I came across this humorous infographic via Zee over at The Next Web and wanted to share it with you. Now I say humorous because some of the stats that go with the graphic seem a little wonky to me.

• 133,000,000 million blogs
• 35% of Journalists are now Bloggers
• 48% of Bloggers are in the US
• 66% of bloggers are males
• 1/4 earn $100k+ a year
• Aside from “personal musings”, technology bloggers are the most prominent
• 75% of bloggers are college graduates

The idea that tech bloggers are the most prominent isn’t something we really need to hear given that most of the people in the tech blogosphere already have bloated enough egos, they don’t need this added hot air. Apparently Zee has emailed Intact, the people behind the infographic, for some clarification on the stats that went into the infographic but in the meantime here it is for you in its full color glory.

So this is the state of the blogosphere eh is a post from: The Inquisitr

So the news is all over the tech blogosphere – Google does have a Google Phone (you can read our reporting of it by Kim over here) and everyone is slapping good old Michael Arrington for the incredible investigative skills required to be the one who broke the news.

There’s only one problem with that scenario - it’s bullshit. Pure.And.Simple.

I know this because unlike all the rest of the tech blogosphere I have a memory and I believe that credit should go to the person who actually deserves it. Which in the case of the Google Phone we need to go back to 2007 and Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins breaking the news, based on an inside source, that Google was indeed working on a branded phone.

This was a post that was widely quoted right across the tech blogosphere and if I recall correctly he also received a lot of flack over. It was also the same news that apparently CrunchGear thought enough of to link to as a related item.

I realize that for the most part the tech blogosphere has the memory of an amoeba where remembering anything past the last Twitter message is a stretch but that doesn’t make it right. The truth of the matter is that Mark deserves all credit for being the person who got this story right and it shouldn’t take him having to post a “I told you so” post to get the fact straight.

So Michael while it is great that you, and the whole *Crunch crew are patting you and themselves on the back for getting this so-called breaking news maybe you should take a view precious lines and acknowledge the person who actually broke the story almost three years before you.

As for the rest of the tech blogosphere perhaps you should maybe take the time to actually do some research on who said what and when instead of being a bunch of lazy asses and giving credit where it isn’t due. Not to mention that there are some of you who owe Mark a big apology but chances are that won’t happen which says a lot about the people in this business.

The Google Phone: Let’s clear up some facts about who really ‘called it’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

The site has just opened its Open Salon service into public beta with plans for a full launch by the year’s end. The service is described as a “social content site” that spotlights user-contributed content. Staff updates the “cover” — or front page — twice daily to feature specific types of content on different days. Some of it will eventually be featured on Salon’s main page as well.

Open Salon is open to anyone. The key, though, is the compensation for bloggers’ work: As of now, the service indicates that bloggers will be paid only via a “Tippem” system, powered by Revolution MoneyExchange, that lets viewers click to tip if they like the work. So, yes, next to any post, you can type in “$1.50″ and click “Go” to give the starving blogger a small chunk of change. The default amount is a $1 tip.

The idea of opening up a site such as Salon to the general public and featuring all these new kinds of content is fantastic. But is compensating contributors solely on a tip-based system the right way to do it? Sure, if everyone who visited the site threw in a couple bucks, it’d probably add up — but realistically, any contributor is likely to get maybe a dollar or two for any given post. Maybe. We all know how tough it is to get the average user to Digg a story, let alone contribute money for reading it. You have to wonder if the typical person would even tip in a restaurant if he were hidden behind a computer screen with no face-to-face contact.

Blog networks may be notorious for paying tiny percentages, but at least they’re paying something to the people who give them content. This system might seem more reasonable if it were to provide some kind of base compensation, even if a small one, onto which the tips would be added. As it stands, though, the model sets a dangerous new precedent for how mainstream(ish) media could approach the Web 2.0 world. It may seem like the magical pot of gold at first — and I’m sure it’ll pull in plenty of content — but ultimately, one can only assume that it’ll cheapen the material and lead to lower quality work. Most of the high-caliber contributors will eventually either find actual paying platforms for their writing or will move to their own individual sites where they can control the content (and maybe sell a few ads, too). For the sake of the blogosphere — both those who read and those who write within it — let’s hope that this model doesn’t become the norm.

In other news, if you liked this post, please e-mail me with your tip. I expect at least 20 percent.

Like the Blog? Leave a Tip is a post from: The Inquisitr