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There are more than 61 million blogs out there, with more than 100,000 being created each day. The "weblogs" are easy to create online diaries, journals and reports that are afffecting the local, national and international conversation in ways I would never have believed. The vast majority of blogs are read by the blogger and his mother, but in some cases they have millions of readers and earn money through online ads and sponsors.

It's easy to be dismissive about blogs and bloggers, but I believe that in every area of human interest, there's a blog that's changing the game. In media, blogs like like Romenesko and TVNewser have changed the way journalists learn about their own industry. In politics, blogs like Instapundit and DailyKos have changed the way people learn about national affairs. And gossip sites like Gawker give gossip addicts a continuous fix.

To encourage more of a conversation between WNBC and bloggers, we hosted the WNBC.com Blogger Summit on Jan. 31, and more than 130 bloggers showed up to discuss how blogs and the MSM (that's the "mainstream" media).

I encourage everyone I know to reach out and find blogs in your area of interest and read them regularly. It's not going to be easy. Sixty-one million of anything will have lots and lots of time-wasters on it, but there are also some real gems. Learning to navigate the blogosphere is where you should start.

Once you have been reading blogs for a while, you can even start your own if you wish. All you need is to be passionate about a topic. The only technological knowledge you need is the ability to word process. I tell folks: "If you can do e-mail, you can blog."

We have several resources for you below. Please take a look. And tell us about your favorite blogs by filling in this form.

RESOURCES:

Some sample blogs:

• Gothamist.com - NYC happenings
• Engadget.com - gadgets, gadgets, gadgets
• Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn - all about Brooklyn
• Overheard in NY - conversations overheard in public
• Washington Hotlist - all about politics
• Curbed.com - all real estate
• TINY blog Today in New York's blog
• New to Sree - new and useful sites

FINDING AND READING BLOGS:

• Blog search engines: Sphere and Google Blog Search.
• Technorati 100 list of top blogs
• Sree's Blog Resources
• NYC Bloggers

CREATING YOUR OWN BLOGS:

• Blogger (free)
• LiveJournal (free)
• TypePad (requires a fee)

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