Good luck to Rick Bruner who's hanging up his blogger's keyboard. In seven years we will elect Rick to the Blogger Hall of Fame (assuming it ever gets built). Rick has done much to advance the blogging cause. We'll miss his words of wisdom. (Hat tip to Mike Manuel's new linkblog.)
Blogging is growing. And let's face facts. As a result there are some webloggers who have been at it a long time and are truly outstanding. They write better than the rest of us. They break the news. They define what blogging is and then smash the rules. These bloggers deserve special recognition. They have graduated from the ranks and are superstars. They're Hall of Famers.
So who are these folks? Ask 100 people and you'll get 100 different answers. We need to institutionalize a way to publicly recognize the cream of the blogging crop. We need a Blogger Hall of Fame to help us define the Joe Dimaggios and Ty Cobbs of the blogging world, just as the Baseball Hall of Fame has defined the true greats of America’s Pastime.
I propose that professional journalists who cover media/technology are in the best position to nominate/elect members to the Blogging Hall of Fame, just as they do in the sports world. If enough bloggers and others feel this is a worthwhile idea, I would like to recruit some volunteers to help me draft this. Specifically we need…
* A Blogger Hall of Fame weblog
* A wiki where the community can discuss/determine the specific criteria required to become a member of the Blogging Hall of Fame
* A committee of respected folks who will over see the Hall of Fame and help shape its direction
Any volunteers? Any suggestions?