Celebrity Blogs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban started his blog, Blog Maverick three years ago, because as he says, "it was in response to traditional media's habit of twisting interviews to fit the headlines they wanted to create." Likewise, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling started his blog 38pitches.com to raise awareness of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) as well as Malignant Melanoma, of which his wife Shonda is a survivor. He also uses it to communicate with fans of his team, baseball, and the computer gaming industry. For a press shy celebrity like Schilling, his blog not only offers him the opportunity to correct the media; he is the media.

Yet when celebrities choose not to blog, fans and haters sometimes decide to do it for them, a phenomenon that now has its own name; these bloggers are called "celeblogrities," and they sometimes become famous in their own right for dedicating their entire blogs to the daily lives and gossip of famous figures. Take for instance the mysterious writer, now known to be Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes magazine, who pens the The Secret Life of Steve Jobs. Lyons used the blog to lampoon Mr. Jobs and his egotistical leadership, and also pokes fun at the excess of the Silicon Valley tech culture and the people who participate in it. But the most popular and snarkiest of the "celeblogrities" is Perez Hilton, who made a name for himself as a celebrity blogger and landed his own 15 minutes of fame, garnering book deals and TV appearances. Others earning top ratings in this genre of blogging include Go Fug Yourself, Damn I'm Cute, and Pink Is The New Blog.

So who has the best celebrity blogs? We decided to rate them on three factors: authenticity, frequency, and interaction with fans. And don't forget they make enjoyable reading material.

Authenticity: Are they sharing their real experiences with us or just giving us a constant string of press releases? If the celebrity is writing it herself, its much more meaningful than if its ghost written by a professional (sorry, boss). Editing is acceptable, but still not as raw and personal as an honest, untouched public spilling-of-the-beans. For some reason whether we hate a celebrity or love them, their typos seem more endearing and real.

Consistency: Does this celebrity keep his or her blog updated enough to keep us coming back? The best blogs are the ones that show that the authors are engaged with their readers.

Interaction with fans: Is the celebrity answering fans' questions and clearing up rumors? Is there an open forum for fans to chat with each other and make comments? How involved is the celebrity?

Based on that criteria, here are some of the best:

Tyra Banks
The Tyra Banks Show
Not surprisingly, her blog is all about her favorite topic: TYRA! Though, it appears that her blog entries are dictated to a Tyra Banks Show publicist, Tyra speaks openly about her experiences, in terms of her body image and career. Sometimes it's funny, but it's written in a voice that can read as if she's talking to an audience of five-year olds, which comes off a bit patronizing at times. On the upside her blog is chock full of damage control from her daily antics on the show. You know, the over the top "I'm just like you guys, but more fun!" variety, the blogging version of Tom Cruise jumping up and down on Oprah's couch.

Tyra tries to identify with her audience by talking about her physical flaws. Unfortunately, the model guilt that she suffers from is so abounding that her attempts to be "down" with her fans come across as forced. Nevertheless, her blog is updated frequently, it's engaging, and it serves its purpose. Besides, she offers excellent personal beauty advice.

Moby
Moby's Journal
People tend to hate Moby for what he stands for -- or love him for what he stands for. Either way, his blog is good because it's written 100 percent by Moby and has an open forum where people can chat about Moby and his politics. How can you hate a man who doesn't forbid commentary? He's often a bit preachy, but his musings about living in New York can be endearing.