Since the beginning of time, people have found a way to make their opinions known. It started with cave scrawlings in the days before paper came along and — after a period of parchment letters and elaborately bound diaries — graduated to hardback journals and books as we know them today. Many of us have had diaries throughout our lives, but they were always something private and sacred, not meant to be read by others. That is, until the Internet came along. Suddenly, those with a knack for the written word (and sometimes even those with no grasp on it whatsoever) and a desire to be heard were posting their innermost thoughts on their homepages in the form of web-logs. Today we know these confessionals as blogs and they're everywhere. It's hard to click on a website these days without finding an accompanying blog to go with it. Indeed, in today's world of ambitious, outspoken personalities, an online personal journal or gossip blog is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. From the scathing (and scathingly funny) rants posted by drag personalities like Lady Bunny and Jackie Beat to the up-to-the-minute celebrity gossip found on PerezHilton.com, blogs have become a source of both news and entertainment. In the process, they have altered the very shape of the media, changing not only the way that news is reported, but also the way we read news, and introducing a new kind of celebrity altogether: the Web personality. People no longer have to be educated or even have anything particularly noteworthy to say; a certain way with words can be enough to propel them into the cultural zeitgeist. Yet with each new blog popping up (and there are many of them), the competition gets fiercer, and the stakes get raised even higher. These days, it's no longer enough to have a blog; you have to do something with it in order to keep readers coming back for more. Frankly speaking, the last thing the world needs is another crappy blog. Which is why we decided to poll some of the Net's most popular mainstream and underground bloggers to get their thoughts on what it takes to start and maintain a successful blog. Each one of them has something different to offer in regards to both niche and experience, so we encourage anyone who thinks they have the gift of gab to do themselves (and us) a big favor by considering the following statements before taking to the Web. David K. Location: San Francisco URL: www.nightcharm.com A Web domain for all things queer-related, David K.'s Nightcharm has become a frequent stop for those looking for both insight and entertainment, offering not only original erotic fiction, but also thoughtful discussion on any number topics. Posts on the Nightcharm Blog range from the salacious (a post educating readers in The Five Ways to Love a Hard-on) to the sensitive (a recent commentary on the career of the late Heath Ledger), with a healthy sampling of everything in between, giving readers a daily dose of variety. The writing — courtesy of David K. himself, along with a host of like-minded contributors — is concise, witty and thoughtful, informed by a decidedly queer point of view that keeps it fun. Which is just the way David K. likes it. "If a blogger is trying to establish and project a voice within the Internet's dialectic, then the author should know how to write well and succinctly," he tells Cybersocket. "Brevity is really the key to good writing for the Net." The site has a sleek, clean design, which makes it easy to navigate and easy to read. "The look and feel of the site conveys a certain aura [and] lets our readers know we are serious about good gay porn and the overall queer mindset," David says, citing the page's design as one reason for its success. Another would be its reputation for delivering commentary not found anywhere else. "Rehashing blog content makes the Net a gigantic circle-jerk of hackneyed gossip and mindless link aggregation," David adds. "I have to insure that we're generating grabby, original content that will impress a reader and make them a repeat visitor and eventual customer. You can create content that no one has anywhere else," he continues. "Find a topic that interests you, research it and then write it or photograph it or video it. Most of Nightcharm's blog entries are originally composed pieces that bring something new to the table. Doing so builds an audience. It takes time to do that, but it pays off in the long run." Jackie Beat Location: Los Angeles URL: blog.myspace.comjackiebeatrules Type of blog: Personality If there's one thing that drag diva extraordinaire Jackie Beat knows how to do, it's dish. And she does it in spades on her often-uproarious blog, hosted on her MySpace page. Sometimes repurposed from her published column and sometimes composed especially for her online readers, the blog gives the divine Ms. Beat a chance to humble herself to her readers, as when she says, "Other than the simple fact that I'm more creative, more intelligent and more beautiful than you -- essentially, we are exactly the same!" She also offers her opinions on pop culture, such as, "I can't wait until Ellen's show is off the air in a few years and she can become a big ole diesel dyke who has so much money that she doesn't give a flying frick what anyone thinks." She also reveals her fondness for crazy heroines with, "Give me a hot mess any day of the week!" Though not updated daily, La Beat's blog gets its fair share of hits for its unadulterated, no-holds-barred honesty. In other words, Jackie's a bitch. But she's also a bitch who isn't afraid to make herself a target. "I see other drag queens and bloggers trying to do the bitter and nasty thing, but what they fail to realize is that I make fun of myself first!" she says. "I make sure to always serve up a generous portion of self-deprecating humor and then I start ripping into everyone else. Nasty with no intelligence, wit or irony is just like fast food — satisfying for a mere moment, but ultimately non-nutritive." Beat frequently uses her own life as grist for the mill, laying bare her deepest fears and biggest dreams and letting her readers in on the real Jackie Beat, who says she is not about to write just for the sake of writing. "At this point I am all about quality," she says. "If you feel pressure to write everyday, then some entries will be, 'Woke up and had some coffee. Blah, blah, blah...'" If you're a star — even an underground celebrity — his kind of minutia may fly. But if you're just a normal person expressing your opinions, then do just that: Wait until you see or hear something that makes you want to go off on a rant. "I think blogs are like graffiti," she offers. "People who feel they don't have a voice or are not being heard will find a way to express themselves." On the other hand, she says, that's not always a good thing. That sounds like it should be a positive thing, but some people should just remain quiet. There are people sitting in a cubicle somewhere in Bumfuck, Arkansas just waiting to make some snarky comment about a photo of me. Get a fucking life, loser!" Personality she's got. In fact, Beat says that having one is key to maintaining a successful blog. "The most important thing for someone to figure out before they start blogging is if they have anything to offer," she advises. "If you're not the best writer, then are you at least an interesting person with whom people will want to spend time every day? Make sure you have a personality. I just happen to be a very good writer who is also entertaining, funny and beyond interesting." Hey, she never said she was modest. Michael Stabile Location: San Francisco URL: www.gaypornblog.com Type of blog: Adult entertainment news If you're a fan of porn, then chances are that you've seen Gay Porn Blog. Created by writer Michael Stabile and his partner in crime, Jack Shamama, the site is a haven for porn fans who clamor for triple-X pics, industry predictions, and gossip. "Blogs are the editorial pages of the disenfranchised," he comments. "I think you'll continue to see blogs spring up, but the more successful ones will become more entrenched in culture and will begin to look more like online magazines." This is possibly one reason why Gay Porn Blog sometimes comes off like an even snarkier version of Teen Beat — that is, if Teen Beat covered the gay porn world. Entries like The Porn Star's Guide to Getting a Porn Body and Sean Cody's Least Convincing Straight Guy offer witty commentary on trends in the triple-X world, while the blog's regular Gay Porn Sneak Peeks keep the fans hyped up for coming releases. Stabile says that having such a limited range of topics presented in a unique way is what keeps the blog so popular among its readers. "Many people go in thinking, I'm going to write about gay stuff or I'm going to write about travel, and then get disappointed when no one reads what they are writing because they find [the same thing] somewhere else," he offers. "Determine your voice and narrow your coverage before you start. It doesn't pay to be an expert in everything." Unique content and a point of view won't hurt either, he adds. "The most important thing in blogging, at least from a traffic standpoint, is having original content and an original, compelling voice. Both will generate links that will help you build an audience." Just be sure to think outside the box and reveal a little bit about yourself: "Rather than reporting on an event, do an analysis of news coverage of the event. Mix an entry on a new travel destination with a Top 10 list of your favorite travel destinations. When trying to build an audience, focus on building an audience for yourself rather than your blog. Everything that you focus on should have your personality — especially if someone else is covering the same thing," Stabile notes that it's important to be true to oneself when writing. "A lot has been written about people creating an alternate online identity, but usually that involves exposing a pre-existing aspect of one's personality that's normally hidden. Don't try to be a sex tart online if you have a low sex drive. Readers intuit more than you give them credit for." When asked if a bitchy attitude is necessary to make a blog popular, Stabile is demure. "If you're naturally catty, go for it. But if it's not in your nature, it's going to feel false and readers will go elsewhere. Also remember that, in being nasty, you set yourself up as a target. If you can't handle criticism, don't dish it out." While Gay Porn Blog is visually attractive, Stabile says it's not necessarily important to focus on a blog's design at first. "Perez Hilton, one of the most successful gay bloggers, looks like crap," he points out. "Don't get hung up on looks, at least at first. That said, it'd help if you were able to break from the extremely recognizable templates of sites like Blogger and BlogSpot. "The most important part of a personal blog is to have fun and keep it up regularly," he adds. "The point with a personality blog is to express yourself; taking the Internet by storm should be secondary. If you approach it as work, it'll work. Blogging is like going to the gym: Set a schedule and keep to it. Don't get discouraged—success is incremental." Michael Lucas Location: New York City URL: www.lucasblog.com Type of blog: Personality If you've ever wondered what a jet-setting porn star thought about the Presidential race, then chances are that you've checked out the blog of Manhattan-based porn mogul Michael Lucas. The highly controversial owner of Lucas Entertainment has caused many a scandal with his penchant for telling the brutal truth, and ruffling many feathers along the way. A shameless self-promoter who mixes entries on the making of his movies with posts about anti-Semitism in the porn world, Lucas has used his blog shrewdly and effectively — not only make people buy his products, but also give voice to issues not commonly addressed in adult entertainment. "As a producer of adult entertainment, I talk on my blog about politics, books, movies, relationships and sometimes even porn," Lucas says. "What I love about [writing my blog] is that people who previously had little to no interest in certain issues start to get involved and start thinking. This is a power for any celebrity."

Lucas says that he has managed to succeed as a blogger because he gives equal relevance to both quality and quantity. "If you post only one amazing blog a month, you will never be able to gain or sustain much of an active and interested readership — people will move on to other things. On the other hand, if your blogs are boring, stupid and repetitive, then you will have an equal result." It certainly helps that Lucas commands notoriety. He warns that it might be difficult to build an audience if no one knows who you are. "The most important thing to do before starting a blog is to look reality in the face and be able to answer the question, 'Will I have any readers?' The main point of a blog is to have a following. Sometimes you can be smart and educated, but if you don't have a following of people who are interested in your work, then you blog will only be as relevant as your personal diary." Though he has often been accused of being the Queen of Mean, Lucas disagrees, offering instead that he is merely calling things as he sees them. "When one is stating the truth, he is always accused of being mean, [but] that's simply because he chooses not to adjust to the modern hypocrisy. Mean people are often good people, as they are free in heart." His advice to new bloggers is to pick a style and commit to it (“Any genre but boring works), though he concedes that bloggers should be careful with what they choose to put in their blogs. "The written word is always much more powerful than the spoken one," he offers. "If a blogger is influential, his actions and words have the ability to spark [reactions], so think before you put your ideas and thoughts into writing." Perez Hilton Location: Los Angeles, CA URL: www.perezhilton.com Type of blog: Celebrity gossip You can thank Perez Hilton for the recent spate of closeted gay actors "coming out" publicly. Both T.R. Knight of Grey's Anatomy and Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother fessed up after Hilton took them to task on his webpage. Hilton is currently "working his magic" on Prison Break's Wentworth Miller, accusing the star of lying about his sexuality. That ability to call celebrities on their shit is exactly what has made Hilton both hero and heretic to his readers, garnering him a huge readership and even a few lawsuits. Having started his blog (aka "Hollywood's most hated website") on a whim four years ago, Hilton quickly became notorious for drawing crude bodily fluids or phrases like "Evil skank!" on the pictures of stars. "In the beginning," he says, "I just did it for fun. I never even knew that someone could make money by having a blog. Nowadays, people are starting blogs with the sole intention of making money. So I think it's important to figure out why you want to blog. If you're doing it for fun, there are different things that will need to be done than if you're doing it for profit." Hilton says it's important to him to try and scoop other blogs. "There are a lot of other blogs that have less celebrities and only rehash other content, and they do that well, ”I think there's room enough for everyone and anyone to do their own thing”but obviously if you have stuff that people don't find anywhere else and you're giving them something unique and special, I think that'll keep people coming back for more. He also encourages writers to establish an online presence. "I think that having a tone or a point of view is important. You want people to remember you; you don't want to just blend in." As far as quality goes, Hilton says, I think ultimately that quantity is more important than quality, because you can have a very good-quality website, but if you only update it once a week you're not going to have that much traffic. My advice would be that it takes consistency and quantity — updating it often and regularly." Finding that juicy content might be tough, he concedes, but he adds that, "It's like momentum: The harder you work, the more original content you can find and the easier it becomes. If you're doing it for money, have patience - because it's not going to happen right away. Just be yourself. Don’t try to copy anyone else. Do your own thing and hopefully success will follow. It did for me."

Blogs You Should Be Reading

These days, everyone has a blog. It's good that more voices can be heard, but there's also a downside. In their attempts to emulate popular blogs like TMZ and Perez Hilton, many bloggers are failing to find their own unique voice, which are, ironically, the only real commodities they have to offer. The result? Finding good blogs usually involves wading through an endless dreck of banal copycats. In response, we offer a selection of exceptional blogs that we think you should be reading. If you're a celebrity whore who can't get enough daily gossip, check out Popbytes Popbytes It's a gossip portal that links to all the best gossip sites, giving you access to a much wider range of celebrity missteps. New posts and streaming videos are added daily, so you'll never lose track of your favorite stalking victims. Many people can't cope without a daily dose of gossip, but some of us still prefer news with some substance [Insert judgmental look.] We know you understand, so please check out Gawker. Gawker handpicks stories from a nice blend of topics such as art, world news, literature, fashion, and obscurities. Some blogs lack a moral compass, but Gawker breaks stories ethically and responsibly. This is in contrast to Bloggers such as Perez Hilton who don't hesitate to publish anything, as long as it's verified. Reading blogs can be incredibly fun — especially when you find a unique new voice that makes you laugh or opens your eyes to another point of view. Willam Belli's blog doesn't cover anything but himself, but that is probably why it's so good. You know what they say write what you know! Willam, who is most well known for his role as Cherry Peck in the popular television series Nip/Tuck, talks about his daily activities, including meeting and interacting with other C- list celebs around Los Angeles. Even though he could easily run the risk of being campy, considering that he makes his living dressed as a woman, there is a dark, underground feel to his stories, making them both provocative and riotously funny. One blog that's especially addictive is Dlisted. The blogger who runs this site lives in the U.K., which is pretty impressive when you consider the sheer amount of information that's featured. It's nothing but celebrity gossip, as far as the eye can see, but the blogger writes with an irony that's hysterically entertaining and surprisingly fresh. But then, what else would you expect from a gay blogger? If you haven't yet stumbled upon the Oh My God Blog you should do so immediately, because it's fantastic. This blog, which recently won first place at the Gay Bloggies, features a fair amount of celebrity dish. More importantly, however, it boasts dozens of pages of naked celebrities! They've managed to amass an impressive collection of photos showing famous men and women in their birthday suits. What's even better is the fact that you don't have to pay a dime to view them. In between the smut and the gossip, they also post cute pictures and video clips of adorable animals, as well as outrageous YouTube clips from around the world. Did we mention they have photos of naked male celebrities? Uh, yeah… Just checking. If you can't be a socialite, you might as well talk about them and scrutinize their every move, right? Well that's exactly what the courtesans at A Socialite's Life do each day, saving you the legwork (and the restraining orders.) No one is safe from their eagle eyes and rapier wit, which is good, since someone needs to point out absurdity of Hollywood's manufactured royalty (and the upper crust elite who flock around them.) The site Puntabulous is run by Craig McAnally, a self-styled Napoleon Dynamite with a wonderfully off-kilter sense of humor. If you enjoy off-the-cuff comments and stream-of-consciousness bon mots, you'll find Craig's blog incredibly entertaining. Puntabulous offers something we've been seeing more of lately, and it's something we love — hot nerds. Cute gay guys obsessed with Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, comics, videogames, gadgets, and all the other telltale signs of geekdom. Craig's quirky mix of stories, movie reviews, recipes, original sketches, hysterical debates, and random rants make for great reading because he always gives of himself, putting a great deal of thought and effort into his wacky posts. The main ingredient at Puntabulous is passion. Craig's passion is his site, and it shows. He's just having fun — and taking us along for the ride. If you're in the market for a homocentric news site, look no further than Good As You. The mainstream media only covers the occasional LGBT story (often something sensational or lurid), which might lead you to believe that there's not a lot going on. In reality, you'll be shocked to learn how much is happening each day, important events that directly impact the LGBT community. With it's healthy blend of serious reportage, Op-Ed, and intelligent humor, Good As You is the fun and easy way to stay informed. Let's face it; gay men can be vicious, bitter queens. And just like former Catwoman Eartha Kitt, We Wanna Be Evil. So when we heard there was a blog dedicated to ugly celebrity outfits, we felt almost giddy. Go Fug Yourself is like a shrine to Fashion Faux Pas an online confessional where the sincerest form of worship involves brutal honesty about celebrity ensembles. Is there a word for such joy? It's called schadenfreude, and we're all over it.

If you're tired of gossip, news, politics, and all the other usual suspects, you'll find something refreshingly new at Overheard In New York. The site features real bits of transcribed conversation overheard by people in NYC. You might expect that people would post fabricated quotes, but that's actually not the case. NYC provides so much material that there's no need to make stuff up. In New York, the truth is usually stranger than fiction, and much of this stuff is simply too funny or bizarre to make up. The intercepted snatches of conversation run the gamut from hilarious and absurd to downright chilling. New York is a crowded melting pot, so you never know what you may overhear. Whether people are discussing sex problems or the details of a murder, one thing is for certain – it's never boring. Our tour is drawing to a close, but remember, these sites are just the tip of the iceberg. It's easy to get stuck in a web surfing rut, but this collection of sites should help to point you in some new directions. With a good Internet connection, the world is your oyster.