Please read Paul Glazowki's recent post on the future of blogging ("Blogs: A History, A Future). What once was a mostly a "geeky" medium has become mainstream.

For years, we have seen instances of blogs that have amassed steady readerships well past the million mark. Whether they be political in nature (DailyKos, The Huffington Post) or cover all things gadgetary (Engadget, Gizmodo), they've regularly shown, for many, many a season their ability to attract seriously large audiences.

But only recently have such online publications received considerable attention day to day in the realm of typical chatter. Whereas in 2004 and 2005 (in some cases 2006, even) one would tend to think twice before mentioning one's interest in a particular blog at the lunch or dinner table, today it is more or less accepted that one mention such a reference in an average setting. You know, a setting involving one's non-geek friends or family members.

What does this mean for the future of blogging? Who knows, but we are well beyond the "early adopter" phase, at least when it comes to readership. The big question is whether the masses will ever go beyond reading and participate more meaningfully.

I think were going to see a second round of blogging growth. Perhaps not the same "entrepreneurial" style that Paul's post described but the corporate wave of blogging is still to come and that wave will favorably affect participation. In the meantime, there are numerous other social-media platforms worth studying. The rapid growth of social networks and video suggests that there is more than one way for people to participate.