It is scary to see comments like this from top class bloggers out there. Well, in case you didn’t want to hop over to Performancing, let me read the quintissence of Nick Wilson’s comment to you: “This isn’t a game anymore. The big boys are a comin’”. I won’t even have to explain that because Patrick Gavin does that a few comments down the road (in the same post). But again, I’ll do it anyway. From what I understand, they’re trying to tell us bloggers to make sure you’re in shape - your blogs well-toned and geared to handle the challenges from even more intense competition in the various niches you are in. With existing blog networks growing and new networks popping out on an average bi-monthly basis (just an raw estimate), small-time bloggers like me (and most likely, you) potentially face permanent mediocrity in the blogosphere if networks decide to come in with a blog in your niche.

All this also makes it pretty disheartening to young upstarts (again, like me) who began taking blogging seriously after seeing the huge successes quite a few bloggers have achieved. Imagine if everything you’re working for right now ends up useless two or three years down the road, just because some more experienced and better armed (Read: Better Funded™) blogger comes knocking on your door. Unless you have hit bullsye and are producing top class content and have large and relevant archives and backlinks, you are going to be doomed to mediocrity (and pennilessness as well).

But is it all doom and gloom? Probably not. Being trim and fit, blog-wise, has always been a prerequisite for success in the blogosphere - with hypercompetition from the big boys or not. It’s going to be a tougher game, yes. But not an impossible one. Predictions of failing blog networks will probably brighten the lives of upcoming bloggers for some time to come as well. But don’t forget the scrapers and stealers, they are likely to pose even more trouble as the blogosphere grows and content-theft becomes less likely to be noticed (or maybe the other way round as blog-readers become more savvy to duplicated content).

So, if you’re an upstart like me, keep persevering on, and make sure you keep learning and adapting to keep up with this everchanging monster that is the blogosphere.

BlogPulse has released a ‘What’s hot in the blogosphere in 2005?’. Relevant to blogs on that review by BlogPulse are the lists of top blogs, top blog posts and probably the top media sources as well.

The blogs in BlogPulse’s list of top blogs in 2005 include:

1. Boing Boing
2. Engadget
3. Albino Blacksheep
4. Instapundit.com
5. Power Line
6. Gizmodo
7. Think Progress
8. Political Animal
9. Slashdot

Almost none of the blogs on this list are unexpected. From traffic to visitor involvement, these blogs are clearly among the best of the best. But specifically, the top blogs were compiled by counting the number of bloggers linking to these blogs.

In any case, I wonder how the bloggers blogging on these blogs feel about this success. An annual confirmation of their top dog status? Or a mere milestone in a greater long-run target?