While political blogs like the Daily Kos get most of the attention from the media, the New York Times cast a spotlight on the world of technology blogging with a recent write-up entitled, “In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop.”

The exposition focused on the recent death of Russell Shaw, a prolific tech blogger who wrote for ZDNet, TMCNet, Weblogs Inc., the PodTech Network, Corante, AllBusiness.com and the Huffington Post. Shaw additionally wrote books on media downloading and wireless networking.

Shaw suffered a heart attack while in San Jose to cover a tech conference. His last e-mail to his ZDNet editor displayed a never-say-die work ethic: “Have come down with something. Resting now, posts to resume later today or tomorrow.”

In December 2007, Marc Orchant, who had recently left ZDNet to cofound a now-defunct site called BlogNation, died of a massive coronary while working in his home office. And later that month,

Om Malik, who left a reporting gig at Business 2.0 to start his own blog site, GigaOm, survived a heart attack.

“Digital Sweatshop”

To the New York Times, these events signaled something ominous — a “digital sweatshop” where professional writers — the kind who, in another age, would have union jobs on newspapers or magazines — are toiling away, always trying to win one more page view, earn one more scoop, not so much for the importance of what they have to say, but to earn suitable money to support their families.

Reporter Matt Richtel quotes Michael Arrington of TechCrunch bemoaning the always-on lifestyle of an A+-list blogger. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds since starting his blog, developed a severe sleeping disorder, and turned his home into a full-time office. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else…

Orginal post by Top Tech News