Analyzing Top Ten Technorati Blogs

These are the top ten blogs in the world right now, according to Technorati ( an Internet search engine for searching blogs):

1. The Huffington Post
2. Tech Crunch
3. Engadget
4. Gizmodo
5. Boing Boing
6. Lifehacker
7. Arstechnica
8. Mashable!
9. Icanhascheezburger
10. Daily Kos

I will try to analyze these blogs a little, see what they’re about and what makes them so successful:

1.   The Huffington Post - a news blog (online newspaper) founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington, who already was a “celebrity” - a writer, a politician that run for governor of California against Arnold Schwarzenegger.

She started the blog with a budget, collaborating with other bloggers, editors and computer experts. Now the blog is said to make around 7-8 million a year, and gets up to 3 million hits a month. It’s one of those blogs that’s an actual business, has a whole staff working on it, like former TV anchors and managers. 

Conclusion:  the success behind the blog is due to the fact that it was created by professionals that knew exactly what they were doing (politician, writer, computer whiz, editor) and it started out with a pretty good budget. It’s not an usual startup for your every day blogger, but it sure spelled success!

2.   Tech Crunch - created in 2005 by Michael Arrington, a lawyer by profession, is a blog that he started as a hobby for young technology companies. Now it’s where all the latest news on web companies is posted. With over 1 million hits a month and over $200,000 a month in revenue (well over that if you consider all the parties and conventions), it’s a business. Michael works from his home, together with 8 other full-time employees.

Conclusion: if you have a hobby that you’re really passionate about and willing to learn about, the sky is the limit. Although not an expert in technology or business start-ups, he educated himself and became the best. Hard work and keeping up with the news in his field were crucial, as you can imagine it’s not easy finding out the latest scoop on things but it did pay out. So if you’re really interested in something and are willing to keep up to date with the latest in your niche, you could do it too.

3.   Engadget - created in 2004 by the Gizmodo founding editor, Peter Rojas, partnering with Weblogs Inc. Now Engadget and Gizmodo are rivals, and at about the same level. With over 3 million hits a month and worth over $30 million, Engadget is number one resource in the world for technology news.

Conclusion: there’s a huge audience out there for technololy related news, but it’s a taugh niche to be in. If you’re just starting out without a budget it will be hard to compete with these blogs that get all the latest directly from the source.

4.   Gizmodo - “a blog with the sole purpose of writing about tech and gadgets as fast as possible”. Started in 2002, it is part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. With a few million visitors a month, Gizmodo and Engadget pretty much hold the monopoly in the niche.

Conclusion: timing is crucial in the news business, “as fast as possible” means “life or death”. Also, controversy, scandals and such can bring in additional coverage, just like the feud between Engadget and Gizmodo has brought both extra publicity.

5.   Boing Boing - it has a long history, started in 1988 as a zine by Mark Frauenfelder and Carla Sinclair, it became a website in 1995 and a weblog on January 21, 2000. It is considered a technology blog, actually a blog about anything that has to do with cyberculture, and now offers Boing Boing Tv and Boing Boing Gadgets. With over 2 million hits a month, it is said to bring in a revenue of around $1 million a year.

Conclusion: it pays to stay in the business for a long time, experience can lead to success. Also over time you can build a strong brand name in your niche.

6.   Lifehacker - it’s a blog that launched in 2005, and it offers “tips and downloads for getting things done”. It is owned by Gawker Media, which also owns Gizmodo and other 10 bogs. It has around 6 million hits a month, and is sponsored by different advertisers, bringing in a substantial revenue.

Conclusion: another “geeky” blog related to the cyberspace, with software info and downloads, that was bound to succeed from the start. It was after all launched by a multi million dollar media group.

7.   Arstechnica - started in 1998 by Ken “Caesar” Fisher, it’s a blog about…technology, what else? Over 1 million hits a month, revenue around $3 million a year.

Conclusion: again, experience is valuable, building a name for yourself and showing that you’re there to stay in the niche can pay over time.

8.   Mashable! - it’s a social networking news blog, that was started by Pete Cashmore on July 2005, to write about the emerging trend of mashups, which he defines as “the fusing of multiple Web services.” It is said to get around 5 million page views a month and bring in around $2 million a year.

Conclusion: social networking blogs are becoming increasingly popular and profitable.

9.   Icanhascheezburger - it was created on January 11, 2007, by Eric Nakagawa, who quit his job to become a full time blogger. It’s a blog that posts funny pictures of cats and other animals, receiving over 1 million hits a day and around $6,000 a month in revenue.

Conclusion: funny pictures of cats (lolcats) are becoming increasingly popular, and it is possible to gain huge traffic from a young blog with a good, original idea.

10.   Daily Kos - “is an American political blog, publishing news and opinion from a liberal or progressive point of view. Additionally, the site features a participatory political encyclopedia, glossaries, and other permanent content” (wiki). Founded by Markos Moulitsas in 2002, it has over 1 million hits a day, it brings in a revenue of about $80,000 a year.

Conclusion: political blogs are another niche that seems to be popular, and, again, experience and knowledge of the subject proved to be successful.

6 out of the 10 are technology-related blogs, 2 are news blogs, 1 is a social networking blog, and 1 a humour blog.

I hope you enjoyed the post, comments are more than welcomed!

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