Key blogs about innovation, media & biz online

When it comes to news about internet startups, web trends and innovations, blogs are a way better source than traditional media. If you want to know what’s happening on the web, there are some key blogs that should form part of your daily reading. Most serious online fundis use at least 2 or 3 of the blogs below on a regular basis. They are a great indication of online trends and a good source for ideas:

ReadWriteWeb: It’s an intellectual take on social media trends, exploring web technology, news, reviews and analysis, run by Richard MacManus and Marshall Kirkpatrick. It’s one of the top 10 blogs in the world according to Technorati and boasts an email and RSS subscriber base of more than 250 000. It’s particularly strong on web 2.0, the new semantic web wave, and future online trends.

The Bivings Report: is an in-depth blog on technology and online strategy by a Washington DC-based internet communications firm. Its core philosophy is that the power of the internet lies not in the technology, but its strategic use. The blog has incisive analysis on the American elections run-up from an online and social media point of view. It also covers traditional and online media quite extensively.

Techcrunch: is a blog “dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies”. It’s obsessive alright and a very cool read. It’s one of the most influential blogs in Silicon Valley, tracking Web 2.0 startups. It’s run by TechGod Michael Arrington, also named number 2 on the Forbes Top 25 Web Celebrities list. Techcrunch is also listed by Technorati as the world’s second biggest blog, and has around a million subscribers according to Feedburner. If there is a new web launch in Silicon Valley, then Techcrunch will know about it.

Mashable: is a blog that reports on social networks, social media news and innovations on the web. It also ranks as one of the largest blogs on the net.

Poynter Tidbits: is a group blog of online media experts and commentators from around the world. Hosted by the respected Florida-based journalism college, it provides byte size comment and analysis about online journalism and general online media news. It’s strange that Poynter treats this valuable blog as one of its site sections and not a separate blog. (Disclosure: I am a very occasional contributor to this blog)

Paidcontent.org: was founded by journalist Rafat Ali in 2002, covering the economic evolution of digital content that is shaping the future of the media, information and entertainment industries. The site operates on the belief that in the near future, all media will be digital media. It’s worth bookmarking:

GigaOM: provides news about the key influencers in the technology market place, delivering news, analysis and opinions on topics ranging from broadband and online games to Web 2.0. It claims to attract around 1.75 million readers interested in the latest news in the world of high-tech.