As I near the end of my week-long media deprivation experiment, I have made a few observations and noted the potential opportunity for new bloggers to come along and launch "category-owners." I call this assessment the "Blog Launch Opportunity Grade," or B.L.O.G. for short. (Original, huh?)
US News
Blogs are terrific when big news breaks. I heard about George Tenet from Dave Winer almost as soon as it was reported elsewhere. Other less meaty news, however, can take a day or so to show up on Blogdex and elsewhere. Political news has been a snap to follow, needless to say.
Blog Launch Opportunity Grade: C-
Business News
Surprisingly, weblogs are pretty poor when it comes to general business news. This might be because there are already thousands of blogs that hone in on niche business topics. I did find, however, a way to get stock quotes via RSS. Still, there is a need for a single blog or two to track a broad swath of general biz and financial news.
Blog Launch Opportunity Grade: A
Sports News
Blogs are so-so for sports news. I have stayed apprised of the NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs, but feel a little light on baseball news, the latest NFL transactions and the French Open. You would think there would be some excellent general sports and team blogs out there, but there aren't.
Blog Launch Opportunity Grade: B+
Entertainment News
Naturally, this one has been pretty easy. And Nick Denton and others have this locked up.
Blog Launch Opportunity Grade: D
Environmental News
Finally, Amy Gahran challenged me to keep abreast of environmental news, a topic I know little about. Well, now I know a tiny bit. For example, did you know cod may be wiped out by 2020? That's one of the gems I found. Hope Amy takes it easy on me.
Blog Launch Opportunity Grade: D
By the way, this week marks my second round of "dieting." As Alan Meckler noted today on his blog, I lost some weight on Weight Watchers a few years ago -- although nowhere near the 100 pounds Alan exaggerated!!
