It’s bizarre just how massive blogs have transformed in the last six years. They’ve morphed from nerdy “online journals” to legitimate businesses and … wait … career insurance for media-types?

It will serve as your “home base” where you establish your personal reputation, track record, abilities, interests, and aspirations. It’s a rewarding, useful, persistent way to be professionally and personally generous. It can attract help, insight, serendipity, and opportunity.

The fact that this is being written in 2008 is sort of like buying real estate in 2006 or three weeks ago wondering, “Hmmm, should I move my non-FDIC insured money out of Wachovia or Washington Mutual?” Any young journalist who hasn’t already bought their own domain name or created some sort of placeholder on the internet might as well be living in 1999. Of course, be careful with what you link – you don’t want to get sued.

Media scuttlebutt:

A source says that the New York Rangers beat writer John Dellapina has accepted a buyout from the paper and will leave to work with the NHL.

A source says that Chicago Tribune media writer Teddy Greenstein will no longer be covering the media beat and will be shifting over to golf. [Ed. Greenstein actually mentioned this briefly in August.]

With SI’s Richard Deitsch doing his Fellowship thing in Michigan, who will keep the media in check?

[Romenesko]