Blogs ”” an ugly word, but now unavoidable ”” were born with the internet. As soon as people started to use the technology that would link computers, they started leaving messages. In the 1980s, these were “pinned” on virtual “bulletin boards”. Then, in the early 1990s, online diaries appeared, personal journals to be seen by the entire online world. As internet use spread, people were dazzled by their power to connect and communicate. But they didn’t just want to stare at pages. They wanted, above all, to make their mark on the explosively expanding world of cyberspace. So, in the mid-1990s, the online diary became the web log, or blog.
Blogs let you jot down what you think, feel or know and, at the speed of light, publish it to the world. They now cover everything from quantum theory to politics to low-life celebrity gossip and intimate personal confessions. They can be vast publications written by teams of writers, or fragmented jottings from a student pad. They are the most successful, addictive, potent and radical application of all the new technologies and applications spawned by the personal computer.
The total number of blogs is thought to be approaching 200m, 73m of them in China. I can see no reason why there shouldn’t be hundreds of millions more, because, you see, blogging is like smoking or gambling ”” hard to give up.
I only skimmed this. I was surprised how few of his “top 100” blogs I’d heard of. Clearly I don’t spend enough time on the internet (HAH!). It’s truly scary just how much time one can waste online. I enjoy the blogosphere, but it really can become overwhelming, and I find it has really helped for me to cut back in the last 12-18 months on the time I spend reading blogs and keep a pretty narrow focus in what I do read. It’s possible to spend so much time blogging or reading others’ blogs as to not really get anything done… I admire those who have enough discipline to blog frequently and engage with other bloggers but still be fully engaged in jobs & offline relationships. I find it hard to do both well.
Blogs are an excellent way to make non-PC information available for those who search for it. Otherwise, they are like buying groceries. People consume what they like.