So how big are blogs going to get?

We've all heard the hype about blogs. We know that their numbers are growing exponentially. We've seen them beat the Mainstream Media to a few stories. But we still read contradicting accounts of their future influence: will the blogosphere radically transform the world as we know it or are blogs simply a passing fad? Three reports this week provide varying ideas about what to expect.

Blogs published in traditional media: The Los Angeles Times writes that well known commenator Arianna Huffington has proposed a "group blog," inviting public figures from actors to politicians from both sides of the political spectrum to comment on on anything that suits their fancy. A seven member team will research and post articles that the group will respond to, but the group need not stick to these parameters. Huffington would also like them to write about personal interests. Her novel idea, one that could shake up the news industry, is that some of the unedited blog material will be lightly edited and published in the mainstream media through syndication.

Businesses will embrace blogs: "They're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself," proclaims Business Week's cover story. Being so simple that "any dolt with a working computer and an Internet connection can become a blog publisher in the 10 minutes it takes to sign up," the article, entitled "Blogs Will Change Your Business," says "they represent power." Essentially giving anyone a printing press, a voice to the world traditionally reserved for large organizations, "The divide between publishers and the public is collapsing... (creating) media of the masses." Business wise, the article says that "you can bet that your competitors are exploring ways to harvest new ideas from blogs, sprinkle ads into them, and yes, find out what you and other competitors are up to."

Local news sites don't place importance on blogs: "Make no mistake, blogging is a phenomenon, but there is little evidence from surveys, traffic data, or case studies to support local sites making heavy investments." This quote from a report by Jupiter Research found at Poynter, a researcher of online, information technology and business, contradicts the Business Week article. Instead of consulting blogs, local websurfers prefer to get their news from more traditional elements such as message boards.

Sources: The Los Angeles Times, Business Week and Poynter