mindpollution.org

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop - New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Link sent my way via Chris, one of my contributors over at ComicMix. I think he’s trying to tell me something.

Nevertheless, I know that I’ve gained about 10 pounds and grown some pretty impressive facial hair since I started the work-from-home online news gig, so there’s probably reason to be concerned about my ever-present connection to the grid. I do like my new mustache, though.

Oh, and Chris, I owe you an iced-grande-soy one-pump-no-whip-mocha, man.

UPDATE: Brian Alvey, my boss, weighs in with his own thoughts on the story, and puts everything into perspective. Yes, he’s a brand-new daddy on top of everything else, and yet he still finds time to post a few thoughts about the NY Times‘ link-baiting efforts.