{"id":1623,"date":"2007-07-04T09:12:10","date_gmt":"2007-07-04T16:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=1623"},"modified":"2007-07-04T13:30:05","modified_gmt":"2007-07-04T20:30:05","slug":"benjamin-franklin-the-weblogger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1623\/benjamin-franklin-the-weblogger\/","title":{"rendered":"Benjamin Franklin the Weblogger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Independence Day, in the United States, was a sweltering summer day in my hometown of Philadelphia. My favorite signer was the media entrepreneur, Benjamin Franklin. Note that I didn’t refer to Ben as the inventor, statesman, or womanizer (he was known for all three things). I refer to Ben as a media entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

Ben Franklin would have been a helluva weblogger.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s try to parallel the life of Ben Franklin with how he might have done it today:<\/p>\n

At twelve years old, he serves as an apprentice printer to his older brother in Boston. Today, he might have been a code writer, learning how emerging technologies work.<\/p>\n

At seventeen, he runs away to London to continue his apprenticeship, returns to Philadelphia, and starts his own print shop. This makes complete sense. As a budding entrepreneur, Ben might have run away to San Francisco or Seattle to be near where the action is. Philly was the equivalent of what the Silicon Valley is today.<\/p>\n

One year later, he becomes the sole owner and publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette<\/em>. Ben realized that the technology (the printing press) was merely a tool; it was content that would sell newspapers. Rather than provide the tools, he opted to vertically integrate and own the content, too. Three years after buying the Pennsylvavia Gazette<\/em>, he publishes Poor Richard’s Almanack<\/em>, an original content journal which shaped early American thought about business, life, and politics.<\/p>\n

Now, Ben is wealthy. Rather than rest on his laurels, he expands his influence to provide a solution to the information delivery problem in the Colonies and is appointed Postmaster General. Talk about Bill Gates controlling information, Big Ben now has his hand in two influential publications and the government’s communication system. Ben establishes a “think tank” which becomes the brainchild for the University of Pennsylvania<\/a>. Now, he becomes the indisputable expert on intellectual thought.<\/p>\n

At the age of 42, Ben sells his printing shop but retains the rights to the Gazette<\/em> and Almanack<\/em>. Ben is considered by many Colonists as the wealthiest man in the Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Independence Day, in the United States, was a sweltering summer day in my hometown of Philadelphia. My favorite signer was the media entrepreneur, Benjamin Franklin. Note that I didn’t refer to Ben as the inventor, statesman, or womanizer (he was known for all three things). I refer to Ben as a media entrepreneur. Ben Franklin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-real-estate","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3215,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3215\/is-eperkscoms-ben-behrouzi-infamous-for-trying-to-censor-a-real-estate-weblogger-stealing-content-from-mervyns-and-chevron\/","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":0},"title":"Is ePerks.com’s Ben Behrouzi, infamous for trying to censor a real estate weblogger, stealing content from Mervyns and Chevron?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"At his new web site, BrokerScience.com, Trace Richardson is on a tear. Trace got his teeth into the story of ePerks.com's attempts to silence real estate weblogger Vlad Zablotskyy with a cease and desist letter. Starting with an analysis of how ePerks has managed to achieve an orderly self-destruction, Trace\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3219,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3219\/support-the-vlad-zablotskyy-legal-defense-fund-a-real-estate-weblogger-is-being-throttled-by-corporate-bully-eperkscom-the-free-speech-rights-you-will-be-fighting-for-are-your-own\/","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":1},"title":"Support\u00a0the Vlad Zablotskyy Legal Defense Fund: A real estate weblogger is being throttled by corporate bully ePerks.com. The free speech rights you will be fighting for are your own…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: It seems likely that Vlad's cost to defend himself from this specious claim (if you read the complaint, you will discover that the alleged offense is entirely absent from Exhibit A) is going to start with a $5,000 retainer. It seems unlikely to me that the matter will go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2004,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2004\/who-is-the-most-influential-real-estate-weblogger-in-the-renet-beyond-all-contest-or-doubt-its-dustin-luther\/","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":2},"title":"Who is the most influential real estate weblogger in the RE.net? Beyond all contest or doubt, it’s Dustin Luther","author":"Greg Swann","date":"October 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This is me in a comment at Todd Carpenter's REMBEX Blog Fiesta:Not to be too contrarian, but this is all Old Testament. None of these people meant anything to me when I was building BloodhoundBlog. If influence means creating the RE.net as we know it, Dustin Luther is the New\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1130,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1130\/what-is-the-difference-between-a-weblogger-and-the-press\/","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":3},"title":"What is the difference between a weblogger and the press?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"March 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Most men have bound their eyes with one or another handkerchief, and attached themselves to some one of these communities of opinion. This conformity makes them not false in a few particulars, authors of a few lies, but false in all particulars. Their every truth is not quite true. Their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2320,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2320\/inman-bloggers-disconnect-absorbing-the-priceless-wisdom-of-brilliant-speakers-who-are-not-doing-what-youre-trying-to-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":4},"title":"Inman Bloggers’ Disconnect: Absorbing the priceless wisdom of brilliant speakers who are not doing what you’re trying to do…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"December 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are a couple of salient facts, evidently unknown behind the Rust Curtain of the Inman Empire:To the extent that Glenn Kelman is a weblogger at all, he is a corporate weblogger. He doesn't know anything about real estate weblogging, as he made plain in his sweet, charming, engaging keynote\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2798,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2798\/memo-to-eperkscom-you-idiots-shooting-yourself-in-the-foot-in-public-is-a-poor-way-to-defend-your-reputation-such-as-it-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":5},"title":"Memo to ePerks.com: You idiots! Trying to censor a real estate weblogger is a poor way to defend your reputation — such as it is…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"[I'm kicking this back up to the top. At the time I wrote this, I thought it might be enough to make the jackasses at ePerks.com come to their senses. Apparently not. If you are a real estate weblogger, and if you don't want some sleazoid attorney pulling these stunts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}