I have just been noticed by Google..Yay!! I blog purely for fun. Blogging does give me a better sense of what is happening in the world. I'm always looking for stories that the mass media either doesn't report, or underreports, therefore I do a lot more reading of lengthy and short news items during the course of the day than would otherwise be the case.

As of late..Say in the past few days, I have been made aware of a whole new blogging sub-culture. This group of bloggers, and there are many as this has grown into a cottage industry, have been playing Google for PageRank in order to turn their blogs into money making enterprises. There are blogs that are worthy of 'pay per view,' but like all media, these are few in number.

The rest are merely easy entertainment at best, and hateful vile things at worst. The best writing quality seems to stem from left of center blogs(is it really left of center, or just in the US?). Of the unpaid bloggers, Dave Neiwert's Orcinus, Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo, Marcos Zuniga's daily KOS, and Bob Somerby's Daily Howler are standouts, but by no means is this a definitive list. I rarely have a chance to read other peoples' blogs, but when I do, these are at the top of a very short list.

There are of course paid bloggers. The only two that I read on regular basis are Eric Alterman's Altercation on MSNBC and Joe Conason's Joe Conason's Journal hosted by Salon.com. Speaking of Salon, an extra special mention goes out to Michelle Goldberg for her always entertaining yet informative prose.

What is the point to this post? The point is that a good many people are publishing some exceptional material with nothing but a tip-jar out, while others post blather and hope to be recognized(I'd be in this list, an engineer out of his element) by gaming Google and -- believe it or not -- selling advertising and/or links due to their unwarranted PageRank. Then there are those professional journalists talented enough to make a living, or at least supplement their income, by professional blogging.

If you want to do something nice in 2004, give to charity. And give to those bloggers that have enriched, entertained or educated you....maybe even accomplishing a 'hat-trick.'

Happy New Year to all,

Todd