One of my favorite remarks from the reviews of Deep Sea News over the years was “… gotta love them niche blogs”. I don’t see it in our current reviews, but trust me its been said, and it runs through my mind every time I see a new and fascinating blog.
Consider Through the Sandglass, for example (my favorite story on the Sandfish here). The blog by Michael Welland offers “musings on sand grains.” The author writes brief essays on news related to the biology, geology, and climatology of sand, with subjective insights from a knowledgeable expert. I like it. Its seems to be the epitomy of a niche blog. Subjective information from a knowledgeable expert… hmm. Its practically the opposite of mainstream media.
Can we really call Through the Sandglass a niche blog? Silicon is the second most abundant element on Earth. The warm desert is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth. Add sand from the world’s beaches, rivers, and continental shelves, and pretty soon you will find that Sandglass covers a good part of Earth (even other planets). The oceans cover a large part of Earth, too, most of which is deep-sea. Like our motto says “we bring you all the news on the Earth’s largest environment.” Hardly a day goes by without something happening in the desert or the deep blue sea.
So, who are you calling niche blog, Mr. Reviewer Person? All you do is reviews? Compare the scope of the deep-sea or sand to the scope of the New York Times or the Washington Post. Their stories are just … all humans, all the time. If you’re looking for the full story, niche blogs provide a good complement to contemporary media.
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