Yakety yak - one way to monetize web 2.0

I love to remind people that blogging is by far and away the most honest form of self promotion bar none.

Because if you can't walk the walk and talk the talk it becomes very obvious--you can't fake it.

About 99.999 per cent of bloggers out there make their money from their day jobs, they establish thought leadership in their professions, whether it is a lawyer, or a consultant, or an industry executive--their blog is a way to draw attention and monetize their day job, or promote their books, consulting, or any other related products.

The trouble with being a journalist blogger, however, is that I have nothing but this news journalism to sell. Which is why I would like to write a book, and I think I have a good title and some good content: IMHO: 25 Essays From The Future (let me know what you think of the title). It will be based on some of my writings here and elsewhere, and it will be about trends and life in Silicon Valley.

The main reason I'd like to write a book is not that a book is a direct pathway to  paying my rent, books generally don't make much money for their authors. But, there is an opportunity for speaking engagements and public speaking that pays very well.

Take a look at these speaker fees, which some of our top Web 2.0 evangelists collect many times per year (these are starting amounts, sometimes less in return for promotional exchanges, sometimes more.)

-Tim O'Reilly, the godfather of Web 2.0 is paid a speaking fee of about $40K.

Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine and the author of the book about the "Long Tail" gets paid about $34K for a speaking engagement.

John Battelle, the Google and "search" expert, and author, commands a speaker fee of about $24K.

And there are many others that do very well for themselves, speaking at various conferences and events. Plus, they get to sell their books etc, so it works out nicely.

I think they produce a lot of value, I like hearing them speak, and I always walk away a little bit smarter. I'd love to be able to do the same--they are an inspiration.