When one thinks of bloggers, immediately springs to mind few adverse images: a socially retarded fanatic, clacking away on a keyboard in a darkened bedroom, spouting forth wisdom on how the world should be run; a misanthropic teenager with a gloomy disposition and a monologue of poor grammar; a sad and ineffectual recluse with a penchant for posting photos of hairless cats.
Bloggers are the travelling story-tellers of the modern age.
All of these are true representations. However, bloggers come in all shades and levels of virtual appeal, and in the fifteen years since the advent of the blog, a number have evolved into highly entertaining beings with the ability to make the masses chortle through the remote and considered medium of the World Wide Web.
Three such shadowy figures of satire and wit are just a click away:
David Thorne
27bslash6.com
David Thorne is an Australian writer and trouble-maker, known for being the 'Thorne' in the side of the ignorant and humourless. His posts and associated antics have gained notoriety and a mainstream following, particularly after a stunt which involved
submitting a drawing of a spider to settle an overdue bill and a hoax event on
Facebook called
Kate's Birthday Party, which attracted 60,000 RSVPs and press attention before being pulled by the social networking site's administrators.
Some of his famed posts include
Missing Missy, depicting David's contrary assistance in the search for a lost cat, and
Simon's Pie Charts, where David designs content for a peer networking project.
Norm
Consumption Malfunction
Equal and Opposite
Like a modern day
Oscar Wilde, this gent, who goes by the pseudonym of Norm, has a knack for incongruity and semantics, which when paired with his flair for distinctive commentary, creates his own space in the cybersects.
Often drawing upon domestic and international news items, Norm deconstructs what are often sombre or taboo issues to unveil their most ridiculous elements. By using humour and frequently mixing fact with fictional assertions, he highlights nuances of political and social debate, both amusing readers and raising unexpected questions about current affairs.
Notable posts include
Suicide Twins had Gloria Estefan's Greatest Hits in their Luggage,
Pope Benedict Can't Understand Why God Chose Him and
Talk About Apartheid Bash.
Allie Brosh
Hyperbole and a Half
The Gloss
Characterised by wry, anecdotal self-observation and comic absurdities, all illustrated by her own simple but demonstrative, almost
Burton-esque images, Allie Brosh provides a world of pure escapism that's hard to stay away from, even when one is supposed to be
acting like a productive and responsible adult.
Posts that will have readers laughing out loud include
Awkward Situation Survival Guide and
Things That Can Make You Feel Like an Idiot Almost Instantly.
Happy blog browsing - there may be over 150 million public blogs out there but there are some real gems among them.
