Technorati's Top 100 Blogs: A Quick Look

from the New Media notes of Renzie Baluyut.

This post was originally published in my other blog in December of last year. Since then, there had been changes with that site's general direction, prompting me to move much of the original content over to this blog right here.

I thought I'd put together the Technorati's Top 100 Blogs in one post. When you're in the business of blogging and media, it's interesting to note that somehow, these blogs are actually doing so much better than most of the more established traditional media outfits out there.

Technorati is an internet search engine for searching blogs, and in a way competes with Google and Yahoo. As of June 2008, Technorati has indexed some 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media.

In fact, traditional media outfits like CNN, The New York Times, and magazines like Wired all have blogs within the top 100 as well.

I was hoping to do some more studies and gain more insight after compiling all 100 of them.

So without further ado, here's a quick look at Technorati's Top 100 Blogs, ranked by authority, as of 14 November 2008:

1. Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post, by Arianna Huffington.
2. Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide
3. TechCrunch, by Michael Arrington
4. Engadget, by WeblogsInc
5. Boing Boing, by Mark Frauenfelder. Boing Boing is a weblog of cultural curiosities and interesting technologies.
6. Ars Technica, the Art of Technology. News, analysis, and in depth coverage of technology.
7. Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done
8. Daily Kos: State of the Nation
9. The Official Google Blog
10. Smashing Magazine. We smash you with the information that will make your life easier. a weblog dedicated to designers and web developers.

11. TravelPod, free travel blog to share your trips
12. Mashable | All That's New on the Web. Mashable is a leading tech blog focused on Web 2.0 and Social Networking news.
13. Gawker, Manhattan Media News and Gossip
14. icanhascheezburger.com. Funny lolcats, cat pictures, cat macros, funny captions (and other animals)! Submit your own lolcat! :)
15. ReadWriteWeb. ReadWriteWeb is a popular weblog that provides Web Technology news, reviews and analysis.
16. GIGAZINE
17. Seth's Blog, by Seth Godin
18. CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time.
19. Perez Hilton. Perez Hilton celebrity gossip blog is the source for Hollywood gossip, juicy celebrity rumors, celeb scandals, and the latest celebrity gossip
20. PostSecret. PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

21. The Caucus Blog. 2008 Election Update and Politics from NYTimes.com
22. Wired Blogs: Threat Level. Wired News investigative reporter Ryan Singel and senior editor Kevin Poulsen scare peace loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, in a daily briefing on security, freedom and privacy in the wired world.
23. TreeHugger, by Graham Hill.
24. Kotaku, the Gamer’s Guide.
25. Think Progress, Hard hitting progressive political news site
26. The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan. A blog updated daily since June 2000 on politics, culture, faith, art, science, and anything that makes me laugh.
27. TMZ.com. Your official site for the latest entertainment news.
28. Wired Blogs: Gadget Lab
29. Talking Points Memo | Breaking News and Analysis
30. Valleywag, Silicon Valley's Tech Gossip Rag. Valleywag is a tech gossip rag. You people in Silicon Valley are far too busy changing the world to care about sex, greed and hypocrisy. But if you ever need a break, come visit us at Valleywag.

31. Michelle Malkin, by Michelle Malkin
32. dooce
33. The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), by WeblogsInc
34. The Consumerist: Shoppers Bite Back
35. Wired Blogs: Wired Science. Wired's science blog provides you the most interesting news from the research world with insightful writing that helps you see what's exciting and what's at stake within the torrent of academic journal articles.
36. Daily Blog Tips. Improve your blog with Daily Blog Tips. A fast paced blog featuring articles on blog design, SEO, promotion, monetization and more.
37. Joystiq, by WeblogsInc
38. Ben Smith's Blog
39. ProBlogger, Blog Tips to Help You Make Money Blogging. Helping Bloggers Earn Money. Blog Tips and News for the Professional and Hobby Blogger.
40. CrunchGear. Crunchgear is a blog covering gadgets and computer hardware. It is edited by John Biggs.

41. Washington Wire, by WSJ.com
42. Political Radar. The ABC Political Radar offers latest reporting on politics and elections from ABC News, including the ABC Note, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, the White House, Capitol Hill and everything in between.
43. Blog di Beppe Grillo. Grillo's gags have tackled financial scandals and political corruption.
44. Technology Bits Blog, by NYTimes.com
45. Roy Tanck's weblog. Occasionally I feel an urge to create a new WordPress theme or experiment with Flash and WordPress. This is the blog I use to indulge those cravings.
46. Google Blogoscoped
47. The Corner on National Review Online
48. GigaOM The Business of Technology, by Om Malik
49. Pajamas Media. A blog media company of thoughtful news and opinion.
50. Hot Air, by Michelle Malkin.

51. Crooks and Liars, by John Amato
52. Wired Blogs: Listening Post. Wired.com's Listening Post covers the collision of music and technology.
53. Mac Rumors: Apple News and Rumors. Apple Mac Rumors and News You Care About
54. Gothamist: New York City News, Food, Arts & Events
55. NewsBusters.org | Exposing Liberal Media Bias. Debunking liberal media bias 24/7
56. Glenn Greenwald Salon.com, by Glenn Greenwald.
57. Autoblog, by WeblogsInc
58. Dosh Dosh: Internet Marketing and Social Media. Dosh Dosh is a blog offering internet marketing and blogging tips, alongside social media strategies. Best consumed by bloggers, entrepreneurs, web publishers, marketers, freelancers and small business owners.
59. Neatorama
60. The Sartorialist

61. VentureBeat
62. Apartment Therapy, by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan
63. JAUHARI | Everything Is POSSIBLE. Personal Play Ground of Nurudin Jauhari in English version, This is my place to share my knowledge, my photos, my themes (WordPress Theme, TxP Themes, Blogger Themes, etc) Also in this place I will covered what I like and dislike.
64. Wired Blogs: The Underwire
65. Opinion Freakonomics Blog by NYTimes.com.
66. Copyblogger: Copywriting Tips for Online Marketing Success. Copywriting tips for effective blogging and online marketing.
67. A List Apart, For People Who Make Websites, is one of the longest running, most trusted, and most influential independent user experience and web design magazines.
68. How to Change the World. Entrepreneurship, marketing, venture capital, & evangelism, by Guy Kawasaki.
69. Microsiervos
70. Wired Blogs: Danger Room. What's next in the military, law enforcement, and national security. From Wired contributing editor Noah Shachtman and friends.

71. kottke.org : home of fine hypertext products
72. Seeking Alpha. Stock Market News, Opinion & Analysis, Investing Ideas
73. SlashFilm | Blogging the Reel World, movie news and reviews.
74. Yanko Design Modern Industrial Design News. Yanko Design is a weblog dedicated to featuring modern international design news, covering from industrial design, concepts, technology, architecture, exhibition and fashion.
75. The Web Standards Project. The Web Standards Project (WaSP) fights for Web standards. We work with browser companies, authoring tool makers, and our peers to deliver the true power of standards to this medium.
76. Cinematical, by WeblogsInc
77. Zen Habits | Simple Productivity
78. Scobleizer — Tech geek blogger, writes about the technology industry.
79. Deadspin, Sports News without Access, Favor, or Discretion
80. delicious:days, everything food. one of TIME's 50 coolest websites.

81. JustJared. JustJared.com is the trend spotting, hot online source for pop culture gossip, fabulous celeb photo galleries and breaking entertainment news. Since 2005, Just Jared has given millions their daily pop culture fix!
82. Wired Blogs: Epicenter. Wired.com's take on technology business news.
83. Engadget Japanese
84. Download Squad, by WeblogsInc
85. Stereogum: Music Blog: MP3 Downloads, Videos, News, Giveaways. The #1 music blog.
86. ChrisBrogan.com: Social media business strategy and more. ChrisBrogan.com explores the use of social media and social networking tools, as well as helping individuals work smarter.
87. Swampland by TIME.com. A blog about politics.
88. Signal vs. Noise by 37 Signals. A design and usability blog.
89. Search Engine Land. Search Engine Land is a hub for news and information about search engine marketing, optimization and how search engines work for searchers.
90. Pharyngula. Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal.

91. PopWatch Blog | Entertainment Weekly's EW.com
92. Google Operating System. A blog that watches Google's latest developments and the attempts to move your operating system online.
93. Core77 / industrial design magazine resource / An industrial design wonderland, full of links, resources and hooky playing designers.
94. Matthew Yglesias.
95. Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO. I talk about Google, SEO, and Gadgets. But mostly Google.
96. TPMmuckraker | Talking Points Memo
97. Wired Blogs: Game | Life
98. Power Line
99. Defamer, the L.A. Gossip Rag
100. Daring Fireball. Mac and web nerdery, etc., by John Gruber

This post, by the way, was originally published The Status is NOT Quo | RenzieBaluyut.com in December of last year. At the time, that blog of mine had a lot of articles on a whole lot of topics. It's been streamlined since then, and all posts on Marketing, New Media and Entrepreneurship were moved here to KeyboardMonkeys.com.

Cheers, everyone.

Read more...

5 Tips on Making an Event for Bloggers

As more and more businesses make use of buzz marketing to promote their products and services and try to get good word-of-mouth, we get to see all kinds of gimmicks and come-ons.

Some fail dismally in this task- as more educated consumers see right through the more obvious efforts to put pearls on swine. Others cross the ethical borderline, striving to gain positive exposure no matter the cost. And then there are some companies you just can't help but support, solely for the reason that their corporate values naturally align with your own.

Having been a media person for 14 years, and now as a denizen of the local blogosphere, I can say that I've seen all kinds of companies employ all kinds of marketing tactics to get a good review or two out there. Some good, some completely forgettable, and some just downright wrong.

Of course, if your company chooses to make use of new media- blogs, podcasts, social networks, viral videos, etc- as a means to promote your latest line of products and services, you want to be remembered the right way.

I was in a bloggers' event last week, and it made me think about writing the post you're now reading. Let me share with you a few insights I had with that experience.

The Kawayan Cove Experience

Just a few days ago, several bloggers (myself included), headed off for Kawayan Cove in Nasugbu, Batangas. Kawayan Cove is a 68-hectare exclusive seaside residential community, located in Nasugbu, Batangas, a town 2 hours south of Metro Manila famous for its white-sand beaches and resorts. Edge Properties invited some bloggers to come check it out, and you can read the details of our visit on this other post of mine on another blog, The Life & Times of The Renzie Man.

Whether I like it or not, the side of me that's all media-and-marketing can't help but pay attention to how promotional activities- like this particular event for bloggers- unfold and run its course. I've managed a number of similar events in the not-too-distant past, so I have a few observations myself.

Here are some things we learned from our Kawayan Cove visit:

1. Set the expectations straight. Naturally, when we were given the invitation to event, I already had some preconceived notions in my head: is it going to be a sales pitch? Those real estate open house events are usually boring! Wait- blogging about real estate IS boring!

But the invitation explained it all: it's a workshop for bloggers into digital photography. Just so happens it's set in Kawayan Cove. Bring your camera- you'll want to take lots of pictures. Bring extra clothes- you might want to hang by the beach.

The organizers did a pretty good job in setting the expectations straight, and sticking to it. It was pretty much everything they said it was going to be, then they surpassed themselves by executing their plans very well.

2. Preparation is key. In any given event, even your best-laid plans can go awry. In this case, who would've known it would be raining half the day? Nevertheless, there was a Plan B in place- the venue for the talk was moved to a more suitable location (from the ampitheater to the pavillion by Bamboo Beach), there were vehicles on hand to shuttle us from place to place, even sandals for those who didn't bring any.

You have to admire the kind of preparation any company makes to ensure the success of any event. It's all about covering all your bases. And allowing yourself to be flexible when the situation calls for it.

3. Play the part of the gracious host. It's all about creating new connections and encouraging long-term relationships. Make your guests comfortable, encourage mingling with other guests, make yourself available for Q&A's.

In the case of Kawayan Cove, the Puyat family were all there to show us around, share stories and tell us what we needed to know about the property. I'm sure they've done this dozens, maybe hundreds of times, yet there they were, taking time to have a chat with each and every one of us.

The staff of Kawayan Cove was on hand to make sure we were well-attended to. From the welcome drinks, to the hearty lunch prepared for the group, even those nice little moist towels we got after the tour.

All that thoughtfulness and hospitality can only create a positive image of you and your company. For me, it shows how genuinely warm and welcoming the Puyat family is, and also how well Edge Properties trained their personnel. That's always a good thing in my book.

4. Provide lots of venues for interactivity. There were specially prepared food and drink arrangements, just for pictorial purposes, with Anton Diaz (of Our Awesome Planet) going around giving tips and pointers to all the bloggers, and the Puyat family sharing anecdotes about Kawayan Cove's history.

There was more than enough time to take pictures, work on a blog, do a podcast, or even shoot a viral video. Also lots of opportunities to walk around with fellow bloggers to compare notes and get to know them some more.

You want the interactivity because you want to give your bloggers a chance to soak up and appreciate the experience- in every way possible. It's good that they have a good experience about your products and services, and even better that you allow them to process all that information, and consider all aspects of whatever it is your promoting.

5. Content is still king. What makes your event so compellingly different from everybody else's? A promotional event like this gives your company an opportunity to create content relevant to your market. It doesn't have to be forced, nor does it have to be overly elaborate. It only has to be relevant and timely.

With all of Anton's experience as a photographer- he only stuck to what we wanted to hear: Travel and Food Photography for Bloggers. In fact, he only had ten or so slides, yet we already learned so much.

More importantly, we had the chance to put all his tips to practice for the rest of the afternoon as we toured the property. Two birds with one stone: not only do we get to appreciate the majesty of the natural beauty of Kawayan Cove, we also had a newfound appreciation for digital photography.

Bottom line: Make your event a memorable experience. For businesses who wish to tap blogs and bloggers as a means to promote their products, events, ideas or services, what they're really trying to accomplish is to get good online buzz- the kind of word-of-mouth that inspires the bloggers to tell their readers about their experiences, and share something unique about the activity.

As a blogger, The Kawayan Cove event was probably one of the best I've ever been to. I've learned a lot from it, made some new connections, and it gave me a fresh perspective on things (particularly on the topic of real estate, for me!).

As a media-and-marketing person, the activity was well-planned and equally well-executed. Businesses who plan on making use of blogs and bloggers would do well to learn from this exercise.

Cheers, everyone.

Read more...

A Step-by-step Guide on Writing a Resignation Letter

I've worked long enough to have seen dozens of resignation letters pass through my hands. Heck, I've written quite a few myself.

When it's time to leave the job you have right now, it's probably in your best interest to leave the company on the best possible terms, even if you feel otherwise.

A resignation letter has to accomplish two simple goals:

• It gives your employer a formal (and legal) notice of your intentions to leave the company, and
• It gives you an opportunity to make an impression that, yes, you are professional, yes, you are rising above the petty things others might otherwise fall into, and yes, you are respectable.

A resignation letter is not a venue to go emo and vent your frustrations, or air your opinions, wishes and grievances. It has to be concise and straight-to-the-point. That's all there is to it.

How To Write a Resignation Letter

1. Treat the resignation letter as a standard business letter. First, you have your name, position and department. The date comes next, two lines down after that. After two more lines, put in the name, position and department of your employer. Then two lines more, you can go into your 'Dear Mr. '.
2. On the first paragraph: State that you are leaving your position, and give the date of the last day you'll be working.
3. Second paragraph: Thank your employer for the opportunity you had working for them. If you want to, mention colleagues you enjoyed working with, or supervisors you want to thank for mentoring you.
4. Third paragraph: For your closing statement, wish the company continued success.
5. After two lines down, type 'Sincerely,' then your name after four lines.
6. Sign your resignation letter on the space above your name with a flourish.

There you have it. A short and sweet resignation letter. Hope this helps.

Cheers, everyone!

Read more...

How to Write a Wedding Reception Script

Here's a post that originally came out on another blog of mine, The Life and Times of The Renzie Man. I came up with this post shortly after my brother's wedding last August, and has turned out to be rather helpful, particularly for those who need help in putting together a script for the post-wedding festivities.

So you're about to do emcee work for a wedding reception- how exactly do you come up with a script for an occasion like this?

Putting together a wedding reception script isn't all that hard, really. Bear in mind that as the evening's master of ceremonies, you also have to play the part of a good host, and pretty much fill in everyone on what's going on.

Here are a few tips on writing a wedding reception script.

1. Remember: this is the newlyweds' big night, so the spotlight should really be on them, not on anybody else. Everybody else- family, friends, colleagues- can get their share of the limelight that evening, but special attention must be given to your couple every single time.

2. Get with the Master Plan. Consult with the future husband-and-wife exactly how they want things to happen. If you are to set the tone for the wedding reception, you have to take your cues from them. Sitting down with them will enable you to find out exactly what's important for them:

• Would they want it to be done and over with as quickly as possible?
• Would they want to have lots of ballroom dancing?
• Do they want to incorporate particular wedding traditions on top of, say, the wedding bouquet and garter tosses?
• Maybe they want their reception dinner completely untraditional- so what other fun stuff can you think of working in?
  

Whatever the future husband-and-wife wants, it is your mission to essentially carry out their wishes. After all, it is their night- you want it to be as memorable and magical as possible for the newlyweds, as well as for their friends and relatives.

3. Remember that you're writing a wedding reception script. Which means that once you've worked out the general plan with the couple (and with the wedding planner/s, if need be), you're now off to a PC or a laptop somewhere ready to work your magic.

No need to go verbose and all wordy. Keep it simple, short and sweet. In fact, get straight to the point.

Get a draft prepared well ahead of time, touching all the pertinent events of the reception according to the couple's wishes. Submit the drafts to the couple (and the wedding planner/s, if need be) to get their input. If you've listened well and worked in their needs and wants, then you should do just fine.

4. The usual program flow:

• introduction of parents, principal and then secondary sponsors/wedding entourage
• introduction of the newlyweds
• dinner, as well as accompanying toasts and speeches
• traditional ceremonies, wrapped up by garter and bouquet tosses
• acknowledgments and thank you's
  

Modify elements according to how the couple wants their wedding reception done. For example, the bride would probably want a bouquet toss, but something a more out-of-the-ordinary, like tossing out multiple smaller bouquets instead of just one, or incorporating more cultural traditions into the program.

Ask the couple if there would be family members giving speeches or preparing toasts, or even friends who might be singing, dancing or otherwise have something prepared for our newlyweds that evening.

Once you got everything, go right ahead and work those elements right into the script.

5. Get to know a little bit more about the couple's family and friends. One of the more important things- pronouncing names. You'll be introducing members of the wedding entourage, acknowledging the presence of guests who may have flown in from some faraway country, or calling them out for a speech or a toast.

You might know who they are, and your other relatives (or friends) probably also do, but remember that other half of the room might not, so introducing them properly to all guests present would work well for everyone.

If anyone should know how certain names or surnames have to be pronounced, it's the couple. So go ahead and ask questions if you have to. If all else fails, look the person up yourself and ask him/her how to pronounce their name or how they want to be introduced. It's all part of the evening's fun, meeting new people.

6. Make the effort to get the story on the smaller details. Just enough detail to come up with the couple's story.

Maybe you can find out why the bride wanted the motif for the day's affair. Is there a story behind the wedding cake- say, any particular reason why the couple chose this specific design or make? Does the couple have a special song? There's always lots of stories behind songs.

Maybe the couple has a bunch of pictures flashing up on screen- you can use those as well to tell the story of how the couple met, or how he proposed, or some other significant event in their relationship.

Play up the little things that are special to the newlyweds, share their story, and convey that same warm and fuzzy feeling to your guests at the reception. Work those into your script as well.

7. Print out at least three copies of your wedding reception script- one should go to the couple, another to the wedding planner (or program coordinator, or whatever equivalent), and one for you.

As for your copy, you may want to come up with easy-to-use cue cards. You are going to glance at them every now and then, as you go about your hosting duties for the evening, so keep them handy. Also have a pen with you to scribble down notes and maybe some last-minute changes.

8 . Yes, you'll be reading off a script, but you don't have to sound as if you're reading it.

More importantly, you have to sound natural and as real as possible. The guests will be getting their cues from you, so your words have to radiate warmth, confidence and a sense of welcoming, but at the same time, deliver the appropriate level of formality for the affair at hand.

Make eye contact with your guests, inject just a little bit of personality, and be generally pleasant.

9. Even the best-made scripts are just guidelines. There may be some last-minute changes, or some sections you might have to do away with really quickly.

Regardless, you might have to make improvisations and maybe even have to adlib on the fly. Don't forget to get all your cues from the newlyweds- if anything needs to be changed, it has to be on their say, and you must be prepared to do so at a drop of a hat.

Don't worry about it- as long as you stick to the couple's Master Plan (see #2), everything will be just fine.

10. Bear in mind that you're also playing the part of a secondary host, someone who would be welcoming guests and keeping them engaged while the newlyweds are attending to other friends and mandatory photoshoots.

So take ownership of your role in the whole affair. Be cordial, be pleasant, be sensitive to the needs of your guests and of your newlyweds. Almost like hosting a party at home, only with more formal clothing.

There you have it. I hope this helps. I used to do a lot of wedding receptions and hosting gigs- mostly back in my earlier days of radio.

Hosting a wedding reception might be a little taxing, but they are lots of fun. It's a big night, everyone's all dressed up and in a festive mood, made even more memorable by the presence of family and friends- and particularly means so much more to the newlyweds.

Cheers, everyone!

Read more...

Renzie on the Canon Digital EOS 400D Rebel XTi

I picked up this baby a few days upon arriving in Los Angeles. I couldn't help but notice how much cheaper electronics are in the United States (compared to the Philippines), and since I wanted a step up from my old digital camera (which was an Sony 3.1 Megapixel I've had since December 2004), I thought the Canon Digital EOS 400D Rebel XTi would be a good choice for a digital photography amateur like myself.

After all, the reviews on the Canon Rebel XTi had been consistently great. A quick check online would tell a newbie like me that I should consider getting either a Canon, or one of those nice little Nikon cameras. In fact, I even wrote a few posts a couple months back.

In the end, I picked up the Canon Digital EOS 400D Rebel XTi at the Circuit City in Glendale. That, plus a 4Gb CF Card, and a nice little bag to go with it. For the duration of my month-long stay in Los Angeles, the Canon Rebel XTi has always been by my side, and it's one of my new favorite toys.

I've decided to put my amateur photography skills into good use by starting a food and travel blog. It's a work in progress- I'll announce it as soon as it's ready.

My Review of the Canon Digital EOS 400D Rebel XTi

The Canon Rebel XTi is a remarkable camera, and is a great choice for amateur digital photographers like myself looking to venture into more serious photography.

It's an extremely user-friendly camera, as it has a great range of fully automated picture-taking functions, so you can start using the Canon Rebel XTi straight out of the box, with just a quick review of the instruction manual.

(But it's always a prudent thing to read through the whole manual before reallly putting in a lot of play time with your new toy!)

The basic camera already comes with an EF-S 18-55mm - which is really a good all-around lens as it its. Later on, as you get the hang of the Canon Rebel XTi, you could purchase additional lenses for more specialized functions like give you a farther zoom, or the ability to shoot photos in dark or low-light, etc.

As I mentioned, the Canon Digital EOS 400D Rebel XTi has a lot of great fully automated picture-taking functions, with convenient pre-sets that allow you to specific shots with a quick flick of a switch- portraits, landscapes, close-ups, etc. This is really great for beginners, or for those who wouldn't mind letting the camera do all the work- which for me is something I could totally appreciate.

Much later, you could tinker around with the more advanced settings- an area which I have yet to figure out for myself, newbie that I am.

You'll definitely appreciate the Canon Rebel XTi a lot better with just a little more photography know-how- get someone to teach you, or learn from a book or online. With an interface that's easy to use and easy to familiarize yourself with, it's very encouraging for amateurs and beginners to make an effort to get into photography some more, and pick up some new theories, as well as new tricks along the way.

And the later on, you can buy even more additional accessories for your Canon Rebel XTi. Not only would you want a variety of lenses, but you might also want a Speedlite or two, a wireless remote and tripod, maybe even an angle finder and battery magazines much later on, depending on your needs as a photographer.

Thanks to KenRockwell.com for the Canon Rebel XTi photo. Check out his site for some great tips on getting the right camera and taking better pics. You may also want to visit the Digital Photography Review for more on the Canon EOS 400D Digital Rebel XTi, or the tech section on Yahoo!

Cheers, everyone!

Read more...