Thursday, April 22, 2004 12:36 AM
I couldn't help but notice that the "link" counter for the blawg directory hit 500 tonight. Now, not every single link in the directory is a blawg per se (the directory also includes a few weblog tools and similar). I also recognize that try as I might to cull the blawgs which have died along the way, there is likely a bit of dead weight in there. On the other hand, I am also confident that I have not included every blawg that exists in the
blawgosphere. I know this in part because I am always struggling to keep up with new blawg submissions. Thus, I think saying that blawgs have reached the 500 milestone is an accurate statement.
I recall that in January 2003, when I first traversed the blawgosphere looking for links, I found a grand total of 57.
Someone asked me last month about the growth of blawgs and whether the concept had long-term viability. In the grand scheme of the legal vertical, 500 blawgs does not indicate significant participation. Conversely, growing from 57 to 500 blawgs in a little over a year is a pretty solid growth rate for a slow-moving sector like legal, and suggests that blawgs may be here to stay.
I will leave it to the experts to draw their own conclusions. For my part, I will take 500 in stride and keep my eyes on the horizon. There are good things afoot...