Sports Blogs are expensive to operate.  They require constant IT updating and file server space. As users we get the content and use of the space free. In return the owners have to advertise in order to be compensated for their time, energy, and monetary risk that was taken and expended.  Advertising takes viewership. A larger viewership usually means less detailed articles ( mass appeal) and less inventive content.

Below I am posting the link from a very honest SBNation owner.  He spells out the problems he and other sites are facing.  I like this kind of honesty.  I hope that our Administrators,owners, and staff take the time to reach out and inform all of us of their journalistic intentions.

The link to Fieldgulls article by John Morgan

Here is the relevant portion of the article.

Ok, consider this: My job at SB Nation is to generate page views. Now, there are some meaningful limitations, but those limitations in large part are towards the purpose of long-term ability to generate page views. So, no profanity in the headlines, because though that might cause an incidental bump in views, it turns off people long term and scares off advertisers. I can't post nudes, for obvious reasons. I can't post copyrighted material, for obvious reasons. Apart from common sense limitations, it is my duty to generate page views however possible.

The simplest and easiest way to generate page views is volume. It is almost sickening how easy it is to build an audience with reams of link dumps and shallow commentary. The single most successful football blog on the internet, Pro Football Talk, does little else but link and comment. Mike Florio is not out interviewing players, establishing sources and transcribing audio. He compiles, but at a feverish pace.

I understand the above. It works. It would work for Field Gulls. In fact, I think I have to cave and just do it. I think, if I want to succeed at this, I need to swallow my pride and play ball.

But for over three years, I have been deeply resistant to this practice. I want Field Gulls to be a home for original content, not some shallow compilation of links. I'm too proud and my pride has probably hurt my performance.

I found this an interesting personal introspective.  A site that I have found to be informative, original, and a pleasure to visit has decided to be like everybody else. They will start copying and pasting other sites articles and start using articles that tantalize, criticize, and titillate rather than in depth information on their own football team.  In effect they will cater to the masses.

The Vikings have a lot of blogs that scream, cry, whine, and complain about everything under the sun. The Daily Norseman has been different than them in the past.  With all the financial pressure that I'm sure is brought to bear on the owners I hope the content can remain high.