Missed this Observer list of the 50 most influential blogs published last week – yet another informational casualty of too much work and giving up buying newspapers I guess.

Perusing the list today on the train (it’s the most-read story on the Guardian site right now which offers it’s own digital information lesson) it’s no more enlightening than a quick browse through Technorati’s rankings but taken together, the top 50 demonstrates does hit home in one way: namely that a new alternative press and trade press has truly taken hold and, yes, it’s here to stay.

Major advertisers, marketers and PR folk already take note of TMZ and Perez Hilton at the expense of OK Mag and less lively gossip rags.

New influencers are emerging in every niche area of interest. And these influencers have a direct and symbiotic connection to both mainstream media and the greater online audience.

So even as mass blogging seems to be on the decline, the importance of blogging as a medium is more powerful than ever before.

Time to retire the "fad" jibes once and for all, no?