“It’s complicated”.

Exactly nine years ago, on this day, an italian newspaper published a report of the (then!) sad state of the italian blogoshpere, complaining that the (then!) economic crisis was erasing the free voices of the Net. Nine years later, finding that piece among my bookmarks, I decided to check it out.

The article described how, even for the most successful italian bloggers of the time, blogging was pretty far from being economically sustainable, no matter how much time and effort those people put in blogging. The blogs mentioned in that article, here listed in no particular order but all well over the 100K monthly visits in 2011, were:

• Beppegrillo.it of Beppe Grillo, founder of the Five Star Movement
• Piovono Rane (“It rains frogs”) by Alessandro Gilioli, journalist of the Espresso Magazine
• Tisbe, by Tina Galante
• Byoblu by Claudio Messora.
• Nonleggerlo (“Don’t read it!") (100K+ monthly visits) by
• Metilparaben by Alessandro Capriccioli
• Massimo Mantellini,

Where are they now?

The first two blogs on the list above should have never be there. Beppe Grillo’s website always was a professional job, independently funded, and daily managed by a professional staff. Gilioli’s “blog” is a professional journalist’s personal column, hosted, paid and legally shielded by the magazine that employs him.

Massimo Mantellini, who is a doctor, started blogging in 2002 and still does it, chosing since the very beginning to not make any money with his blog.

Tina Galante, a primary school teacher, blogged until January 2018, but never even thought that making enough money blogging to quit her job could be possible. She sadly died of cancer, still very young, in October 2019.

Claudio Messora had called for 10K Euro’s crowdfunding right before the 2011 article, otherwise he’d have to “shut the blog down in a few weeks”, because, while being a really full time job with tens of original videos each month, it was making only 400 Euros/month in advertising, plus a few hundred Euros per month from donations. Two years after that call for funding, Messora became Communication consultant for the Five Star Movement. Today, Byoblu is still active, but as a full blown online magazine, not a personal blog.

Alessandro Capriccioli, was an accountant in 2011, who reported about 200 Euros per month as blogging income. He published the last post on his blog in post as Metilparaben was in February 2014. Eventually, Capriccioli started writing for newspapers and magazines, then went politics and is now Regional Counselor.

The owner of NonLeggerlo, who was 28 years old in 2011, blogged for the last time in December 2016. These days, he tweets, does Facebook, and writes for the Espresso magazine.

Summing up…

Nine years ago, all the italian bloggers interviewed for that article said unanimously “no way one can make a living as independent blogger, in Italy”. They all reported as reasons some combination of “there is no support, or capability to interact with bloggers, in the italian advertising industry and market” and of “italians do not understand how hard it is, and how and why they should support “free as in freedom” information”. Today, things are even more difficult, because people gave up RSS for social networks that filter who they want, how they want. Fact is, of all that list, only Mantellini, and probably Galante if she were still with us, would still be “true bloggers” today.

What about ME, you ask?

As far as I am concerned, I decided years ago to not use Google Ads, or any other equally invasive advertising, and to always publish what I write for myself only, or primarily, on a website I fully own and control: I do POSSE all the way down, and so should you). As for portals like Medium… thanks, but no thanks. Almost same story.

Like those bloggers in 2011… no, right now I am not making enough money off what I write here, but would not mind at all if that were the case. Quite the contrary, actually. So, if you like what you see here, please support it with donations, or in any of these other ways.

Image sources: The logo of the Macchianera Internet Awards that are issued since (about) 2004 to the best italian websites.