Imagine the freedom of being able to blog for a living. You get to sit at home in your pyjamas, thinking big thoughts, pounding out  brilliantly-crafted posts while advertisers barrage you with offers and PR firms try to woo you. There are definite exceptions to the rule (Mike Arrington, Om Malik, Andrew Sullivan) but for the vast majority of us digital hacks, it's a pipedream. The Economist sheds some light on the "go blog, go pro"  phenomena with a short article that leads off with Dooce, who quit her job as a Web designer to blog full-time. At the very least, the story puts the spotlight on why people blog. I'm sure for many people, money is a motivator given the blogosphere is starting to emerge as a solid alternative for advertisers. But blog-vertising is a recent phenomena and the chances of hitting the blog jackspot as an indepedent blogger are few and far between. For most people, the raison d'etre behind blogging falls into two camps: branding and the desire to communicate/write/share ideas. This is what has made blogging so fascinating - the idea that people are doing something with little or no expectations of being compensated for their toil and trouble. It's downright weird and non-capitalistic. Next thing you, we'll all be volunteering hours a week and doing random act of kindness without thinking! At its best, blogging is about passion and enthusiasm. The best bloggers are those willing to offer new ideas, share their experiences and take positions - which has little to do with making money. This may sound like a strange statement coming from a blog networking executive (it still seems a little strange to say that!) but blogs work when the writers are engaged, excited and focused. If that attracts readers and - if you're lucky - advertisers, that's awesome. For more, check out Steve Rubel and Andy Beal, who has made blogging a big part of his consulting gig. As well, Rafat Ali has a post on a Guardian report that the BBC will start to pay for user-generated content.