Weblogs, or "blogs" are exploding in popularity with an estimated 500,000 bloggers online and a new blogger joining every 40 seconds.
Mainstream online publishers have hopped on the bandwagon adding bloggers to their payroll and companies are experimenting with them on intranets and websites.
Blogging began to pick-up steam in mid-1999 when
push-button, self-publishing tools like Pitas, Diaryland and Pyra Lab's Blogger made it easier for anyone to maintain a diary or journal online.
Following the September 11 attacks, when news sites like CNN, BBC and Yahoo were struggling with an influx of readers, bloggers came into their own, posting exclusive pictures, video, audio, first-person accounts, survivor lists and knee-jerk commentaries.
Bloggers like Jim Romenesko (MediaNews Weblog), Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), Dan Gillmor (eJournal), Virginia Postrel (The Scene), Doc Searls (The Doc Searls Weblog) and Andrew Sullivan (Daily Dish) are "A-list" bloggers and have an avid following.
The bloggers post links to interesting news stories, ferret out quirky sites, and add commentaries of their own. An intriguing site or story posted by a popular blogger is like a returning honeybee on a frenzied dance.
The link is visited then reposted exponentially and before you can say "copy and paste" an entire of hive of bloggers is doing the click-and-link buzz dance.
Humour, sarcasm and a disrespect for authority characterise the most popular blogs.
Bloggers can rant and rave, comment and critique, make us laugh out loud or shock us with what they produce and find online, although the worst blogs spend too much time navel-gazing and can be as bland as toast.
Like other social groups, bloggers have their own vocabulary.
Some of the popular ones include blogroll (favourite weblogs), bloggerrhea (posting to your weblog many times in a short period).
Blogstipation is the antithesis of bloggerrhea; a condition that results from going too long between blogs, and blog diva (a blog that receives thousands of hits a day).
Group blogs such Slashdot, Metafilter and Blogcritics have also emerged and others are driven by specific hobbies, health needs or social interests, such as rugby, pets, breast cancer, photography and Christianity.
Keeping tabs of the most popularly cited news and blog items are indices like Daypop, and Blogdex.
Blogger
The Weblog Tool Roundup
Which Blog Is Best for You?
Creating a Blog
Radio UserLand
DiaryLand
Pitas.com
LiveJournal
Movable Type
GreyMatter
DayPop
Blogdex
Rugby
Pets
Breast Cancer
Photography
Christianity
