The Coming Day of the Blog
January 01, 2006 10:48 PM EST
by Adam Graham

"I envision a future where there'll be 300 million reporters, where anyone from anywhere can report for any reason. It's freedom of participation absolutely realized."-Matt Drudge in his 1998 Speech to the National Press Club

The future is not yet. Despite the talk about the influence of blogs, the medium is still in the process of change and growth. According to a study published in early 2005 by the Pew Research Center, 62% of Internet users don't even know what a blog is. 27% are Blog Readers and 7% have published their own blogs. Even big blogs like Glenn Reynolds' Instapundit or Michelle Malkin don’t approach the readership of the Drudge Report, Worldnetdaily, or Newsmax.

A technology that's not completely understood and is growing in influence scares a lot of movers and shakers in traditional media and politics. In a recent piece, syndicated newspaper columnist Kathleen Parker painted bloggers as the mad boys from "The Lord of the Flies", and begged people to ignore them. While the tactic of smearing the blogosphere to the ignorant may work for a time, you can't fight progress. Change is coming, the only question is what form it will take.
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