By 2008 professional blog networks had outcompeted individual amateurs

Evidence

In 2008, Wired magazine offered the following advice to those interested in launching a blog: Don’t. And if you’ve already got one, pull the plug….The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge. Cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns now drown out the authentic voices of amateur wordsmiths….Scroll down Technorati’s list of the top 100 blogs and you’ll find personal sites have been shoved aside by professional ones. Most are essentially online magazines: The Huffington Post. Engadget. TreeHugger. A stand-alone commentator can’t keep up with a team of pro writers cranking out up to 30 posts a day. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 971

Categorization

• XREF: Foreshadows the modern professionalized creator economy and how algorithmic platforms repeat this exact cycle with influencers. — connects to: Paid professional staff displaced amateur bloggers in the attention economy — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 969; Blogging opened public attention to nearly anyone with something to say — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 909

Broader Connections

• Paid professional staff displaced amateur bloggers in the attention economy #corroborates (0.92) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 969
• Blogging opened public attention to nearly anyone with something to say #complicates (0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 909