This week, I'll be attending Blogworld in Las Vegas for the first time.  I'm looking forward to the show and interested in learning about the world of blogging and social media in general. The conference features thought leaders, bloggers and participants from an industry that is still in it's infancy.  For years I have been fascinated with the blogging phenomenon.  Blogs have connected people, spread ideas and information, created ' micro-celebrities' and contributed to the downfall of the newspaper industry. The term 'blog' is a contraction of 'weblog', first coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 then turned into just 'blog' in 1999.  Today blogs are part of everyday life and a fairly large industry in and of itself.  This week at Blogworld, I plan to learn about that industry and am specifically interested in the sports aspect of blogging.  If you are in this area and will be at Blogworld, I'd love to connect! I have been blogging now for almost two years on everything from Google to Rascal Flatts.  Much of my focus has been on click fraud and online advertising.  I'm not interested in making money off my personal blog, only sharing ideas, connecting with interesting people and ranting about random topics.  However, blogs have definitely been a vehicle for Click Forensics to share information and reach new customers. Finding a blog that interests you is easy.  Sites like Technorati allow you to search by topic and find your interests.  (For example my love of the NBA returns these results)  There are several blogs I read everyday including the Wall St. Journal, Bleacher Report, Silicon Alley Insider and ChrisBrogan.com. Nowadays, setting up a blog could not be easier.  Sites like Wordpress, LiveJournal, Blogger.com and Typepad.  The WSJ Blog recently had a post called " To Blog or Not?".  If you have something to say I encourage you to blog!  It can be therapeutic, entertaining, engaging and even profitable.  Jump in, speak out and blog away... Tom Cuthbert