Back in the 16th century, a simple parish priest in Wittenberg, Germany, disagreed with Pope Leo X over many teachings of the church. Martin Luther wrote up his opinions in 95 theses and nailed them to a church door. While we might consider his actions impudent, this was the culturally accepted method for inviting scholars to debate. Within weeks, controversy flamed across Europe, the Protestant Reformation was launched … and the rest is history.

A couple of hundred years later, another common man used the printing press to open yet another cultural debate. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense pamphlet spread throughout the colonies and led to the American Revolution that rocked the world.

Today, common folks around the world are blogging to open debate on a plethora of topics. And those in the know suggest that we are on the verge of another cultural transformation.

What Is Blogging Anyway?
Blogs are revolutionizing the Internet. Short for Web log, a blog can be a personal diary, a daily pulpit, a political soapbox, a news outlet, a collaborative space, a marketing tool, a collection of links … just about anything. And according to the participants at the first-ever GodBlogCon held at Biola University (La Mirada, CA) in October 2005, Christians are on the cutting edge. Many liken the impact of the blogosphere (all Web logs and/or blog-related Web sites) to that of the Reformation or the American Revolution.

As in those earlier cultural transformations, the key is putting the power of the press into the hands of common people — this time, common people with computers. Once again, the establishment, now known as the “mainstream media,” can no longer control information and thus public opinion. Various Web sites (see sidebar) provide free blog templates to anyone who wants to join the fray.

Blogging is growing beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. In 1999, there were 23 known Web logs; by June 2003, there were 2.4 million. By late 2005, blog search engine Technorati had catalogued more than 21.2 million sites and 1.7 billion links. The number of blogs continues to double every five months, a trend that has been consistent for at least 36 months. A new blog is created every 7.4 seconds, which translates to an astounding 12,000 new blogs per day. The Pew Internet Study estimates that 50 million (11 percent of) Internet users are regular blog readers. While most blogs are embryonic or trite, enough are grabbing this technology and running with it in effective and innovative ways that they are shaping the way people everywhere are thinking.

According to Hugh Hewitt, nationally syndicated talk radio host and author of Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That’s Changing Your World, bloggers were key in bringing down Trent Lott, Dan Rather and John Kerry. Stories that the mainstream media either deliberately ignored or thought inconsequential were kept alive by bloggers until paid journalists could no longer discount them. A blog swarm, like a locust swarm, has the potential to devour everything in sight and initiate amazing cultural changes — both positive and negative.

Many blogs allow comments from readers, encouraging debate, discussion and, some say, a sense of community. Sites gain readership as bloggers link to others, driving traffic to one another’s blogs — following a trail of bread crumbs through the Internet, so to speak. The potential for information overload is huge, and readers need to be discerning since there are absolutely no journalistic standards in the blogosphere other than mutual accountability.

Fascinating, but why should we care?

We Are Being Influenced
Whether we are aware of it or not, our lives are being influenced by bloggers. These people who care enough about their pet issues to post regularly and attract a readership are influencing the thoughts, beliefs and actions of America and the world regarding politics, economics and life in general.

Many successful bloggers are highly educated people. The top-ranking blog belongs to Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, who boasts two bachelor degrees with majors in philosophy, political science and journalism and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. He hosts the politically liberal poliblog the Daily Kos (www.dailykos.com), which logs between 750,000 and 850,000 visits per day. That’s almost 1 million readers being influenced by one person — every day! That equals the circulation of the Washington Post or the LA Times.

A popular conservative poliblog, Instapundit (http://instapundit.com), is written by University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds and logs about 156,000 visits per day. Hugh Hewitt’s conservative poliblog logs about 39,000 visits per day.

And increasingly, companies are using blogs for public relations and marketing. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (http://womma.com) trains its members to use “consumer-generated content” as a highly effective form of advertising.

Clearly, blogging is serious business.

We Can Influence Others
Christians use the blogosphere for any number of purposes. For example, Mark D. Roberts, pastor of Irvine (CA) Presbyterian Church, writes on theology and culture on three different sites: his own blog (www.markdroberts.com); at Hugh Hewitt’s OneTrueGodBlog (www.onetruegodblog.com); and at World Magazine’s Theologica (http://theologica.worldmagblog.com/theologica). He reaches far more people through his blogs than in the pulpit on Sunday morning.

Small businessman Bill Rice opines on freedom, international relations, politics and religion at By Dawn’s Early Light (http://dawnsearlylight.blogs.com). La Shawn Barber uses her blog to promote a conservative political agenda (www.lashawnbarber.com), while Stacy Harp raises awareness for Voice of the Martyrs through her blog at www.persecutionblog.com. Christian attorney Susan Spann offers legal information at http://homeschoolblogger.com/SusanSpann, and Travis Fell, aka Texas Tommy, used his blog A Voice in the Wilderness (http://austinvitw.blogspot.com) to influence the battle for the Texas marriage amendment.

Like Thomas Paine, a common man who changed the course of his nation through pamphlets opposing British rule, ordinary people can gain an audience — but now, one of worldwide proportions.

So, the next time you see a story suddenly take on a life of its own, check out the blogosphere. Chances are, that buzz you hear just might be a blog swarm.