When the Internet was new, it was going to revolutionize media by offering everyman a platform to share his views, his art, add his own voice to the media mix previously dominated by those with the resources to own a media channel; a newspaper or TV station. The barriers that stood between an individual and a mass audience were going to come down and you, the individual, had just as much opportunity to get your message out.

A few years later, the blogging revolution is asserting itself into the public discourse. Witness the crucial role “blogs” played in the recent CBS document scandal, keeping the issue open and allowing extensive discussion of the evidence.

The “Blog” short for “weblog” has emerged as an important form of Internet expression. Webster’s Dictionary defines weblog as, “A personal Web site that provides updated headlines and news articles of other sites that are of interest to the user, also may include journal entries, commentaries and recommendations compiled by the user.”

There are thousands, perhaps millions, of blogs available on the Internet. Many of the most popular deal with news and politics or technology, but there are blogs relating to any topic you can imagine. If someone is interested in it, someone is writing about it.

As a populist medium, blogs vary widely in their purposes, biases and credibility. A blogger can be anyone from a widely known journalist, famous writer or expert, to the grocery clerk from the market down the block. It's usually a good idea to take anything you learn from blogs with a grain of salt .

Some professional journalists will claim that bloggers aren’t held to the same standards as the mainstream media, but bloggers rarely disguise their agendas--and if they do, other bloggers will be quick to point them out. They act as watchdogs, critics, editorialists, and polemicists. Sometimes they even do their own original reporting, but often they draw attention to other articles or blog posts, supporting their assertions with links. Blogging is an extension of the national discourse, an electronic forum with views across the entire spectrum.

The real power of the “Blogosphere”--a collective term for the blogging world--is in the way they can bring a lot of attention to a particular issue with lightning speed. When the conservative Powerline blog first questioned the authenticity of CBS documents, those questions were linked to, repeated and commented upon throughout all sides of the political blogosphere. Add to that the fact that mainstream journalists are paying attention to what happens in the blogs and often pick up on things that are initially noted by bloggers and you have a new influential actor in politics and news.

Even major media are joining in the blogging fray with sites like ABC’s “The Note.” MSNBC.com’s Opinion section features several influential bloggers including Eric Alterman and Glenn Reynolds.

Politicians also keep an eye on the blogs. Both presidential campaigns have some sort of blog running (Bush | Kerry) with their take on issues and the campaign. In this heated political season, the political blogs are getting all the attention, but if you’re into NASCAR or comic books or quilting, you can find a blog that might help you get more from your interest and the Internet.

Where can you find these blogs? Often the best place is on other blogs. Many blogs feature a “blog roll” of links to recommended sites. Bloglines has a regularly updated list of the most popular blogs. Technorati is a blog search engine that will allow you to search for topics of interest to you.

How can you start blogging? A number of web sites will host your ruminations ranging from politics, New York Fashions, or model trains. Most sites offer tools that make keeping your own weblog as simple as filling out a web form. Blogger.com and LiveJournal.com are two examples.

Whether you just like to find new things on the Internet, want to keep up on the latest developments in your hobbies, enjoy the give and take of political discussion, or you’re a student of the emerging influence of individuals in the blogosphere, you can probably find something worthwhile in the blogs.