Anyone who reads much online has noticed the amount of attention paid to blogs has skyrocketed over the past few years. In fact, if you are reading this via the Problogger writing project, it’s likely the boom has motivated you to start a blog and grab a piece of the action for yourself. Blogging has evolved from the largely ignored rambling of internet geeks into a versatile publishing platform used by giant corporations and individuals alike. Whether you do it for money, networking, or fun, anyone can start a blog, and sometimes it seems like everyone has. Of course, the vast majority of bloggers toil in obscurity and eventually abandon their dreams of internet stardom. So what separates the giants from the dwarves? I have observed two areas where the best of the best distinguish themselves. The first is early entry. The majority of extremely popular blogs have been operating for two years or more. These visionaries saw the potential of blogging before anyone else and entered the market when competition was sparse. They’ve been spending the past few years mastering the blog game and building reputation and authority. It’s no wonder they beat the pants off beginners like myself. And this brings us to the subject of the article. Most of us got into blogging to make it big. For this to happen we’ll have to recognize the next big thing before everyone else, just like today’s blog superstars did a few years ago. Without further adieu, I present my prediction for the future of internet media.
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