These days, everyones got a blog. The Washington State Department of Transportation has one. I know an eight-year-old who has six of themthats three more than Seattle Weekly. Theyre used for everything from investigative journalism to knitting instructions. Yet 15 years ago, no one knew what they were. How, then, did they rise so far, so fast? And what happened to them as they rose? Scott Rosenbergs new book, Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What Its Becoming, and Why It Matters (Crown, $26), looks at the rise of blogging from a few instances of techie newsletters and college student tell-all confessionals to todays infinitely diverse blogosphere. Its a worthwhile retrospective for anyone with an interest in online content. Which is to saypretty much all of us. DAMON AGNOS
Wed., July 22, 7 p.m., 2009
