CINCINNATI, OH (August 31, 2005) -- Bloggers are mobilizing to provide much-needed information and relief aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and a few on-the-scene and remote bloggers are emerging as unique sources of information in an area where electricity, Internet connections and telephone communications have been severely compromised.

Intelliseek's BlogPulse (http://www.blogpulse.com), which analyzes daily posts from 15.6 million blogs, finds that CNN.com and Yahoo! News are the most cited news sources for Katrina-related information, while the Irish Trojan blog (http://www.brendanloy.com/), written remotely by Brendan Loy from South Bend, Ind., is the most frequently cited hurricane-related blog.

The top Katrina-related news sources cited by bloggers include:
1. CNN.com
2. Yahoo! News
3. MSNBC
4. Washington Post
5. BBC News
6. The New York Times
7. Fox News
8. USAToday.com
9. South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10. The Miami Herald

Top Hurricane-related blogs
While traditionally popular bloggers discussed the hurricane, many lesser-known but hurricane-specific blogs have emerged since Katrina slammed ashore over the weekend. On-the-scene and remote blogs providing information about Katrina and the relief effort include:
1. Irish Trojan Blog (http://www.brendanloy.com) by Brendan Troy of South Bend, IN
2. Metroblogging New Orleans (http://neworleans.metblogs.com/) by nine New Orleans-area residents
3. Eyes on Katrina (http://eyesonkatrina.blogspot.com/) from the Biloxi Sun Herald
4. Kaye Trammel's Hurricane Katrina blog (http://hurricaneupdate.blogspot.com/) written from Louisiana State University
5. Ernie the Attorney blog (http://www.ernietheattorney.net/about.html) written by a New Orleans lawyer
6. Stormtrack (http://stormtrack.blogspot.com/) written by two scientists from the University of Massachusetts
7. A LiveJournal group blog called Katrinacane (http://www.livejournal.com/users/katrinacane/friends)
8. Dancing With Katrina (http://dancingwithkatrina.blogspot.com/) from two Gulfport bloggers, last updated Tuesday, August 30.

Other blog highlights

• Pre-hurricane article creating the most blog conversation: Chris Mooney's May 23 article, "Thinking Big About Hurricanes, It's time to get serious about saving New Orleans," in The American Prospect online edition (http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=9754) created the most blog conversation before the hurricane made landfall (as determined by BlogPulse's Conversation Tracker).
• Post-hurricane articles creating the most blog conversation: MSNBC's "Nightmare Worsens: More Flooding, and Death" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9063708) and the Washington Post's "Looting, Fires And a Second Evacuation" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083000689.html) have created the most post-hurricane conversation.
• Blog entries most likely to be shared: LiveJournal Blogger Insomnia's "New Orleans Stories -- Hurricane Katrina" (http://www.livejournal.com/users/insomnia/599039.html) and New Orleans based Wizbang Blogger Paul's reports from within the Superdome "Riding Out Katrina in the Superdome" (http://wizbangblog.com/archives/006917.php) have been shared more frequently among bloggers than other entries.

"Just as they did during the 2004 tsunami, bloggers are emerging as unique and very necessary sources of information, especially from areas where access and communications are so adversely affected," said Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek's chief marketing officer. "Bloggers are indeed providing valuable roles in the relief and cleanup efforts."

The Truth Laid Bear blog is helping coordinateThursday's (Sept. 1) designation as Blogging for Relief Day (http://truthlaidbear.com/katrinarelief.php) to raise awareness and funds for relief and cleanup efforts.

 

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