Until 24 hours ago, I had never looked at those hyped Web sites Gawker or Technocrati - a fact that to me as a pop-culture addict and A-list expert screamed, "Those Web sites make A-list celebrities? Hell, no." Let's face it: There was no way that a blogger could have made it on any A-List in the world, as blogging has only been this big for a few years.
But I am mistaken.
After thorough research I found a definition for A-list blogger that is rather general, but certainly proves me wrong. According to Salon.com blogger David Pollard, an A-list blogger is someone getting an average of at least 15,000 hits per day, with 150,000 40-second visitors spending 1,700 hours per day reading and commenting on the blog. In other words, what makes a blogger an A-list blogger is intriguing content that attracts and engages a great number of users - just like a good book author or newspaper journalist.
Picture courtesy of http://blogs.salon.com.Good journalists and A-list bloggers should therefore follow the same guidelines: accuracy, credibility, compelling style and timeliness. This analogy of journalists and bloggers may be getting old, but when you think about it, there is a lot of truth to it. And the best-known bloggers - people whose names even I have heard - have often worked in other branches of journalism. Dan Gillmor and Adam Curry (Who says MTV isn't journalism?) are only two examples.
Another way to make it to the top in Bloggywood are links. Bloggers refer to each other and create a community. And once bloggers have the community's support, they can almost count on links from their friends' sites to their own. Sometimes, a catchy headline, such as "Blog Schmog," can do wonders for your online fame, too.
Of course, as in other areas of the journalism and entertainment businesses, there are the short-term A-listers. When Katrina struck, many in the Web community were raving about the Interdictor. Now that the mass media have shifted their focus to new catastrophes and political scandals, the Interdictor is, best case scenario, on the C-list - similar to former topmodels who now make a living off VH-1 reality show appearances.
Bloggers, however, have to prove themselves. An excellent blogger has to follow journalistic rules as well as entertain, stay in touch with readers and remain very up-to-date. Or maybe someday there will be a reality show for forgotten bloggers.
Epilogue: As an example for the timeliness of this blog check out this story that came out less than an hour ago: Web Site to Blend Journalism With Blogs.
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