Monetising blogs: Enterprising behaviour, co-creation of opportunities and social media entrepreneurship

Abstract

Our essay aims to investigate the emerging phenomenon of monetising life-style blogs as an example of social media entrepreneurship. Using a variety of business models and based on interplay of virtual and real-life networks while monetising their blogs, bloggers engage in numerous economic activities. By attracting attention to this phenomenon, we seek to understand the process of co-creation of entrepreneurial opportunities as it occurs among the networking actors. We pose that bloggers, despite taking focal positions within their virtual networks may not be the most (pro)active partners in the process of opportunity co-creation. Rather, their role is often receptive, whereas opportunities become actively identified by other, corporate members of networks, who demonstrate creative and innovative approaches. Thus, opportunity co-creation within the network becomes the main driver of the entrepreneurial process.