Today is BlogDay

Happy BlogDay!

The official BlogDay website seems to be overloaded with traffic, so here's some info for you about what this day is for and how to participate:

Why do we need a BlogDay?

1. Information Overflow! The more Blogs there are, the less time Bloggers spend on reading new weblogs. Because of the overload of information, you miss a lot of good Blogs and Bloggers.

2. Its Fun!

BlogDay posting instructions:

1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2005
3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
5. Add the BlogDay tag using this link: http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2005 and a link to the BlogDay web site at http://www.blogday.org

The internets is a big place but, if you're like me, you have the habit of reading a particular set of blogs and not seeking out new ones that are definitely worth your time and attention. I chose blogs that are less than one year old to note in this post. If you're interested in those I read regularly, they're listed in my blogroll - which I've actually thinned out recently in order to highlight those I really like or visit frequently.

Alrighty, here's my list in no particular order:

Liberal Arts and Minds by knb who spends an inordinate amount of time visiting my little blog and contributes greatly to the discussions here.

Best Guess. Insightful and thoughtful political analysis. Simply put, more people need to read this blog.

Peace Gone Wild by [Damnit] Janet who is out on the streets as often as possible protesting the wars. Janet is a woman with a heart of gold whose family means everything to her and motivates her to keep fighting the good fight. She's a woman you want to get to know.

The Next Agenda is a new Scoop-based, Canadian blog community whose mission statement is welcoming and encouraging. In a world of so-called progressive/liberal community blogs, this one has the broadest definition of what that actually means.

Parvum Opus - completely removed from the political grind, Olivia's blog offers some of the most spectacular botanical photography you're likely to find anywhere. Her site is a refuge for people like me who need to be reminded about the most simple and beautiful things in life when there's so much pain and destruction in the world.

Other sites of interest:

toot is the home of an Arab blog network where you'll find a large diversity of opinions and perspectives we often miss in the west while JBlog is a collection of Israeli and Jewish blogs.

Sifry analyzed the state of the blogosphere in April 2006. The growth is staggering.

Blogossary is a dictionary of all things blog-related.