I've been thinking about the reasons blogs are created, and why some prove popular.
They aren't as democratic as forums, being more like a personal publishing house - representing one person's view with some commentary. The currency of their information is significant. The fact that they develop and unfold as you check back on them lends a serialised dramatic aspect, which is exploited by WW1: Experiences of an English soldier, where diary entries were published at intervals to match the original events. This lent currency and personal flavour to the historic matter, inducing with vibrant and evocative detail the kind of contemplation that typically eludes a common narrative.
The other factor that can give a blog definition and attractive power is the personality of the figure behind it. Consider the blog of James Kunstler (profanity alert) - controversial and bitterly critical of social and economic policy in the United States, it contains a constructive approach to an anticipated energy and resource crisis. It becomes a matter of interest to the reader how the blogger will view a significant event. For instance, if Obama stated in a prominent speech that oil supplies were assured for the next fifty years, you might find yourself wondering what James will make of it, and then hop on to the site.
It is a difficult task for an institution to tap into the power of the blog, when potential readers are wary of 'corporate' blogs, decorated with topical ephemera, but serving a conventional agenda of self-promotion.
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