Recently, a blogger at ShapingYouth.org wrote to Target complaining about a racy image with the target logo in an awkward spot. Rather than interacting with the blogger, Target sent the blogger a note that said, "Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets.''

Even the egalitarian-sounding Craigslist recently went after a blog titled Craigslistblog.org. The letter to the blogger said, "We need you to stop using the infringing domain CRAIGSLISTBLOG.ORG immediately and arrange for transfer of it to us asap -- using/selling/transferring infringing domains is illegal, and penalties up to $100,000 per domain can be applied."

Blogging is one of the big content engines driving the current price of text ads. And yet bloggers are among the most under-appreciated, utterly exploited and overworked content workers who rarely see the fruits of their labor. Bloggers simply have to deal with a lot. They put up with snippy PR folks who constantly see bloggers as illegitimate actors whose voices need to be quashed, and IP lawyers who would be glad to shut them down on the pretense of IP infringement. On top of that, services such as Google's AdSense do not pay bloggers their ad revenue money until it exceeds $100. Unless you are on the top 100 list of blogs, you are making very little money. The result might very well be that the current blogging movement is simply unsustainable.