Welcome to the second in a series of articles taking a look at some of the most influential and widely read blogs in the blogosphere. This week we profile some of our favorites on technology, culture and innovation, which is my way of saying these blogs are about anything, everything and nothing, and in no particular order because this is definitely not a ranking.

Doc Searls: Doc Searls' IT Garage, News, Ideas and Real-World Stories About How IT Folks Solve Their Own Problems, http://itgarage.com

When Doc speaks, people listen. A widely read blogger and senior editor for Linux Journal, Doc's blog is consistently called up as one of the most influential. As an original co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto and World of Ends, Doc is credited with coining the phrase "markets and conversations," and he's been contributing significantly to conversations in the blogosphere for as long as anyone out there.

Doc also authors a personal blog (http://doc.weblogs.com), which he states is about pretty much anything but work. While not purely geeky, Doc's blog does touch on a range of IT-related topics like Open Source, but recent posts also include a commentary of the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on the use of instant messaging in the corporate environment. In short, Doc is a whole person, and this is a whole blog.

Notable Posts:

• User Management Inside, http://www.itgarage.com/node/643
• Barning Creative Commons, http://www.itgarage.com/archive/2005/07/27

Joi Ito: Joi Ito's Web, http://joi.ito.com

I agree with Joi that I'm stupid (and ignorant) (http://joi.ito.com/archives/blogging_about_blogging) and appreciate that despite those truths, my participation (and yours) are welcome in the blogosphere. Joi is General Manager of Operation for Technorati and Chairman of Six Apart Japan. Most of his posts are related somehow to blogs and blogging but more from the perspective of how technologies support the blogging environment and what it means to have truly collaborative culture.

One of the reasons I like Joi's blog is that he speaks in real, down-to-earth language. He's not trying to be obscure or smarter than everyone else, and despite an impressive résumé (CV, with respect to my global colleagues), his posts are incredibly accessible even for those without a tech background. Regularly covered topics include open standards, blogging and The Creative Commons (of which he is a Board member). Set aside some time before you start digging into this one, you could be there a while.

Notable Posts:

• Becoming Boring, http://joi.ito.com/archives/introspective
• Web x.O, http://joi.ito.com/archives/technology_controversy

John C. Dvorak: Dvorak Uncensored, http://www.dvorak.org/blog

John Dvorak, current PC Magazine columnist and former columnist for Forbes, PC World, MacUser, and the list goes on, uses his blog to write about anything you can think of, and not necessarily related to his primary line of business. In fact, he clearly states that this blog is not the forum for discussions related to his writings at PC Mag, and he means it. But it's interesting and as most good blogs do, provides the reader with some insight into what makes someone tick. I've never met him, but those who have say this blog is a good representation of what he's really like as a person. And that's what makes a good blog, IMHO. Read this when you need a good laugh or are just disgusted by something and looking for someone to commiserate with.

For example, recent posts include one about hydrogen-powered cars, which raised a debate on the flammability of hydrogen vs. gasoline, and a funny (I-have-to-laugh-so-I-won't-cry kind of funny) post about the San Francisco Bay Trail. Which is, sadly, apparently not near the Bay and not a trail at all, but a sidewalk between a bank and a chain restaurant (photos included).

Notable Posts:

• There are just so many, it's hard to choose. Go read a whole month's worth, it will take you about 15 minutes.

Other blogs about technology and/or culture and/or innovation that we like:

http://www.boingboing.net, A Directory of Wonderful Things. The collaborative effort of Cory Doctorow, Xeni Jardin, Mark Frauenfelder, John Battelle, David Pescovitz et al, Boing Boing is the single best destination for those seeking to build a robot statue from an iPod box (reposted from MAKE) or learn more about hobbit skeletons. Yes, hobbit skeletons.

http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger, David Weinberger's (co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto) Joho the Blog. Here's another blog about anything if there ever was one, and if you take a look you'll certainly notice a theme in the types of blogs included in this issue. Usually if it makes me laugh or makes me think, I like it. And it's getting increasingly more difficult to do either these days, so that's a big plus for this blog. Read about how not to make a birthday card using PowerPoint (really) and more on Juicy Fruit's foray into the blogosphere.