Top Ten Black Blogs (Jun 2008)

We continue to appreciate the support that many provide to our Black Blog Rankings (BBR). The San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article last month that noted the BBR has grown from 75 blogs (Sept 2007) to over 1200 blogs (Jun 2008). Also, Prometheus 6 (BBR #92) and Open Entrance (BBR #108) agreed to work with us to automate the data-gathering process with Technorati and other measurement sources.

Today, we are proud to share with you Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) for June 2008 with 1,239 blogs in the mix! We are missing many Black blogs. Please let us know if you see any of your favorites that are not on the list!

• September 2007 - 75 Black blogs
• October 2007 - 300 Black blogs
• January 2008 - 602 Black blogs
• April 2008 - 1,045 Black blogs
• May 2008 - 1,173 Black blogs

I continue to seek somebody that can create a sidebar button that can be used by anyone that wants to help promote the BBR. Please contact me if you have an idea for the graphic that we can use for this sidebar button. Take a moment to see where your blog falls on the list ... then tell your blog readers ... and share some link-love with this post!

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for June 2008:

1. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 1,099 / Rank: 3,946) - [Entertainment] Bossip.com is BBR #1 for the fourth month in a row. Entertainment (or gossip) blogs appear to have a large claim on the hearts and minds of Black people. This is topic of online discussion here and here. I'm still waiting for the Bossip.com folks to send us a little 'link-love' for our villagers... maybe this will be the month!
   
2. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,091 / Rank: 3,986) - [Politics] Truth to tell, I believe that Pam is going to move into the #1 slot over the next few weeks as a result of being credentialed to blog on the floor of the Democratic National Convention. The eyes of the world will be on this year's convention ... especially when Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech on the anniversary of the MLK 'I Have a Dream' speech. Pam and the other Black bloggers at the DNC make us all proud. We appreciate the 'link-love' that Pam provided to our blog!


3. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 997 / Rank: 2,716) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws, a 23-year-old college student in Jacksonville, NC, started this blog as a hobby. Sis. Laws is very well-known in the blog industry as a result of her ability to post about Black celebrity's in a timely and quality manner. Her entertainment blog focuses on gossip, music, celebrity interviews, pictures and such. Angel has been kind enough to visit with us in the past. I suppose she is waiting until she overtakes Bossip.com before she sends some 'link-love' to our blog!


4. ESKAY: Nah Right (Authority: 860 / Rank: 3,430) - [Entertainment] ESKAY is doing some powerful things with this blog began three years ago in May 2005. It is the fastest moving of the top-tier Black blogs last month. There is still some distance before Nah Right catches up to Concrete Loop, however, ESKAY is definitely on the move. Nah Right focus is on Music and Movies. We are very grateful to Nah Right for being included as a post on their blog. It resulted in our blog having record-breaking visits and page views for two days in a row last month.
   
5. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 672 / Rank: 4,907) - [Politics] Oliver began his blog in April 2005. One of the highlights of Oliver's blogging career occurred last month when he was selected as part of the DemConvention General Bloggers Corp. Oliver seeks to have a one-on-one interview with Nobel Laureate Al Gore while he is in Denver. I anticipate that his blog will grow over the coming weeks as we get closer to the Democratic National Convention in August.
   
6. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 645 / Rank: 5,299) - [Entertainment] Natasha is a 25-year old law student in Washington DC. It appears that she successfully completed her transition from blogspot.com domain to her own domain over the past few months. Her blog remains one of the hottest Black celebrity gossip sites on the net since it was created in June 2005. Top tags on her blog are Candids, Parties and Rumor Control. Someone let this sister know about her top ranking on our BBR. Perhaps it will be worth some link-love this month!
   
7. Sandra Rose: Sandra Rose (Authority: 465 / Rank: 8,190) - [Entertainment] Sandra Rose moved up a few notches in the BBR Top Ten this month. Sandra Rose transitioned from her blogger.com platform to her own domain over the past few months. Her fans appear to have found the newer blog location. Sandra's hook is her photography. She is a celebrity photographer with a portfolio of work that includes some of the greats from Janet Jackson to Usher and all points in-between and otherwise. Sandra Rose is Atlanta’s go-to-photographer when it comes to all things celebrity. I understand she only gives link-love to blogs that she follows or posts that she links to. Hopefully, we will make the cut this month!


8. Fresh Crunkjuice: Crunk & Disorderly* (Authority: 452 / Rank: 8,585) - [Entertainment] This gossip blog, created in August 2004, fell four spots to BBR #8 this month. Not to worry. Fresh Crunkjuice bought his own domain a few months ago. This blogspot.com domain is being retired and will continue to fall in the BBR. However, I anticipate that his other blog will crack the Top 10 shortly ... it is currently sitting at BBR #30.


9. Jack Turner and Jill Tubman: Jack and Jill Politics* (Authority: 444 / Rank: 8,800) - [Politics] JJP joins Pam and Oliver as top-ranked Black political bloggers credentialed to be on the floor of the 2008 National Democratic Convention in Denver later this summer. More and more blog readers will begin to take notice of the presidential campaign as the realization of an African American POTUS begins to take hold. JJP provides a uniquely Black bourgeois perspective on American politics. Top tags for this blog are 2008 Democratic Primary, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I noticed that our Electronic Village hasn't earned a place in the JJP blogroll. We'll keep workin' at it ... perhaps that link-love will come soon!
   
10. Tempest: The Angry Black Woman (Authority: 380 / Rank: 10,693) - [Social Commentary] Oddly enough, this blog was in the Top 10 back in September 2007. The Angry Black Woman focuses on issues related to sexism and racism. Her blog provides a safe space for talking about these and other related issues. As the sister says, "We can’t stop being angry until the fight is over. And the fight is far from over, kids."

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): La Shawn Barber's Corner, Real Talk NY Provides The Latest Hip Hop News, The Field Negro*, Love B. Scott, Afro Bella, What About Our Daughters*, How To Split An Atom, Entre mes Lignes, Angry Black Bitch, Keith Boykin, Ill Doctrine, Necole Bitchie, A Hot Mess! and Raw Dawg Buffalo.

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The only qualification is that the blogger needs to be of African descent. The blogger does not have to be a member of The AfroSpear or the Afrosphere Bloggers Association, although we invite all Black bloggers to join either (or both) of those organizations.

Those blogs with an asterisk after their name are members of The AfroSpear.

Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the person listed and the #1 ranked blog in the world.

We do think that these Black blogs are important spheres of influence. Let them know that you appreciate the work they have put in over the past few months and years to get on this list. My vision is that many of the brothers and sisters on this month's BBR will join us later this year at the Blogging While Brown conference in Atlanta, GA on July 25-27, 2008.

Finally, I encourage all bloggers to provide some link-love to this post so that your readers can learn about the Villager's Black Blog Rankings! Next step is yours ... what say u?