We recently saw an item from Om Malik that goes us thinking about the blogging business as it stands today. Om highlights some “solid advice for aspiring bloggers” from Nicolas Lazaro of The Bengal Stripe. Lazaro writes:
Whatever blogs you read now, don’t try to emulate them. Know yourself, know what you like, and build an online identity based off of that. Keep away from fads and anything that doesn’t fit with who you are, and create some real content; don’t just post pictures that you think are cool. …Lastly, there will be a dry patch at first unless you’ve had a running start, just stick with it and if it’s something you truly enjoy, eventually other people who enjoy it will find it too. None of your favorite blogs started out with thousands of readers, they got to where they are by being real and by being smart.
That is all really good advice and got me thinking that it’s been too long since we did an A-list blog post. Today I am focusing on some new blogs, a few months old, worth checking out. These blogs will not be new to our readers, but I thought I would highlight these “real” and “smart” blogs in a standalone post. Starting (and maintaining) a blog is hard, especially in this sort of environment and we want to make sure that our readers are aware of these sites. In alphabetical order:
- Crackerjack Finance – has been to-date largely a macro-focused blog with some posts on individual companies thrown into the mix. The author is anonymous but from his posts indicate he has a pretty good background in economics and finance.
- Interloper – has even fewer posts that CJF but is already making a mark. We initially found Interloper,an anonymous, experience analyst exiled from Wall Street, through Josh Brown. Smart stuff on investing focusing on big picture topics.
- SplatF – Dan Frommer formerly of Business Insider has created a wide-ranging technology site. SplatF isn’t a gadget blog, rather Dan focuses on the business and financial implications of what is going on in the tech world.
- Total Return – is a new personal finance from the Wall Street Journal and is therefore no small, upstart. Total Return has a number of contributors but the fact that Jason Zweig posts here is reason enough to visit.
I find it interesting that two of the above blogs are anonymous. Not sure what it means, but it is worth keeping an eye on. If you have any new blogs you think are worth mentioning to our readers please feel free to add a comment.
