A little while back someone said to me that blogging is a “man’s game”, and with people like John Chow, Darren Rowse and many other guys sitting in the upper echelons of blogging celebrity, at first I had to agree with her. I told her that the sex of the blogger had nothing to do with how successful or unsuccessful a blogger might be.
I then made it my mission to compile a list of some absolutely amazing women in blogging. Some of the following ladies blog for themselves, others blog for a network, and a few even run their own blog network. All in all, there are some amazingly talented women making their mark on the blogosphere.
While I may have numbered all of the following amazing ladies, this list is not in any order.
As managing editor of Lifehacker, Gina Trapani, is an inspiration to me. Lifehacker is a Gawker Media blog on productivity and lifestyle tips and tricks. She also writes on her own blog at GinaTrapani.com. Her writing has appeared in such publications as WIRED and Popular Science.
Arianna is a published author, and the co-founder and editor of the Huffington Post, a well known political blog. The Huffington Post is said to be well financed, and is currently one of the top ten blogs in the world according to Technorati.
Mena Trott is the Co-Founder and President of Six Apart, a well known company responsible for MovableType, TypePad, and Vox. She has been involved in blogging since early 2001, and regularly speaks at conferences.
She currently writes a blog on Six Apart’s company site called Mena’s Corner.
Best known for being fired from her job for the things she wrote on her blog, Heather has become a celebrity online. The term “dooced”, named after her blog Dooce.com, now means to be fired for blogging and has continued to permeate the blogosphere. Heather continues to write honestly, and exposes deeply personal facets of her lifestyle. Heather has been so influential that many blogs created after have definitely been inspired by her design and writing style.
Shai Coggins is the Vice President and co-owner of one of the largest blog networks, b5media. She is also a talented blogger in her own right, as well as a published author, podcaster, with a Masters Degree in Applied Psychology. She keeps up her own blog ShaiCoggins.com, as well as writing in a variety of other places.
Elizabeth Spiers was the founding editor of Gawker.com, a very interesting, and well known New York gossip blog. She was well known for her style of writing, and has been copied by many other bloggers hoping to see similar success with snarkiness, a little profanity, and tons of enthusiasm.
Every time she works on a blog, it becomes huge online.
Co-founder of Sugar Publishing, Lisa Sugar is growing more well known online as time progresses. In April of 2006, she helped start the PopSugar, one of the biggest celebrity gossip sites that is the flagship site of the blog network.
Ana Marie Cox was the founding editor of Wonkette, the popular Washington D.C. political gossip blog. She was also an editor at Suck.com, and has written for Time magazine.
She had a witty and sarcastic style, and was well known for it. She was Wonkette.
Wendy Piersall is the founder and CEO of eMoms at Home, a blog network that bills itself as the internet home business magazine for moms and dads. The site is written by parents & entrepreneurs, for parents & entrepreneurs, and includes 7 content channels by 10 experienced authors.
She is also a great speaker, and has worked exceptionally hard to build her network out from its smaller beginnings, into a very noticeable presence.
Amber MacArthur has done it all, from blogging, to video blogging, to working on technology shows, and involving herself in many conferences. She currently works for CityTV in Canada, while also producing a video podcast series CommandN.
Her youthfulness, passion and excitement draw a crowd around her, and she’s not just a pretty face, understanding the in’s and out’s of technology, the web, and video much better than anyone I know.
Molly E. Holzschlag, wrote her own blurb better than I ever could. She is a well-known Web standards advocate, instructor, and author. She is Group Lead for the Web Standards Project (WaSP) and an invited expert to the HTML and GEO working groups at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
She is an amazing web designer and blogger. Her blog is a testament to that. Heck, a recent post has her talking to Bill Gates about Internet Explorer 8.
Veerle Pieters lives in Belgium, the country my wife was born in, but that isn’t what makes her special. The fact that she is the CEO of Duoh, a design company that has seen her work on Netvibes, Google’s Blogger, among other amazing sites really sets her apart.
Her blog covers design, coding, web standards, and is just amazing. Her personality stands out in her design and her writing.
Sarah Perez isn’t widely known for her day job, an I.T. Engineer, but instead for her amazing technology related blog. Her writing is concise and interesting, and she always seems to be on top of the pulse of the industry. Her site reminds me of a less sensational TechCrunch, mixed with Engadget. Always a good read, and definitely worthy of a spot on this list.
Lorelle VanFossen and I work together on the Blog Herald, but its her own blog on WordPress.com’s hosted solution that draws in her astounding audience. She continually keeps everyone in the loop about what is going on with the popular WordPress blogging tools, and gives tips, tricks and advice to further your blog. What does she ask in return? Not a thing.
Liz Strauss must have named her blog Successful Blog to remind her of her own successes. A talented blogger, and a great friend Liz is an amazing resource and communicator, both on and off her blog. She continually doles out awards to bloggers that she considers Successful and Outstanding, calling them S.O.B.’s. She also opens up her comments area for conversation with her open mic night posts. Liz knows all about creating powerful friendships online.
I know I have barely even scraped the surface of all the wonderful talent expressed in the blogosphere coming from the mind, heart and spirt of a woman. If you know of any amazing women in blogging that I have missed, please feel free to add them to the comments. If you are someone I missed, I want want to apologize now, as I couldn’t add everyone to the list, and again, this is by no means a comprehensive list.
Do you like this article? Submit it to Blogosphere News!
Wendy Piersall
December 14th, 2007 at 11:40 am
You know, we’ve been on a lot of lists in the time eMoms at Home has been around. But being on this list with these women absolutely made my day. Thank you!
Sharon C.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:50 am
A much needed post because we always talk about the men. Here’s who you missed Jessica Valenti Editor of Feministing.com DJ Nelson founder of AllDivaMedia.com
Lori
December 14th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Bravo! I’m glad to see a list made of these deserving women. While I’m not quite familiar with a couple, I plan to learn more about them.
wyclif
December 14th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
You forgot Meg Hourihan.
paul
December 14th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Layla Anwar is definitely my favorite woman blogger. She is an Iraqi blogging from Syria about the injustices of the war but also about what life is like in Syria and the racism that Iraqi’s are subjected to. It is a downer, and she is bitter at the West, but that is part of the reason I like it. It is a very different and a very touching blog. Again her distaste for the West due to the invasion may be a turn off for most.
Xfep’s Amazing Women Blogging List | Blogging with Cents
December 14th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
[...] If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!I think it’s really great that someone took the time to acknowledge the fine women of the blogosphere. David did that by creating a list of amazingly talented women. [...]
Tris Hussey
December 14th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Wow I could name another 15 in a heart beat! Great list. How about Toby Bloomberg, Diva Marketing, Amy Gahran, Yvonne DiVita, Robyn Tippins … All the women of BlogHer … truly the women of the Blogosphere are underappreciated!
How to Cope with Pain
December 14th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
So very nice to see a focus on women!!!
Gerri
December 14th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
What a great list! I see some of my favorites here.
Deb Ng
December 14th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Awesome list of phenomenal bloggers. Can’t argue with any of it.
Greg
December 14th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
It’s about time someone put this together!
I would have nominated Tina Su at ThinkSimpleNow.com. In a few short months, Tina has risen to the top of the personal development inspiration world. In fact, she was recently featured on LifeHacker!
Jas
December 14th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
No Kathy Sierra? Incomplete!
Bigduke
December 14th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
DIGBY!
Echidna
December 14th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Kelly Mills!
Melissa McCann
December 14th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I like this list and I feel it’s long over due. I wish you would have included Deborah Ng. Lots of us owe our careers to her. It’s hard to include everyone. You did a nice job.
Rocky Hinten
December 14th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I don’t know if you’re joking or if it’s an intentional sleight or what, but there is a woman blogger who is more famous, more influential, and more repeatedly awarded than several on this list. Pamela Jones is the author/editor of Groklaw.net. Groklaw has been documenting and analyzing free and open source software and open standards in the legal system for about 4 years. She pioneered the idea of applying the “many eyes make all bugs shallow” programming approach to the legal research realm. The community that she attracted to Groklaw has had great impact finding prior art in software patent challenges. It has also contributed greatly in finding evidence and historical data to bring truth to several legal cases involving open source software.
Her influence has even become known in the courtroom, as the Groklaw blog has been specifically referred to by the IBM and Novell legal teams for the research found there. I find it astounding that you have not included her in this list.
qfr
December 14th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Amanda Marcotte is conspicuously absent from this list.
Fred
December 14th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
What about Michelle Malkin? Some may not like her politics, but her blog is number 41 on Technorati’s top 100.
gregory
December 14th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
i have been reading rebeccablood for years…
kpriss
December 14th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
You forgot me
Just kidding , nice to see all this great women in the same place.
Phil Rees
December 14th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
The one that I read, though I’m neither a woman nor a knitter is Yarn Harlot, written by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She’s funny, insightful and does some really good work for the charity Knitters Without Borders. Take a look at her site at http://www.yarnharlot.ca
Allan Moult
December 14th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
And what about Shelley Powers aka ‘Burningbird’?
Good starting point but there are many more out there.
Joe
December 14th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Susie Bright didn’t make the list?? What’s up with that???
http://susiebright.blogs.com/
Magni
December 14th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Elizabeth Spiers hasn’t done a single successful thing SINCE Gawker and it’s doubtful she would have gained any notority with that if it weren’t for Nick Denton.
This list is full of older bloggers nobody’s paying attention to anymore, except Ariana.
Shai Coggins
December 14th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Gobsmacked that I made this list. Wow. ‘am on several other lists too, but this one just about floored me. Thank you! Always good to be in great company.
Dr.Mani
December 15th, 2007 at 2:02 am
Nice list, BUT…
What does gender have to do with blogging fame anyway?
Just wondering!
All success
Dr.Mani
Dagelijkse dosis links 15-12-2007
December 15th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
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December 15th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
This is a very great list and it’s nice for the women to be recognized as well. I’m a female blogger, but almost 100% of the time I am called “he” by people who have just come across my site. Just because there are more male bloggers, that doesn’t mean females can’t be just as good.
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SB
December 16th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Shelley Powers, already mentioned once, needs mentioning again.
And, Here are the Women Bloggers: http://www.sbpoet.com/here-are-the-women-blogge.html
miasma
December 16th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
I have always thought that Anne Galloway was a brilliant blogger.
Andrew Wise
December 17th, 2007 at 12:21 am
honestly, for a post like this, i was expecting 15 female bloggers that are attractive, and also write blogs, but i was pleasantly surprised.
personally, i think bloggers that are attractive and right well are the best, because since society normally focuses on looks, it’s a pleasant surprise to see attractive women spending their time in front of the computer
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December 17th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
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thesavvyboomer
December 17th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Certainly all are deserving, but most of them are tech related and under 40. Maybe your focus is a little narrow.
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December 18th, 2007 at 9:32 am
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Elizabeth
December 18th, 2007 at 10:49 am
What a great list, you have included some of my very favorite people.
kirsten
December 19th, 2007 at 7:04 am
While it’s great to see women garnering recognition, subjective posts like this one almost beg for qualifying ranking criteria. Some of the blogs you mention have very low Alexa ratings and Page Ranks. Could be helpful to provide context and rationale for recommendations in addition to “I like em just cuz” .
P.S. Have you heard of the W Magical List of Women Bloggers?
http://wmagicallist.wikispaces.com/
Cheers and happy holidays!
OctalMage
December 19th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
You forgetting about my favorite chick blogger.
http://tastyblogsnack.com/
iJustine
Jessica Hickok
December 19th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
As a woman blogger myself, I found my inspiration in video blogging thru Amanda Congdon. Although… this really is a great list you have compiled.
nathan ketsdever
December 20th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Beth Kanter, Beth Kanter, Beth Kanter. Um, she rocks!
And Valeria Maltoni of Conversation Agent and that little publication Fast Company
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December 20th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
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Lloyd Budd
December 21st, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Wonderful article!
Kathy Sierra and Tara Hunt would definitley also be on my llists.
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Sarah
December 23rd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
hey thanks!
I love how the comments are full of even more great women bloggers!
Megan
December 24th, 2007 at 6:55 am
Go Girls. I have visited several of these blogs . They are fantastic and briliant. Thanks for giving us this great list. I am writing a blog on women in the home buisness industry. I think I will leave a link to this article its fantastic!
Thanks
Megan
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December 24th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
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December 26th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
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K Stone
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:47 pm
here are a few
Ilker of http://www.thethinkingblog.com
Deb of http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/
I hope to make your list some day!
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