The Top 10 interesting people in the Blogosphere in 2005

December 26, 2005 | By Duncan | Filed Under General

Before making our predictions for 2006, we revisit 2005 in a list of the Top 10 interesting people in the Blogosphere in 2005.

1. Matt Mullenweg, WordPress
The rising star of the blogosphere took a few blows from supposedly friendly folk this year, and yet bounced right back with the launch of a new company, and took the mantle of the blogosphere’s most popular DIY blogging script WordPress. He’s making friends with the likes of Scoble and Winer (although I’m not sure that this is particularly a good thing) and others are starting to listen.

2. Mena Trott, Six Apart
Despite a rollercoaster ride of a year for her California based company, Mena Trott continues to entertain us all, whilst continuing to wear a coat made of teflon. Despite any criticisms from the likes of the Blog Herald and others, you’ve got to give her credit for tanacity and staying power.

3. Jason Calacanis, Weblogs Inc., (AOL)
Jason made the list last year, but this year he makes it for another reason, legitimising the value of blogs as a serious and profitable media play by selling Weblogs Inc., for a rumored $25 million to AOL.

4. Michelle Malkin
This right of center political blogger where’s a similar teflon coat to that of Mena Trott, but the rubbish thrown at her by her enemies in the left make the criticism levelled a Mena look like a English tea party. Malkin continues to grow from strength to strength and now regularly features in the top 10 lists of blogs. There is apparently no stopping this amazing powerhouse of the political blogosphere.

5. David Krug (aka Liberal Cowboy), Jack of All Blogs & the Team at Go Flock Yourself
The rise of the anti-Web 2.0/ blogosphere spin bloggers are best typified by Liberal Cowboy and the blogger or bloggers behind Go Flock Yourself, leading the charge against what some would consider to be the ruling elite of the blogosphere and their marketing/ Web 2.0 newspeak (or is that newspeakr?)

6. Nick Denton, Gawker Media
It wouldn’t be a list without Nick on it, and he again makes it this year. After an attack of the mutant pies earlier in the year, Nick launches and cancels blogs with ease whilst denying that he will ever sell out, whilst still looking for love. We love Nick, we always will, and he lives by the very values his bloggers post about on his blogs.

7. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp
Often totally over looked by many is that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is the owner of the largest blog provider on the planet: MySpace, with around 40 million + blogs. Murdoch knows his stuff and he doesn’t usually make stupid acquisitions. Expect his influence over the blogosphere to increase in the comming year.

8. David Sifry, Technorati
David Sifry should nearly qualify for the Houdini award for greatest escape this year as he turned around the nearly terminal Technorati into a fast, useful, and once again much loved search portal of choice for the blogosphere.

9. Darren Rowse, b5media
OK, great big disclosure here, I’m a fellow shareholder with Darren in b5media, but even if I wasn’t I’d be putting him on this list anyway, because 12 months ago virtually nobody had heard of Darren, and yet know he’s arguably the blogospheres best known Problogger, and makes more than I do in a year in a month through his network of blogs. As well as being a founding partner in b5media, Darren has also had fairly entensive coverage in the Australian media this year as well, helping to build the profile of blogging in a country in which most of the media still refer to blogs as online diaries.

10. Frank Warren, Post Secret
A visionary with such a simple idea that has made such an enormous impact on so many, that Post Secret is (at the time of writing this) No. 3 at Technorati.

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Comments

25 Responses to “The Top 10 interesting people in the Blogosphere in 2005”

dandyna on December 26th, 2005 12:25 pm

go go Matt!!!!
Andreas on December 26th, 2005 4:13 pm

Yay to the famous ones!
Vamsi Gangavalli on December 26th, 2005 4:18 pm

Very Intresting People they are. I am a big fan of 2 of the people in the list but comeacross 8 of these guys sites/works almost everyday.

There are even more intresting people but I know top 10 is what counts.
May be others like ‘Nick Wilson’ will be topping next year? lets see.
Nick… get ready!

By the way, thats a Great Topic.
david on December 26th, 2005 4:31 pm

Sigh…I suppose that I clocked in at #11 this year, eh…?
Cowboy on December 26th, 2005 7:57 pm

Duncan,
Thanks man. Im all humbled.
badgervan on December 26th, 2005 9:14 pm

Malkin? If you like ultra right wing, paranoid conjecture and plain old lying, I guess. Has no more credibility than drudge - and that’s saying a lot.
Fabio Sirna on December 27th, 2005 5:50 am

Why I’m no in this list? :)

I joke…bye.
Anonymous Coward on December 27th, 2005 7:23 am

It’s “wears” not “where’s”
Correction on December 27th, 2005 8:53 am

Where’s Arianna Huffington?! The Huffington Post is emerging as a credible Drudge alternative–and by convincing newsmakers to help shape the stories they’re part of, it’s also created a new role for blogs in public discourse. She should certainly be on this list.
Marcelo Aliaga on December 27th, 2005 11:08 am

Where’s Leo Prieto??
Evil Progressive on December 27th, 2005 11:11 am

Malkin?

She is a two-bit attention-seeking, narcisstic, whore. Like Ann Coulter, she does not believe a word of what she says. She’ll say/write anyhing that gets her attention and money.
blips on December 27th, 2005 2:30 pm

MATT is number 1 or is it WordPress that’s number 1. I hope it is WordPress, it is blogware that rocks. And did you know WordPress version 2.0 is out today?
Its like the multiuser version on my site, hope it will go the same way as 1.5 did before and refrain from getting commercial.
Fernando Quijano on December 27th, 2005 4:05 pm

El primer blog colombiano. AnÃ¡lsis, comentarios confidenciales, caricatura y tapas de diarios.
Jay Devine on December 27th, 2005 4:37 pm

I was hoping for my name there….Ouch! Gotta work even harder, I guess.
Angie on December 27th, 2005 10:33 pm

I’m drowning - but I hope to get there one day!
david on December 27th, 2005 10:57 pm

duders–

please spell check your entries and use proper grammar.

love and kisses,
david
Mister Moy on December 28th, 2005 9:49 am

Hvad for noget.
Whoever compiled this list is a serious jerk for leaving me out of it.
One Monkey's Uncle on December 29th, 2005 1:06 am

Malkin? MALKIN?! She’s nothing but the Right’s current Screeching Howler Monkey spokesmodel, all the credibility and deep reasoning of Ann Coulter and none of the wit.
Duncan Riley on December 29th, 2005 4:14 am

Ahhh!
And the Michelle Malkin hating ppl, you prove my point exactly, she’s got to put up with sooooo much abuse and yet she soldiers on, and for that she is truly amazing and interesting.
Ozh on December 29th, 2005 4:21 am

Your list is sensible, although as a non american citizen I don’t know a few names.

However in my opinion it lacks a name, Nick Wilson. A year after he created ThreadWatch, it had become a mandatory read, and performancing.com has already this status after a few weeks.
Duncan Riley on December 29th, 2005 4:35 am

I’d suggest Nick might make the list next year, although I’ve got to say that as much as I’ve been a fan of Aaron Wall in the past Threadwatch is about as exciting as cats piss now Nick has sold it, I’ll probably stop reading it at the end of the month.
Nils on December 29th, 2005 7:21 am

No offense but you really want to hire a proof-reader. I know my English ain’t perfect either, but then I am not a native speaker. What’s your excuse? :)
blips on December 29th, 2005 1:53 pm

Whats that crap about spell chek You can read this so buzz off and crank it up.
Nothing is for sure and even that is not.
Monkeypoo on January 1st, 2006 2:18 pm

One female out of the whole lot? You gotta be kidding me? Not right.
bonhamled on January 26th, 2006 5:33 am

Next year: Kevin Rose

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