I find myself quoted in a Chicago Tribune article on the downsides of blogging. Of interest, the story focuses on marketing consultant Kirsten Osolind’s decision to discontinue her blog. (Many legal bloggers met Kirsten at BlawgConnect in Chicago last March — and I have the photos to prove it.) Kirsten, who runs re:invention, decided her blog wasn’t pulling its weight, she told reporter Ann Meyer. “I believe blogging is not profitable, and there are better ways to connect with your clients.” In place of her blog, Kirsten plans to launch a comprehensive Web portal later this year that will provide information and resources for women-led businesses, including links to other Web sites, she said.

The effectiveness of blogs versus Web portals was debated in some detail by me and others in the posts and comments referenced in my June 22 post, Blogging’s Contrarians. The Chicago Tribune article makes many good points about the need to exercise forethought before diving into blogging as a marketing technique. But I don’t buy Kirsten’s premise that a static portal is as effective as a dynamic blog.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.