September 2, 2009

Top 10 Black Blogs (Sep 2009)


Here is our updated Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) for September 2009. This month's BBR is unique. For the first time in two years we have less Black-owned and Black-operated blogs on the list than the previous month. I imagine there many bloggers gave up using blogs to share their thoughts in cyberspace in favor of social networks like Twitter or Facebook.

Villagers, I need your help. If you are a blogger ... please share a post on your blog about your inclusion in this month's BBR. Let them know where you stand now ... and what your goal is for some set time in the future. Secondly, if you see that your score is either not updated ... or not included ... please use the COMMENTS (or 'VILLAGE VOICES') option at the conclusion of this post to let me know. I'll make the correction as quickly as possible.

Please note that any blog that has not been updated in the past 120 days is now shown at the bottom of the list (in alpha order). I encourage those blog owners to ensure that they 'ping' their blog with Technorati in order to be placed back in order with the other blogs. If the blogs are not updated after 180 days ... they will be purged from the BBR. Also, any blog for which I can no longer locate a valid URL (link) will be purged from the BBR

A'ight ... here is what you came for ... the September 2009 Black Blog Rankings (BBR) with 1,747 Black-owned and operated blogs ... down 19 from the last published BBR. We had five blogs changing their ranking in the BBR Top Ten this month. In addition, a sixth blog -- Necole Bitchie (BBR #10) -- returns to the BBR Top Ten for the first time since Janurary 2009.

We recognize that not every Black-owned & operated blog is on our current list! Please let me know if you see a blog that should be added to the BBR.

Top Ten Black Blogs for September 2009:


  1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 605 / Rank: 1,505) - [Politics] Pam is a major voice in the LGBT community. She was a presenter at the recently-concluded Netroots Nation convention held in Pittsburgh. Pam's blog continues in the BBR #1 for the 15th month in a row. Pam is a role model for many Black bloggers ... including me!

  2. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 532 / Rank: 1,934) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. Vibe.com claims that Nah Right is the 'The Best Rap Blog'. Eskay launched his blog in May 2005 from his home state of New York.

  3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 387 / Rank: 3,435) - [Entertainment] Moguldom Media Group, which owns Bossip, is run by a powerful sister named Marve Frazier. Ms. Frazier recently launched a new venture called HipHopVenture. Does anyone have a digital photo of Ms. Frazier?

  4. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 278 / Rank: 4,498) - [Social Commentary] This blog moved up a spot since last month. This is the highest ranking for Field Negro since we started these rankings two years ago. Wayne was recently a guest on the Michael Eric Dyson radio show. His blog is hard-hitting in its social commentary ... and the sidebar insights are almost as compelling as the posts. Finally, the success of this blog should be noted by all of us that still use *free* blog templates like Blogger or Wordpress.

  5. Renee Martin: Womanist Musings (Authority: 270 / Rank: 6,135) - [Social Commentary] Womanist Musings came to being in April 2008 to speak truth to power. The majority of the topics deal with people that are marginalized ... that society has a tendency to ignore. There is no subject too controversial. Regular features of this blog are Drop It Like Its Hot and Sunday Shame. Hmmm, I hope that we can convince Sis. Renee to add us to her blogroll!

  6. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 261 / Rank: 6,460) - [Politics] Oliver Willis has written about politics, current events and pop culture at his web site since 2000. Profiled in the Boston Globe, Baseline Magazine and cited in The Washington Post he prides himself on being "Like Kryptonite To Stupid". Willis works in the technology department of Media Matters for America.

  7. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 252 / Rank: 6,823) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws - Angel, 24, is the creator and editor of the award winning blog Concrete Loop. She is also a part-time photographer who shared blogging tips with the folks at the 2009 Blogging While Brown conference.

  8. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 246 / Rank: 7,057) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks jumped up one spot in this month's BBR. Natasha is the writer, editor and perhaps the most famous African American entertainment/gossip blogger in the world. The YBF is the product of her obsession with all that is Hollywood and celebrity. Learn more about Natasha from this wonderful blogger interview conducted by Thembisa Mshaka.

  9. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 235 / Rank: 7,591) - [Politics] Cheryl and Baratunde have grown in visibility as their blog as grown in stature. They were both stars at the 2009 Netroots Nation convention held last month in Pittsburgh. Baratunde interviewed Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. Cheryl urged journalists, bloggers and activists to "partner with organizations and coalitions, while challenging racism in the media. Use social media, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Create alliances. Go around the media. Create you own media. Send it out." Meanwhile, Baratunde has been named one of the Top 50 Funny People on Twitter. Does anyone know the backstory on the half-eaten watermelon that serves as their logo?

  10. Necole Bitchie: Necole Bitchie (Authority: 171 / Rank: 12,149) - [Entertainment] Necole is one of the few Black bloggers making a career from her blog. NecoleBitchie.com is one of the fastest growing urban celebrity blogs on the Internet. She is also sharing information on YouTube. However, not everyone is a fan. Necole is having the last laugh as her blog is in the BBR Top Ten, while the celebrity hatin' blog is only BBR #739.


HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): Living Life Abundantly, Sandra Rose, Aloha Nico, RaceWire, The Black Snob, Rod 2.0: Beta, The Black Sphere, The Daily Voice, La Shawn Barber's Corner, RealTalkNY Brought to You by Nigel D., Fly, African Path, Black and Missing But Not Forgotten, Soul'd On Music and Crunk & Disorderly.


This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent who owns/operates a blog. Villager's 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 one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

There are hyperlinks on the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Leave a COMMENT using the VILLAGE VOICE link below if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I encourage you to share some link-love with this post so that your blog readers know about us!

27 comments:

Faith at Acts of Faith Blog said...

Congrats to all the hard-working folks. Don't forget to visit me some time!

Anonymous said...

Hey Villager. Don't forget Tradition of Excellence at traditionofexcellence.wordpress.com

And thanks for the list.

RiPPa said...

Thanks for reminding me with this post to do just what you suggested by sharing with my readers. I'm with you, I think many people have branched out to twitter and as a result they've lost focus on actual blogging.

Unknown said...

Acts of Faith - Please consider publishing a blog post so that your blog readers know where you stand ... and more importantly what your goal is for moving up the list...

Symphony - Traditions of Excellent will show up on the Oct 2009 BBR. It debuts currently at BBR #1091...

RiPPa - I agree with you. Just leaves more opportunity for us to crash into the Top Ten before long! I look forward to reading your blog post on the BBR. I'm curious to see what your future goal is as far as ranking on this thing...

RiPPa said...

...and also, individual technorati rankings have fallen like crazy in recent months. I thought it was an error of their part, but I think linkage has shrunken. I guess we need to encourage more Black bloggers to subscribe to technorati as well as maybe a link exchange program or something.

Unknown said...

RiPPa - I've been watching the fall in Technorati rankings over the past few months. Nobody has been immune. Oddly, while some fall in Technrati authority ... they are still rising in the other metric (how many blogs between them & the #1 blog in the world).

I've never done link exchanges in the past. I'm not even sure how they work.

I continue to believe that the key to growth is good, solid content and consistent marketing...

Anonymous said...

That's a lot of hard work to provide this information. I'm sure it's much appreciated by your readers.

Monica Roberts said...

Villager,
How did I get bumped out of the BBR Top 25 for Crunk and Disorderly when we have the same Technorati ranking?

Unknown said...

ConversationsWithMom - I do invest some hours into these updates ... so it is nice that you took time to share your appreciation by way of a COMMENT. Bloggers love comments and links!

Monica - My list doesn't show ties ... if u look at last month's list C&D was BBR #23 (ahead of your #25).

Monica Roberts said...

Villager, I was actually BBR 24 last month.

But it still speaks to the question when two blogs have the same Technorati ranking, what's the tiebreaker to determine their BBR rank?

Unknown said...

Monica - If a blogger's authority number drops ... they are placed at the TOP of the grouping of blogs at the new rating.

If a blogger's authority number rises ... they are placed at the BOTTOM of the grouping of blogs at the new rating.

If a new blogger is added to the BBR ... they are placed at the BOTTOM of the grouping of blogs at the rating found for them when they join the list.

If a blogger is no longer being rated (either link unknown or authority rating is > 120 days) then they are placed in alpha order in that portion of the BBR.

Monica Roberts said...

Okay, Villager.
But I'm still pissed about only being in the Top 25 for less than a week, a goal I worked toward for a year.

That just motivated me to get to the point where this will never happen to me again and I STAY in the BBR Top 25.

Renee said...

Gotta say being bumped by Crunk has got to sting. I got you back on this one Monica.
@Villager I added you to my blogroll and thanks for all of the hard work that you do with the BBR'S.

Iceman said...

Villager,
This is outstanding work and I applaud what has to be the best effort I've seen to catalogue Black Weblogs using social rankings while providing a comprehensive listing (with links no less) to some of the best content online for and about African Americans. Excellent work.

Unknown said...

Iceman - Your blog was one of the first Black-owned & operated blogs that I came across when I first started blogging. I'm honored by your kind words. I hope you will share the Black Blog Rankings with your blog readers. We can use the 'link-love'!

PPR_Scribe said...

This is a lot of hard work and I thank you for taking this on.

However, I am a little sour on all these types of rankings. It seems that the same blogs come up in pretty much the same positions all the time. "The rich get richer" kind of thing.

I am not immune to following the same circle of blogs once I get comfortable. I wish there were a way to branch out and reach more people. I think some good voices have been lost over the 6 or so years I have been blogging because people start to feel they are blogging into a void.

Having said that, though, I will definitely link to this post! Beyond the top 10, hopefully someone will find a new blog they never would have visited otherwise.

Monie said...

@Villager

Hello, I just found your blog and the rankings. Would you add my blog to the rankings please?

msladyDeborah said...

Hotep Villager!

Thanks for all the hard work you put into this listing. I checked my ranking and I am pretty pleased with the progress that I've made. I've come a long way and there is still room to progress.

I will defnitely post about the BBR.

Thanks again for all that you do to support us.

Unknown said...

PPR Scribe - It does take awhile to grow a blog to the point it would be in the Top 10 ... but, it can be done. Womanist Musings and Living Life Abundantly made major moves in less than a year. In any case, I hope that folks take a look at the full list ... as we have a number of talented bloggers out there in the afrosphere...

Deidra said...

I got an Honorable Mention! Coolio!!

Unknown said...

Hello! Maxwell Reddick sent me!

My name is Michelle Huxtable and the blog is www.Michelle-Huxtable.com

It's a little Michelle Obama and a little Claire Huxtable. I talk about everything from race and politics to music and entertainment so check it out!

Unknown said...

Michelle - Your blog, Michelle Huxtable, will show up on the next Black Blog Rankings. Your blog is currently BBR #1299...

Lady D - Asante sana!

Deidre - Congrats l'il sista! How is the baby doing?

Unknown said...

Monie - Your blog, Monie on the Outside, is now BBR #1691...

Unknown said...

OneChele - I don't see a Technorati Authority number for your blog, Black 'n Bougie ... as such, your blog debuts as BBR #1692...

Monie said...

@Villager

Thanks! Also I've added Electronic Village to my blogroll.

SoakingNKnowledge said...

your work and dedication is greatly appreciated Villager just wanted you to know that :) Thank you

Unknown said...

Monie and Marenda - Asante sana! I appreciate your kind words and support. It was a fun couple of years with the BBR!