Blogs - The New Fourth Estate?

NPR has a podcast about the Chinese Blogosphere. If numbers are anything to go by, they are witnessing a Blog Explosion. It is said that there are some 13 Million blogs in China. Given that bloggers constitute the majority reader base of other blogs, chances are that these blogs could be enjoying a decent amount of readership (the fragmented blogosphere could actually work against pushing up the traffic). The podcast also mentions that 50% of all office-goers have blogs.

Wanna give a shot at the Blooker Prize?

Lulu.com, a site aimed at promoting writing talent is coming out with the first ever Blooker Prize (an award for bloggers turned bookwriters). Lulu’s business model is interesting as it serves as a platform to showcase new authors. Lulu provides online (e-book) and offline (print-on-demand) distribution channels to budding authors. Established publishers could act pricey when it comes to promoting new writing talent and Lulu.com aims to fill the void in this segment. It helps you to create your own audience for your own writing.