Blogging As Fast As We Can

Three well-known tech bloggers have had heart attacks since December, and a story in the New York Times suggests that the high stress of blogging may be a cause.The supporting evidence -- two of the bloggers died -- makes for a compelling story, especially to fellow information workers, as we are sometimes known.

I am not nearly as prolific as the bloggers who died, but the burdens of blogging can be felt by anyone who blogs, even amateurs. The urgency to express an original thought, and to post it first, is constant. The strain to find topics that will resonate with readers, unrelenting. Most importantly it's the constant pressure to drive page views that is onerous.

Some days, blogging feels breaking rocks in the hot sun. Posting can feel like standing sweating and victorious over a small pile of rubble. But the feeling only lasts as long as it takes to pivot back to the towering pile of boulders. "You're doing splendidly; Speed it up!" says the voice inside your head, or maybe it's coming from down the hall.

It's impossible, of course, to know whether blogging played a role in the heart attacks of bloggers Russell Shaw, of ZDNet, Marc Orchant of blognation, and Om Malik.

Shaw and Orchant are no longer with us, but Malik is on the mend. He attributes his health scare to "a combination of factors, including the 24/7 lifestyle, bad health choices and yes, a desire to do everything." And, yes, I know this because I read it on his blog. But give the guy a break, he blogged from Miami, where he travelled for a "little bit for work, but mostly to sit in the Sun." The headline of his most current blog is "Relax, Chill and maybe Blog."

It's good advice.