Alex Schulman has become a poster boy for online harassment. His blog at Aftonbladet has become Sweden’s most visited professional blog (there are other blogs with more visitors) through his provocative style which culminated with the recent criticsim of his Aftonbladet colleague Jan-Olov Andersson.
Today Schulman writes that he will no longer continue to update this blog becuase the “blog has grown into a monster” which makes him feel bad.
“I read what I have written about celebrities and I feel disgusted by myself,” he writes.
Perhaps it was the row with his colleague, or the criticism from the Press Ombudsman Yrsa Stenius in Svenska Dagbladet yesterday. Or the article by his mother in Expressen yesterday:
“The blog phenomenon Alex is not my boy, the Alexander I know,” she wrote.
Either way, there is still hope for the blogosphere…
Update: I forgot to add, that this should serve as a reminder to those who are quick to put a price tag on blogs. About a month ago, it was estimated that Schulman’s blog could generate as much as 28.7 million kronor in ad revenue per year. And now it’s going to shut down. Blogs can be instant hits, but also disappear in a split second.