I'm always divided over Jon Ronson's work. I find the topics he writes about interesting, and read him in the Grauniad without fail, yet I can never quite settle into watching the tv documentaries or buy the books. I may blame Louis Theroux for also ploughing that gentle, disarming style of drawing out the worst in people in front of a camera. However, it is a joy to see Jon is the latest journalist/writer to start a blog, with From Ronson.

So, here's a review of some of the 'famous' bloggers (i.e. people's whose names are recognisable from a public profile rather than from being A-list bloggers) and their current activity. I've doubtless missed some off, but these are the ones I've come across (where, obviously, I have heard of the person in a different context):

• Bill Bailey.
  last post: 7th September 2004.
  Bad Bill, no biscuit.
• Noam Chomsky
  last post: 29th July 2004.
  Bad Noam, no cookie.
• Neil Gaiman
  last post: 16th December 2004.
  with regular archives back to 2001, including a set whilst writing American Gods.
• William Gibson
  last post: 16 December 2004.
  revived, after long furlough, during US presidential elections.
• Richard Herring
  last post: 16th December 2004.
  daily posts of what tends to get called observational comedy. may be becoming a radio series in itself.
• Boris Johnson
  last post: 16th December 2004.
  blogged through two media frenzies and his sacking from the front bench of the opposition - good show, Boris!
• Michael Moore
  last post: 16th July 2004.
  Bad Mikey, no cookie.

Even a partial list like that suggests that some 'name' writers come into blogging and take to the sphere naturally (wouldn't you be shocked if Gibson didn't find the network of bloggers familiar?) and others do not get into the habit of using it. The lack of posts from Moore and Chomsky, both of whom you would expect to embrace the unmediated publication and dialogue elements of blogging, are as curious to me as the way in which Boris continued despite hundreds of comments during his recent news-hounding (some of which were just plain abusive). It'll be intersting to see how Ronson settles in...