of course, there is the physical downside — a painful inflammation of the right toe joint, and a concomitant reduction in mobility — but what is the point of living in a city so rife with pork belly confits, foie gras-stuffed chickens, testa ravioli, yorkshire puddings, and ramen bars?

Luckily for us, overexposure to our kind of content mostly results in unseen, quietly building problems of the mind. Sure we'll eventually keel over into a wits-deprived heap, but at least our toes and elbows won't be swollen.

Anyway, congrats Josh. You now join Jared Leto in the Modern Gout club.

Andersen cofounded Spy with the amusing-looking Graydon Carter, where they invented making fun of celebrities and the media, and then they both sold out, except Kurt still has cred because he just writes a column for New York, he doesn't edit a glossy celebrity magazine.

Now Kurt has finally joined such luminaries of modern thought as Jim Cramer and Shaq (that is the best Twitter ever, btw) in the field of 140-character updates on politics, world news, and what you are watching on TV (Andersen is watching You Don't Mess With the Zohan).

Now it's only a matter of time before this media legend "@'s" you, future superstars of making fun of celebrities!

First off, our notoriously cold-hearted publisher Nick Denton just admitted that he cried last night. "And I'm not even a Democrat!"

And there were a thousand different versions of this statement across the blogs: "I am so proud of all of you." Thanks, Mom.

Here's another anonoblogging overshare:

I was listening to NPR when they said that Mccain had conceded the election. I had to pull over because I was crying so hard. I've been on the edge between terror and excitement all day. I am feeling this in every inch of my body. I'm feeling this. I've never, ever been more proud to live in this country. I've never been more proud to be an American. I have never feel such a sense of belonging, or felt so strongly that the good guys won in such a massive, inarguable way. I am feeling this.

From New York dating columnist and noted political pundit Julia Allison:

From New York magazine's Jessica Coen:

From world-famous mommyblogger Dooce:

From the typically cynical Page Six Mag's Joshua David Stein:

From the always-earnest former HuffPo editor Rachel Sklar:

From boa-wearing MediaBistro maven Lauren Touby:

And finally, two much-needed correctives:

And here's one culled from an anonymous LiveJournal-er:

Yeah, I voted today. I wasn't going to at first because Texas isn't in play presidential-wise and the candidate I vote for never seems to win but I decided to be a good citizen and do my civic duty. Besides, I heard you can get a free chicken sandwich at Chik-Fil-A if you flash your "I Voted" sticker. Democracy is even tastier when served with waffle fries.

But seriously. After Obama won, I took a long, hard look at myself in the mirror, and thought: "Yeah, my eyeliner looks pretty good right now."

Hey New Yorkers, Confession: I took things down for a bit of a timeout but Happy Election Eve and let’s rock. It’s been about a year since I lost all that weight that made me feel like an outsider –and gone from outsider to insider. But make no mistake: I always want to bring an outsider (or at least an original and unconventional) perspective with me wherever I go. And it is, and always will be, a presence in my ‘narratives.’

... I will not post for the sake of posting anymore. I’ve peeled back the curtain as I’ve now for the first time actually gone behind the curtain. But I don’t want this blog to become simply a travelogue or series of random thoughts - sharing for the sake of sharing.

Well, blogging is all about sharing for the sake of sharing—or sharing for the sake of generating revenue and charging higher ad prices! But whatever. Just keep bringing us content—goofy pics of society plagues like Liam McMullan and Kristian Laliberte—and we'll be happy. (We hope Brill doesn't discover the real cure for blogger burnout—benzos and alcohol.)

[Essentially Emily]

The Tyra Banks Show in NYC is looking for freelance writers. The website for our show basically operates as an online magazine and a popular segment is "Single & Fierce". Currently we are looking for both single men & women to blog about their experiences in the dating scene. The tone will range from comedic misadventures to sweet, romantic, "oh they've fallen in love!"

We would unfortunately not be able to offer any pay, but the writers would be able to blog from home and get some good clips on a reputable name. [Ed. note: That sentence is sadder than all of 'Life Is Beautiful']

Single & Fierce: Ladies
Tyrashow.com is looking for five, fabulous ladies to write for our dating column. Single & Fierce is an interactive blog written by a group of single women in cities across the country. These fun, intelligent, sexy ladies are going to put themselves out there, cruising every man hangout we can think of, hitting up dating events and sharing the details of their personal lives as a single woman looking for a good guy. Each week, these women will dish all about the single life — dates they've been on, issues with an ex and everything in between! If you're a single and fierce lady who has dating stories that your friends crave — and you're ready share them with a whole new audience — we want to get to know you.

Single & Fierce: Men
Tyrashow.com is looking for a few good men to give us the scoop on dating from a man's point of view. Each week, you'll give us insight into the mysterious minds of men as you answer dating/love/relationship/sex questions submitted by our viewers. Girls are always dying to know what guys are really thinking — this is your chance to let us know! We want you to give women straight answers from your point of view. [Ed. note: Aren't the only men who would apply to this homosexuals?]

To Apply:
Send a note explaining why you're perfect for this position, a resume and applicable writing samples to Christina Belloise, Web Writer, at christina.belloise@tyratv.com. You'll write one post a week for Tyrashow.com, which receives millions of hits each week! Men: be sure to let us know if you're the nice guy, the bad boy or a big-time flirt. We're looking for different perspectives and want to get to know you.

In 2005, when Gawker did that, I don't necessarily think it was fair, because I wasn't involved in any sort of public media. I was just "son of, going to college." And they've done other things where they've taken pictures of Caroline Kennedy's daughter having a glass of wine in high school and putting that out there, and we remember the stuff with Judge Alito's son and sort of tearing down the kids of celebrities, and I don't like that. Now, you know, post-radio, post-TV, I'm totally willing to accept them writing anything and them saying anything, because I'm a public figure, I've put myself in that position and I chose to live that life. If I didn't want it, I could be in a log cabin right now, blogging. But I chose to put myself out there, so by all means. If they feel inclined to take shots, I can accept them. I'm a big boy. If you spend your time reading sites like Gawker, and Jossip, and letting them get to you, you're not going to go very far in this business.

Well, good we're glad. Very mature. And, no, he may not be in a log cabin like the rest of us festering shut-in internet 'writers,' but he is blogging!

This is, appropriately enough, a political fundraising method, where donors get special access and personal attention for their cash. All it is missing is cute names for each tier, like Bush's "Rangers" and Hillary Clinton's "Hillraisers." As a model for the future of professional journalism, it is perhaps worrying! But you know we're all "marketing" our "personal brands," right? Now we are microtargeting, too.

And once we are finally out of work, when Nick Denton decamps to his secret underground fortress to ride out the End Times, we will gladly email you, personally, 200 words on why Rachel Maddow is so popular in exchange for a hamburger. But who will donate to the commenters? The system is unsustainable!

1. Look at a blog in your beat (Romenesko for media, Deadspin for sports, Andrew Sullivan for politics, etc.). Find something there that looks interesting.

2. Chew pen for a few minutes.

3. Rewrite the item you stole, taking a slightly different angle than the original blogger.

4. Send what you wrote back to the original blogger, in search of a link.

5. Celebrate newfound internet fame.

[Optional sixth step: fill out lengthy survey. Pic via CJR.]

Boomp3.com

Celebrity power blogger David Hasselhoff could barely step away from his laptop at breakfast this morning. In between bites of strawberries and toast, Hasselhoff said, "Nobody takes a minute off on the internet. You have to be there every minute of the day looking and hunting for the next big story. So, you have to make it work for you and here I am with my laptop and my wireless card looking to break more stories before I finish my breakfast than Perez does in a week." The Hoff appeared to be unconcerned about the syrup he spilled on his laptop since it's still under warranty at the Apple store.

[Photo Credit: Flynet]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

After four posts related to Edwards — and to the blowback from his initial Kos diary — Stranahan found himself banned from the site, unable to post diaries or even comments. Kos overlord Markos Moulitsas (pictured) has rubbished the scandal as "tripe," and what little discussion of it he has allowed has been of similar tone.

It's amazing that, given how the traditional media telegraphed lies about Iraq and any number of other subjects over the past decade (and beyond), left-leaning rabble rousers still marginalize stories simply for existing outside that same media's too-often corrupted worldview, diminishing their own power in the process. Amazing but, given the extremes to which ideologues of all stripes will go to ignore inconvenient topics, hardly surprising.

[Lee Stranahan]

"NO ONE SHOULD BE WRITING FOR FREE except for interns and people looking to get a start in the field. I have written for HuffPo on special occasions but I received press passes that made it worthwhile, as well as exposure and clips that showcased a different side to my writing. However, I can't make a habit out of it because I have to make a living."

Bloggers have to stop thinking of themselves as white-collar creatives and more like rank-and-file workers. After all—that's how they're paid!

Some bloggers get paid per-post, like pieceworkers in a 19th-century factory. Some get paid for pageviews, which is even more idiotic from a worker's perspective. It means you're not paid for your labor (except your monthly minimum) but paid instead on a sort of gamble—how well your product will perform when it's thrown into the open marketplace.

(The pros and cons of that system have been thoroughly discussed elsewhere. There are definitely flaws, but hey, at least I'm receiving money for my blogging.)

It's easy and idealistic to say, but seriously: stop writing for free. This means you, if you're one of the many Huffington Post bloggers who don't get paid. Have something to say? Write an op-ed or a letter to the editor. There are some times in a young writer's career where you have to make the decision to write for free. I've done it; you've done it. The trick is knowing when to stop.

Just about anyone can argue with my line of reasoning—"it's more complicated than that," etc., and on some level it probably is. But on the actual working-to-live level it's not. It's not more complicated than that. If you're blogging for someone other than yourself (not as a commenter, not as a personal blogger; those are labors of love and don't count) you deserve to be paid.

If you're an employee or an independent contractor or a freelancer and some entity or website is making money off your labor, you deserve to be paid. It doesn't matter how solvent the company is—they're still selling ads and making revenue.

It's not only for your own good that you should demand to be paid, either. People working for free (or for depressed wages) drive down the pay for bloggers who do get paid for their work.

Blogging for free, no matter what the circumstances, is not being a good, loyal employee. It isn't a way to hang on to your job. It isn't some sort of heroic act.

Remember, free-bloggers: someone is making money off your work and your content. It's just isn't you.

More broadly, the scary reality is that here in the free speech capital of the world, a prosecutor tried both to demand confidential information about an anonymous critic and insisted, under penalty of law, that his request for the information be kept secret. We’re glad he backed down, and confident that the courts would have rebuffed his demands.

But not every blogger will be lucky enough to find pro bono counsel like ours, and few can afford to pay for lawyers. In the meantime, we hope District Attorney Johnson will be able to provide more detailed answers to the unanswered questions in this case: Who ordered this investigation of a political critic to be opened? Did it proceed through the usual channels – a complaint filed with the New York Police Department, for instance – or through the D.A.’s political operatives? The chilling threat to an important new form of speech demands that the D.A. take these questions seriously, or if he doesn’t, that a credible outside

Once again, we're dangerously close to becoming the UK.

"19 years old, works part time, blogs daily, goes to school online. If she can do it, so can you. Have a life and earn a degree." Oh, where to begin.

What an inspiring young woman! How ever does she find the time to blog daily? Anyway, yes. Attending the University of Phoenix: it's just as legitimate as blogging!

(Also someone please photoshop Keith Gessen into this ad and replace "University of Phoenix" with "Harvard.")

University of Phoenix Allies Itself to Bloggers [AdRants]