• Blurring with the mass media

Many bloggers, particularly those engaged in participatory journalism, differentiate themselves from themainstream media, while others are members of that media working through a different channel. Some institutions see blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" and pushingmessagesdirectly to the public. Some critics worry that bloggers respect neithercopyrightnor the role of themass mediain presenting society with credible news. Bloggers and other contributors touser-generated contentare behindTimemagazine naming their 2006person of the yearas "You".

Many mainstream journalists, meanwhile, write their own blogs — well over 300, according to CyberJournalist.net's J-blog list.[citation needed] The first known use of a blog on a news site was in August 1998, whenJonathan Dubeof TheCharlotte Observerpublished one chroniclingHurricane Bonnie.[49]

Some bloggers have moved over to other media. The following bloggers (and others) have appeared on radio and television:Duncan Black(known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios),Glenn Reynolds(Instapundit),Markos Moulitsas Zúniga(Daily Kos),Alex Steffen(Worldchanging),Ana Marie Cox(Wonkette),Nate Silver(FiveThirtyEight.com), andEzra Klein(Ezra Klein blog inThe American Prospect,now in theWashington Post). In counterpoint,Hugh Hewittexemplifies a mass media personality who has moved in the other direction, adding to his reach in "old media" by being an influential blogger. Similarly, it wasEmergency Preparedness and Safety Tips On Air and Onlineblog articles that capturedSurgeon General of the United StatesRichard Carmona's attention and earned his kudos for the associated broadcasts by talk show hostLisa Tolliverand Westchester Emergency Volunteer Reserves-Medical Reserve CorpsDirector Marianne Partridge.[50][51][52][53]

Blogs have also had an influence on minority languages, bringing together scattered speakers and learners; this is particularly so with blogs inGaelic languages. Minority language publishing (which may lack economic feasibility) can find its audience through inexpensive blogging.

There are many examples of bloggers who have published books based on their blogs, e.g.,Salam Pax,Ellen Simonetti,Jessica Cutler,ScrappleFace. Blog-based books have been given the nameblook. A prize for the best blog-based book was initiated in 2005,[54]theLulu Blooker Prize.[55]However, success has been elusive offline, with many of these books not selling as well as their blogs. Only bloggerTucker MaxmadeThe New York Times Best Seller list.[56]The book based onJulie Powell's blog "The Julie/Julia Project" was made into the filmJulie & Julia, apparently the first to do so.

• Consumer-generated advertising in blogs

Consumer-generated advertisingis a relatively new and controversial development and it has created a new model of marketing communication from businesses to consumers. Among the various forms of advertising on blog, the most controversial are the sponsored posts.[57]These are blog entries or posts and may be in the form of feedback, reviews, opinion, videos, etc. and usually contain a link back to the desired site using a keyword/s.

Blogs have led to some disintermediationand a breakdown of the traditional advertising model where companies can skip over the advertising agencies (previously the only interface with the customer) and contact the customers directly themselves. On the other hand, new companies specialised in blog advertising have been established, to take advantage of this new development as well.

However, there are many people who look negatively on this new development. Some believe that any form of commercial activity on blogs will destroy the blogosphere’s credibility.[58]