OK, the headline is a bit on the sensational side but that’s what this NY Times story is implying. The writer, Matt Richtel, tells the story of two recent deaths that was apparently caused by too much blogging.
Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.
Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.
You Got To Be Kidding Me?
The only thing I have to say about this story is, you got to be kidding me? No wonder the mainstream media is losing ground so badly to the Internet. Some 60 year old has a heart attack. It must be caused by blogging! I guess the fact that Om Malik weighs something like 400lbs has nothing to do with his heart attack, right?
The writer goes on to talk about TechCrunch fonder Michael Arrington gaining 30lbs in the past three years and tries to tie blogging to the cause. A quick check of TechCrunch shows Arrington made a grand total of 21 posts in the past week, or three posts per day. If that is blogging too much then we all better stop blogging right now before we die!
This story reminds me about everything that is wrong with the mainstream media. It ranks up there with that story about the teenager who was struck by lighting while listening to his iPod. Let’s see, kid was mowing his lawn in a thunderstorm while listening to an iPod. What’s the lesson? Don’t listen to an iPod or don’t mow your lawn in a thunderstorm? If you’re mainstream media, the lesson seems to be don’t listen to your iPod.
Maybe this is the NY Times’ way of getting bloggers to quit blogging so their paper can survive for a few more years. The really stupid thing is, most people reading the story will now be concern that their friends/kids/family members are now at risk because they blog.
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Obviously you stop listening to iPods.
Are they sure he wasn’t using a Zune?
New York Times Readers Keel Over From Reading New York Times for more than a healthy amount of time… Would like to see that headline!
The NY Times is an awful newspaper. I keel over just from hearing about it.
Amen to that! I wonder how many people have died from erroneous BS printed by the NY Times.
I keel over trying to lift it! What a waste of paper!
Yes, blogging can be fun but writing three or more times a day maybe too much. Why can’t the blogger write only once a day if he wants to get his subscrbers updated. I still believe health is WEALTH.
Well, i feel that too many bloggers are literally slaves to their PC, so it is a health hazard.
We all need to step away, and take a damn breather, before we all keel over. LOL.
Missy.
I’ll bet more job slaves are dying at work than are bloggers dying from too much writing.
This is exactly why I created the Blogger Proof workout…
It’s also important to keep in mind that we need to find a balance when it comes to being online/blogging and real life.
Heh, “job slaves.” Yes, they’re dying from total boredom and lack of fulfillment. Bloggers are living very well.
So does that mean we have to stop blogging now?
You scared Cow? You are already moving to greener pastures for a life of leisure. I dont think there is any risk of you keeling over.
Apparently it does! I thought this article was lame too. I think this guy needs to blog for a few weeks and see how much it “hurts” his own health.
Blogging is the most fulfilling thing there is. It’s these newspaper columnists who are disappearing and becoming bloggers!
Yeah thats what It means … You should go and milk the cows now.
They do have some points about how the majority of bloggers are unhealthy but why say bloggers? I imagine the majority of the people who use their computer regularly are overweight or unhealthy.. It is just stupid that the media picks on people like that. I guess it’s their way of making a topic interesting and grabbing some attention. Not saying that this is the right way at all though.
“computer potato”? hmm…that doesn’t sound right…
Well Arrington may have only made 21 posts in the past week, but he runs one of the biggest blogs on the internet, so its not like thats the only thing he does. One of their writers, erick Schonfeld, said in a recent post “Michael literally never sleeps. It is really unhealthy.”
Not every blog consists of writing about one post per day and then using some guest writers and doing some paid reviews. I dont think you did a lot of research before making this post. Sure there are a lot of successful blogs out there that don’t require that much work, but many of them do.
I think I did the same amount of research as Matt Richtel did.
Yes I am aware of how hard Michael works and that only proves my point. Is his stress/weight being caused by too much blogging or running a media empire? We all know the answer but which title would sell more newspapers?
I think part of the problem is that everything is called “blogging” which really captures a wide range of websites. A lot of blogs these days are nothing more than news sites with very little writing involved. Thats fine, but its kind of hard to generalize bloggers now.
next they will somehow tie blogging to cancer and heart disease. one tv “news” report i saw years ago linked a single study of milk to getting cancer and i pretty much banned all tv news from my house after that
That’s sensational — isn’t it? I would agree that blogging could cause some health problems, but so could having any demanding job. The story reminds me of the kids playing video games until they fall over dead.
Good response, John.
Yay we’re gunna die! I blog There For I’ll Die! Ah well I can agree with the sitting in front of a computer for hours and hours without getting exercise is unhealthy, but to die from it? lol
Ooh that is some serious business! You had better slow down a little bit John, otherwise you will fall victim to the almighty blog attack. It is safe to say there are only two things wrong with the world today; loud rock music, and blogging. It reminds me of the Ali-G skit.. “War Begins..” on the front page, and …with a “w” on the inside. Anything to sell a copy.
Traditional media has sucked for years and I like seeing more and more evidence to support this belief.
Thanks John
Traditional media is dying from too much BS.
Just pick up any newspaper on any day, and you will fine countless examples of how bad the media is, and how clearly it has an agenda.
Blogs are dying from not enough blogging!
Hi Everyone,
I felt compelled to add a comment to John’s latest Post. Blogging has presented a new found creative avenue for me. It’s been a major factor in my recovery of a heart attack late last fall… Here is a link to my latest post that discusses this in The Blues Blogger style.
http://thebluesblogger.com/167/gene-krupa-king-of-cool
Good point. Blogging is an avenue for people to be who they are. These newspaper writers aren’t who they want to be. They often have to advance an agenda from the higher-ups, and they don’t understadn the fulfillment bloggers feel.
It’s not so much an issue with blogging as it is an issue with burnout and lack of physical activity. I’m sure that accountants, particularly during tax season, face all sorts of stress and they probably suffer from a series of physical ailments as a result.
Between writing reviews for John and all of my other freelance writing work (like blogging for mobilemag.com), I put in quite a few hours too. Even so, maybe it’s for the best that I didn’t get hired by the New York Times.
The NYT should be ashamed of itself for publishing that kind of rubbish. That story would have been better served if published in the New York Posts Wierd but True.. Now thats journalism.
How can I get in touch with all of these dead bloggers readers. That is a good google ad “If your favorite blogger dies, come visit my me”
I agree with Rob, its probably lack of exercise. If you start blogging and you are spending 1 - 4 extra hours a day in front of your computer, its time to start an exercise program!
http://active-wellness.blogspot.com
The must not have read Alex Shalman’s recent post
lol, I read this news in newspaper yesterday!
Crappy news!
How can they be so much into blogging that they will die.
Being a lawyer is way harder than being a blogger. If anything, lawyers are dying from lawyering!
Bloggers are the next big thing in worldwide media. I too presume that these newspapers are scared of us bloggers. We do whatever they do, faster and better.
No wonder I was feeling dizzy.
Thanks for the info.. Now i think its the right time for me to stop blogging.. Am aged 21 lol and i fear of heart attacks being a dental student lol
Btw do you guys think its blogging that was the reason for their deaths? His age and weight are the factors and the media got a nice idea to include blogging in it.
Nice try Times. How is this different than some 60 year old guy sitting at his editorial desk at the paper and keeling over from a heart attack? Thanks for highlighting the ridiculousness of this article.
Blogging doesn’t cause deaths. Sitting on your ass all day does.
Blogging may take up more time than you should allow it to…..which might lead to less sleep, less exercise, and a poor diet. Same goes for anything else you do in life.
I’m going to start running on a treadmill while I blog. Watch for me on Fox News when I announce to the world that blogging decreases body fat percentage, and increases life expectancy by 10 years.
Any you dying from posting too many comments on John Chow’s Blog?
4 out of 5 proctologists have said sitting on your tushie posting comments while chewing gum may cause some serious health risks. They said each person shortened their life by the amount of time it took to post the comment. When the doctors were asked how many people that comment will die, they said everyone will eventually die. So there you have it…if you comment you will die at some point in your life.
Gulp…I just shortened my life by posting this comment. 
DANG YOU JOHN CHOW!!!!!
DANG YOU!!!!!! 
~Terry
Death is just a common thing to all of us. They shouldn’t say that someone die because of too much blogging. That is the most stupidest thing I ever heard f.
People are funny. Parents sue peanut butter makers because there is no allergy or “peanut butter sticks in your throat!” warnings.
It would seem that some people do not want to take responsibility for their actions and consequences thereof. The NYT piece reminds me of the South Park episode. The whole gang basically hide in Kile or Stans basement playing an online game until they become so fat and unhealthy they can barely move. BUT, in the end they are rewarded by winning the game…but now are morbidly obese. The means did not justify the ends.
People have been killing themselves over work since the beginning. It is sad that these people are gone, but for us perhaps we can take it as a lesson to getoutside out more and blog from our Blackberries. Or invest in a twitter account!
http://yeu2.com
all of us (bloggers included) die anyway. It is just a matter of when and in what manner.
If all those three people were wearing white shirts, then media will come and say “white dressed bloggers could die”
No they wont, their motive is to stop people from reading blogs and go back to paying a dollar for a newspaper and sweetening Rupert Murdoch’s wife’s inheritance.
We need to show the New York times what blogging did for Shoemoney!
I propose,
THE BLOGGING DIET! Blog til you drop - those pounds off.
“Research has proven that 6 blogs per day can increase metabolism by 14%.”
“A blog a day keeps the Dr away”
“Burn the fat, Feed the blog”
“15 minutes of blogging in the morning on an empty stomach can result in improved concentration and hunger control throughout the day.”
what about all those blogs about healthy living?! It again boils down to moderation, get off the computer, do some exercise and then get back to work!
What kind of statistic is that? 2 out of million of bloggers out there and they are trying to conclude the “fact” like this? What’s a funny joke.
As long as there is a balance between blogging and exercise, there shouldn’t be any issue.
That’s ok, I don’t have a blog yet so I’m going to live forever! HA-HAAA SUCKERS!
These guys need to pick up a copy of the 4 hour workweek.