The Top 10 interesting people in the Blogosphere in 2004

Before making our predictions for 2005, we revisit 2004 in a list of the Top 10 interesting people in the Blogosphere in 2004.

1. John Hinderaker and Scott Johnson, Powerline
Who are we to argue the Time Magazine’s recipients of Blog of the Year? Having played an important part in propagating Rathergate, they still managed to stay humble: “We’ve been having such a good time writing together on the site… to not only to see it come to fruition but to be recognized for it by an institution like Time is just beyond belief.”

2. Dave Winer, Scripting News
Dave is often referred to as the god of blogging, and although often mistakenly credited with creating the format, his role in the 1990s with Userland software and the creation of RSS helped pave the way for the Blogosphere we know today. Winer is also widely known for his role as the creator and convenor of BloggerCon conferences. Although writing an eclectic blog of thoughts, travels and other titbits, his site is still one of the most widely viewed blogs on the net.

3. Jason McCabe Calacanis, Weblogsinc.
After some initial scepticism from some (including the Blog Herald), Calacanis has gone on to make a quality network of blogs and bloggers creating cumulatively some of the best content in the Blogosphere. Although not quiet making the 100 blog target he set himself for 2004, the 75 odd blogs is a great achievement from a driven, committed blogger, who isn’t afraid of speaking up on matters of morals and ethics in business and on the internet.

4. Nick Denton, Gawker Media
It was difficult to decide whether to place Denton before or after Calacanis. Both have done amazing things in developing a corporate business model placed around quality, sponsor supported blogging, albeit in slightly different directions. Denton’s stable of blogs have come to dominate their targeted niches and provide a nation’s capital with more gossip than it can digest in one sitting.

5. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, The Daily Kos
We may not have agreed with much of what he said, and his commentary on the deaths of a number of contractors in Iraq still remains a candidate for a “worst commentary on a blog” award, but Zuniga has raised the profile of the Blogosphere to new levels and is by all reports one of the highest earners from blogging on the planet. His leading role in the advocacy of the Kerry campaign catapulted him from relative obscurity to international stardom.

6. Jeff Jarvis: Buzz Machine
A long term player in the Blogosphere, Jarvis will be forever remembered as the Blogger who went the extra mile to break news. Whilst blogs have often been the recipients of inside gossip or the breakers of major news (Drudge and the Lewinsky Scandal) Jarvis showed the Blogosphere that major stories can be created with initiative and an application under Freedom of Information Laws when he broke the story in relation to the limited number of complainants to the US FCC.

7. Anil Dash: SixApart
The human face of the SixApart Empire that is always affable and pleasant to deal with. Anil shot to fame earlier as a blogger and writer, but has now gone onto bigger and better things as VP at the Californian based blogging firm.

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8. Ana Marie Cox, Wonkette
If the award was for the most interest female blogger on the net, Cox would top the list. From “suburban housewife in Arlington, Virginia” to Washington DC’s leading gossip columnist, Cox did more than any person this year in bringing blogging from tech to water coolers.

9. Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit
The one, the only, the original pundit, Glenn continues to provide a daily dose of commentary that keeps the site at No. 2 on the Technorati’s greatest hits list.

10. Marc Canter: Marc’s Voice/ Marqui
The founder of Macromedia made headlines this year for possibly all the wrong reasons as the creator of the Marqui Cash for Comment program, which pays $800 USD per month and $50 per lead to talk about the Marqui CMS. You may not agree with the program, but he’s certainly made enough headlines to take in tenth position.

So that’s the 10 for this year. Just missing out were: Steve Rubel, Doc Searls, Arthur Chrenkoff, Hylton Jolliffe , Mark Glaser, any one of the employees at Six Apart, Evan Williams… The list can go on and on. There were many more that could have been included, and everyone is welcome to add their thoughts to the comments.
Merry Christmas!