The article Now on YouTube Your CEO - Business Video Marketing, The Advertising Medium of Choice quotes Fionn from Elixir Interactive.

“The State of the Blogosphere”, the annual report developed by Technorati that compiles index data, blogger survey results, and analyzes trends and themes of blogging was released recently providing insight on the present blog landscape.

The report’s findings reinforce our understanding of blogs as a mainstream media conduit. The overall activity on blogs is astounding: In the U.S. alone, there were 94.1 million blog readers and 22.6 million bloggers in 2007. There is no prototype for the average blog participator; personal bloggers are the most prevalent and professional come second, but the categories are not mutually exclusive. Blogging is an activity that attracts people with an array of interests and fulfills a variety of needs, both personally and professionally.

Mainstream media is taking cues from popular blogs, incorporating similar styles and formats formally unique to the blogosphere. 95% of the top 100 newspapers have reporter blogs, and often discussions in the Blogosphere are used by the media as a gauge of public opinion and newsworthy topics. Television especially utilizes the opinion free-for-all that is the Blogosphere, broadcasting the feed of viewer input in response to headlines. This, of course, allows audiences to partake in discussions with traditional media, and all from the comfort of their computer chair.

So is this phenomenon simply the new fashion for journalism? Or will the pervasiveness of the Blogosphere dominate the dissemination and determination of news and opinion, taking over the role of traditional media? As long as readers find relevance in blogs, and bloggers create relevant content, the Blogosphere will continue as an ultimate network for discussion. After all, everyone’s a critic, right?