Just Getting Started
The Crowded Blog Landscape is Barely 10 Years Old

There is blog news from all sides annual award programs for the best blogs scripted in Canada, AOL’s best blog choices of the year, a sequel yet to “Blogging for Dummies,” and political blogs filling the airwaves ad nauseum. In the process, blogs are changing the dynamics of the nation’s political spectrum. Me, I’m grateful to have heard from “Fast Eddie” — who acquired his barroom nickname for the blinding speed of full-to-thebrim beer glass slides to astonished patrons (there is no official certification for such) — that, for his money, the blogging thing is nothing more than a new outlet for the blarney for which the Irish are noted. It’s a fascinating perspective on all this, wouldn’tyou agree? 

The Power of Self
It’s getting crowded out there. Technorati, a blog tracking service, reports that 120,000 new blogs pop up every day. How in the world they catch all those bites is beyond imagining. By mid-year 2007, their site was tracking more than 72 million blogs. It makes you wonder how many opinions are still thirsting for Web site outlets. The Internet is fueling the 15 minutes of fame syndrome — the great divide between the rich and famous and the wannabe generation. But you’ve got to love that there is a tool, available to the multitudes, that makes one believe in the power of self. The Internet provides a forum for weblogs (original name) where unknowns can acquire an audience and, sometimes, the cache traditionally reserved for a respected journalist. It has become a vehicle for expressing cool attitudes on topics in the public eye. Bloggers tend to predictions about impending developments in the sports and entertainment worlds and provide unique twists on breaking news developments. But, we have yet to see blogging come full flower in our hospitality industry.

Still Early
Despite the fact that all the major TV networks, leading dailies and popular magazines communicate their material in traditional formats, most, if not all, rushed to create companion Web sites, offering much of the same content to online visitors. And, within their new electronic landscape, they typically hold the welcome mat out for blog entries.But let’s not overlook the idea that blogs are recorded impressions and generate visibility — important factors in the marketing process. As of December 17, 2007, we had only a single decade of blogging activity on the Web. John Barger, who remains an obscure presence, named his habit of forwarding interesting material he came across online “weblogs,” which, predictably, evolved simply to “blogs.” We are still in the early stages of a real communications phenomenon. These days, a great number of businesses are investing time and money on creative ways to utilize blogging to market their products or services. Commercial blogging will be the brave new world of this remarkable new age medium. Please consider this column as your Letters to the Industry forum. E-mail your thrusts and parries about nightlife trends, challenges, prospects or concerns you are weighing in your business. Send your e-mails, addressed to , with BLOGOSPHERE COLUMN in the subject line. We will do our best to respond in timely fashion to most, if not all, e-mails received.