Top Ten Black Blogs (Jan 2009)

We enter enter the Obama era this month. The continued popularity of political and social commentary blogs in the Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) reflects the greater engagement of our blog readers in the issues of the day. I hope that you enjoy the 1,575 blogs ranked in the January 2009 BBR.

I looked back on where things stood 12 months ago when we published the January 2008 BBR. Three of the current Top Ten Black Blogs (Jack and Jill Politics, The Field Negro and Necole Bitchie) were not in the Top Ten a year ago.

We started this ranking effort with 75 Black blogs in Sep 2007. This month we publish over 1,500 Black owned & operated blogs! I don't pretend that we have all Black owned & operated blogs on this list. If you see any that are missing ... please let me know in the COMMENTS section.

Here are the blog lists from the past four quarters:

• January 2008 - 602 Black blogs
• April 2008 - 1,045 Black blogs
• July 2008 - 1,269 Black blogs
• October 2008 - 1,440 Black blogs

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for Jan 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,187 / Rank: 1,384) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues to maintain a commanding lead as the top Black blog in the universe. One of the secrets to her success is the frequency of posts on her blog. Pam has a number of guest commentators and there seems to be a new blog post every couple of hours. In any case, Pam's House Blend is the go-to location for anything related to the lesbian and gay community. Pam has been dealing behind-the-scenes with the hacking of her blog platform This blog was BBR #2 a year ago.
2. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 769 / Rank: 2,893) - [Entertainment] Bossip.com is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. We continue to wonder whether The Bossip is male or female? This blog survived a dust-up that began last year at this time with some derogatory remarks against Maya Angelou. Click here to see index of the people that are blogged about on Bossip.com. This blog was BBR #3 a year ago.
3. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 716 / Rank: 3,202) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) has been blogging since May 2005. Both his name and job are based on phonetics, literally and figuratively. The name – eskay – is the phonetic spelling of “SK,” the tag he used as a graffiti writer years ago. Today, rappers go nowhere unless Eskay says so. His chronically updated NahRight.com is the site for hip-hop news and videos. Check out this interview he conducted with Urb Magazine to learn more about Eskay. This blog was BBR #6 a year ago.
4. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 638 / Rank: 3,767) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the young sister who who owns and operates this dynamic entertainment blog. She created the blog back in 2005 and it was the top-ranked Black blog last year. Angel has other interests in life as demonstrated by her photo blog. I encourage you to see the list of the last 50 posts on her blog. This blog was BBR #1 a year ago.
5. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 574 / Rank: 4,343) - [Politics] Oliver has been blogging since April 2005. Oliver attended Florida Atlantic University and is a member of the Technology and Online Community Department at Media Matters for America. He is expanding his cyber-empire to YouTube as well. This blog was BBR #7 a year ago.
6. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 571 / Rank: 4,375) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks started blogging four years ago out of her passion for celebrity gossip. Her blog, focused on Black celebrity gossip and entertainment news, has risen from from nothing to something to become a destination for many bloggers and fans. This blog was BBR #6 a year ago.
7. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 564 / Rank: 4,444) - [Politics] Baratunde is conscious comic and vigilante pundit who has successfully merged his interests in technology, politics and comedy. He has authored three books, including Keep Jerry Falwell Away From My Oreo Cookies. Cheryl works in communications and marketing of social meda and Web 2.0, and is starting her own consulting shop. Together they make up the dynamic online team of Jack and Jill. This blog was BBR #13 a year ago.
8. La Shawn Barber: La Shawn Barber's Corner (Authority: 363 / Rank: 8,238) - [Social Commentary] This top-ranked blog was launched in November 2003. La Shawn comes at things from a unique point of view. She writes about politics, faith, culture, digital technology and, occasionally, how these things intersect. There are many fans of La Shawn Barber. I'm interested to see how her view evolve in the Obama era. This blog was BBR #9 a year ago.
9. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 355 / Rank: 8,471) - [Social Commentary] The Los Angeles Times interview provided insights into Wayne last year. Field shared his post-election thoughts, however, he managed to weasel his way out of running buck-naked down a Philadelphia street when Obama won. It's cool to see this popular Black blogger sharing his thoughts on King's legacy with Al Jazeera. This blog was BBR #18 a year ago.
10. Necole Bitchie: NecoleBitchie.com (Authority: 348 / Rank: 8,869) - [Entertainment] Necole is one of the few Black bloggers making a career from her blog. She shared some great monetizing tips at the Blogging While Brown conference last year. NecoleBitchie.com is one of the fastest growing urban celebrity blogs on the Internet. She is also sharing information on YouTube. However, not everyone is a fan. This blog was BBR #124 a year ago.

---

HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): AfroBella, Ill Doctrine, Sandra Rose, Womanist Musings, Crunk & Disorderly, Raw Dawg Buffalo, The Black Snob, Angry Black Bitch, Living Life Abundantly, Rod 2.0:Beta, The Angry Black Woman, Michelle Obama Watch, Why Does Everyone Suck?, How To Split An Atom and Electronic Village.

---

This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent. We invite all Black bloggers to apply for membership into The AfroSpear or join our Facebook group known as the Afrosphere Bloggers Association.

Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We do think that these Black blogs are important spheres of influence. Let them know that you appreciate the work they have put in over the past few months and years to get on this list. I encourage all bloggers to provide some link-love to this post so that your readers can learn about the Villager's Black Blog Rankings! Next step is yours ... what say u?