Things I Adore: Part 3

Blogs of Note:
Great blogs and how you can have one.

As the owner of a freshly-launched personal blog, I am vastly interested in top web publishers and their methods.  According to Technorati, the following is an accurate list of the five most popular blogs to date:


1. Boing Boing : A brain-child of Mark Frauenfelder and his wife Carla, Boing Boing started off as a magazine before it became a group blog in January 2000.  Together with four co-editors, Boing Boing promises to be a "directory of wonderful things" and delivers 'weird' to a Technorati fan-base of over 4,300 people.  Boing Boing works because it highlights strange and unique content on a consistent basis via staff and guest posts.

2. Problogger:  Darren Rowse launched his personal blog about life, faith and his hobby long before he ever thought he'd make money doing so.  Today, Problogger boasts a #2 ranking on Technorati with over 3, 800 fans.  Darren has lots to say about his journey, but  his most important lesson is 'slow and steady wins the race.'  Since 2002, Darren has brought his hobby from fun to profit through niche subject matter and genius marketing.

3. TechCrunch: This commercial blog is new in comparison to the top two, but it boasts over 3,600 fans on Technorati and profiles all things technology and business.  Started by Michael Arrington in 2005, TechCrunch has a dozen staff members working to keep the content fresh.  Their success stems from loyalty to their niche and expanded content offerings through The Crunch Network; several sub-blogs that target different tech genres.

4.  Lifehacker:  With just over 3,080 Technorati fans, Lifehacker has provided a steady stream of 'life-simplification tips' via web since 2005.  With over 18 updates per weekday, visitors can always find ways to streamline their routine.  Lifehacker is one of many blogs owned by Gawker Media founded by Nick Denton.  The corporate blogs' popularity is attributed to a steady stream of updates about new products and services that improve quality-of-life.


5. Engadget:  Just barely behind Lifehacker is Engadget, a corporate blog dedicated to consumer electronics that has over 3,040 fans on Technorati.  Engadget sets itself apart by offering geek-speak in seven different languages through sub-sites.  Peter Rojas created Engadget in 2004, which was recently acquired by AOL.  The blog is successful because it makes a general topic personalized through translation and news leads posted from readers.


Now, most of these blogs are owned by companies, but they didn't all start that way.  The top two blogs began as personal platforms dedicated to the writers 'niche of choice.'  Since personal blogs are the most common variety, the next post will feature a 'guide to personal blogging' from John Moore, VP of Engineering of Swimfish, Inc.  John's blog was created on February 3rd, 2009, it averages six comments per post and over 180 unique visitors a day.  You can follow him on Twitter at JohnFMoore.

I'll be posting his article as soon as I get it, so watch my twitter feed at @foxystrategy for update status.