Gawker
posted a while ago about how CBS is going to adapt the "Sh*t My Dad Says"
Twitter account into a sitcom. The author is a 29-year-old guy living with his 73-year-old father, a man full of comments both hilarious and disparaging, perfect for Twitter's bite-size format. So I mean, good for that guy.
But this is only one of many Twitter/blog-inspired moneymakers from the past several years, like the guy who got paid to
create a book out of other people's clever Tweets. And, as Gawker points out, such success stories—although pretty sweet for the parties involved—might be giving false hope to the unshowered masses, those Internet enthusiasts who live in their parents' basements and are just waiting for
their big online breaks.
I mean, the Internet's a weird place. It's at least partially merit-based—most of the things people read, or what makes money, or the origins of the success stories above, are some combination of creative, funny, or profound. But said series of tubes is also very wrapped up in popularity and connections—you can gain hundreds of hits, friends, followers, or whatever overnight if a celebrity (or online celebrity) links to your page. And somewhere in there, there's luck—the reason
Cake Wrecks is more popular than most other cake blogs, or how the dude who writing
medical reviews of House found a perfect niche audience.
I guess the point is, feel free to start all the clever Twitters and blogs you want, but keep in mind that it probably isn't going to make you rich.
What's it take to cash in on a Twitter or blog—talent, luck, connections? Are you jealous of people who are able to make money without so much as leaving the house?
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