Say Everything ─ How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters

Blogs are everywhere. They have exposed truths and spread rumors, Made and lost fortunes. Toppled cabinet members and sparked grassroots movements. Immediate, intimate, and influential, they have put the power of personal publishing into everyone's hands and created a new public sphere---one in which we can think out loud together. In Say Everything, Scott Rosenberg chronicles the birth of this new medium, tracing its impact on politics, business, media, and our personal lives. He offers close-ups of innovators such as Blogger founder Evan Williams, investigative journalist Josh Marshall, exhibitionist diarist Justin Hall, outspoken software developer Dave Winer, "mommyblogger" Heather Armstrong, and many others. These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have since become common in the era of Google and Facebook---and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future.

"The best technology-related business book of the year."---Steven Levy, author of Hackers and Insanely Great

"Rosenberg brings order and a robust sense of fun to his history of the raucous art of blogging.... [Says] a lot you wouldn't expect and didn't know."---Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Nine

"A terrific history of blogging and a convincing case for its enduring significance."---Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein

"Eminently readable and historically definitive... Certain to be a classic."---Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs

Scott Rosenberg is a cofounder of Salon.com, where he long served as managing editor. He is also the author of Dreaming in Code and the founder of MediaBugs.org, a service for correcting errors in news coverage. He blogs at wordyard.com.