Confession #22: Bloggers are going mainstream

Having a morbid-enough curiosity, I listen to a lot of panel discussions on so-called new media. They're largely the same, telling people – mostly journalists and media-savvy individuals – that everything's going online, print is dying (if not dead already) and those of us fortunate enough to be pursuing our degrees now should really be sensible and pick something else.

Not one to listen to those who refer to any form of media that isn't online as "fossil media," I resisted entering the blogosphere until two years ago, by which time it was already entering the mainstream. Even then, I hardly call myself a committed blogger.

Unlike Steven Wade, who spent the better part of six years putting his passion for Saabs on digital ink with SaabsUnited.com, and its predecessor, TrollhattanSaab.net. The Hobart resident (that's in Tasmania, which is part of Australia) took his interest to the Internet and caught a wave of enthusiasm for the former General Motors subsidiary and manufacturer of idiosyncratic cars for thinking types and Bostonians.

Wade's efforts, for which he was unpaid for, were rewarded March 14 when Saab Automobile announced he would be hired to join the company's marketing and social media efforts. He, in turn, also announced that he had sold SaabsUnited to new leadership and it would continue to be an enthusiast's site.