Top 200 Tech Blogs: the Datamation List

Based on unscientific count, there are even more tech blogs than blogs dedicated to really cute kittens. And there’s a nearly infinite number of blogs about cuddly little kitties. (But the reader comments on kitty blogs are much, much nicer than comments on tech blogs.)

So the question becomes more difficult every year: Which of the gazillion tech blogs are worth your time?

To help answer that, the following list surveys the very best. These Weblogs are written by informed insiders, longtime observers, pros working in the field, passionate aficionados. In some cases they put larger new organizations to shame – breaking stories earlier, providing more trenchant comment – even as leading tech publications now use blogs to churn out news and opinion faster.

A little bragging: there are several lists of top tech blogs, most notably CNET’s Blog 100, which is an uncategorized list, and TechCrunch’s Top Tech Bloggers, which counts blog headlines picked up by TechMeme (a method that, conveniently, lists TechCrunch in three of the top four positions). Or Technorati’s Technology Blogs, which is auto-generated based on number of incoming links. But none of the lists are as comprehensive, categorized, or carefully reviewed by a human editor as this Datamation list. Our aim is to make this the definitive guide; if you’d like to add a tech blog, please post in the Forum.

So rev up your browser and start surfing. Peruse the full list, or jump right to the category you like:

Most Popular / Tech Publications / Security

Windows-Mac-Linux / Enterprise Tech / Tech Insiders

Consumer Tech-Gadgets / Programming / Wonderfully Geeky

Highly Recommended

The “Big” Tech Blogs: Most Popular

A mention on one of these massively trafficked blogs can influence a reputation or sell a product.

1) Gizmodo
Shiny tech toys, cell phones, portable electronics, gaming consoles – all the stuff that helps you increase your credit card balance.

2) Engadget
Still more tech toys, like a calculator watch and a device that reads aloud your Twitter feeds. (Do you really want to hear them?). A good place to look for the newest generation of mini Netbooks.

3) Lifehacker
Learn how to live more productively by leveraging the latest technology, from new software to helpful gadgets. For instance, find out how to recycle a cereal box into gift packaging or find the best FTP clients.

4) TechCrunch
An exhaustive range of tech subjects, from Web business news to software releases to consumer trends to enterprise IT. Co-edited by Michael Arrington and Erick Schonfeld, who seem to have a pipeline to all the upcoming rumors.

5) Scobleizer – Tech Geek Blogger
Robert Scobleizer is obsessed with technology. A constant and intensely passionate commentator who follows tech news of every stripe.

6) GigaOM
Speaking of obsessed: the hard working Om Malik had a heart attack at the end of 2007, but just keeps on posting (though he does claim to be off the Scotch and cigarettes). Malik and his team focus on broadband, Web news, mobile, and more.

7) Silicon Valley Insider
The deals, the dirt, the money – even as you read this, someone is pitching to someone.

8) Valleywag
Gossipy, uncensored stuff – both business and personal – about the tech world, focusing on Silicon Valley but also traveling far afield. Special bonus: It's actually well written, unlike the great mass of semi-literate blogs.

9) Boing Boing
Presents the weird and wacky, like a guide to watching videos while driving, microbatteries built by viruses, and a clown cigarette umbrella. The self-described "Dictionary of Wonderful Things" has few boundaries.

10) ReadWriteWeb
Helmed by the intrepid Richard MacManus, with help from an extensive team, ReadWriteWeb covers Web technology and news: Twitter, enterprise Internet news, eBay, Google.

11) Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
Snarky, often funny commentary on all things Apple. And of course every last detail about the upcoming iPhone releases.

12) Techdirt
A team of IT and tech observers provides in-depth coverage of industry developments, including legal issues. They also post reader submissions.

13) Mashable
News, rumor and comment about social media and social networking: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and all the other examples of semi-organized Web-based crowd behavior.

14) Seth Godin’s Blog
The prolific and peripatetic Godin focuses more on marketing and branding than tech, yet much of what he does overlaps with Web/emerging technology issues.

15) Ars Technica
Is Ars Technica a blog? As blogs evolve, it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between a “blog” and a traditional news site. While Ars Technica is commonly listed as a blog, its posts are often full-length pieces written in traditional reportorial style – not the individual voice associated with blogs. If this site is a blog, it’s a good one, covering IT, Apple, gaming, hardware and more.