For anyone interested in technology, US politics or the media, 2004 was the year of the blog. During the 2004 election those seeking the grubbiest dirt in American politics turned not to CNN, but to the likes of Instapundit, Andrew Sullivan and Daily Kos. Bloggers played a pivotal role in the downfall of Dan Rather, the veteran US reporter and presenter. And Webster's made "blog" its word of the year. But beyond the hype, is there money to be made from this increasingly popular internet trend?

Certainly some think so. BlogAds is an online agency that allows businesses to buy advertising space on blogs. Prices range from $2,200 a week for the top spot on the hugely popular DailyKos.com down to $10 apiece for hundreds of smaller weblogs. The draw for advertisers, says Henry Copeland, Daily Kos chief executive, is clear: "A blog like Daily Kos gets around 2m page impressions [full pages viewed] a week. We help advertisers to reach these."