That said, your'e quite right; there does seem some level of confusion on which blog type to count in terms of political activism. Blogs such as yours...(And to a lesser degree, mine) have a tougher row to how in that we're expecting to actually make a difference, as opposed to simply being a vanity site, discussing the smallest of habits of the sitemaster. Larger sites, such as your own, perhaps can engage in such things as well...(for example your making the Dean's list recently... congrats, by the way) though given the traffic you get and the relative level of import, perhaps authors of larger sites feel less free about writing on such matters.

The point I'm making here is that even within the overtly political sites, there are some differences that defy categorization, thus making the influence of a particular kind of site hrder to track via statistics.

And even there, there's issues of deliniation. In my own case, I often toss in elements of my personal life... the new car, or camping being among the more recent... it's an attempt on my part to project a freindly feel to the reader.

Finally, Dave Johnson's point is likely a valid one. And here in the states, at least for now, they can't employ the method of competition avoidence used by the French press, where for example, it's against the law for anyone not a 'professional journalist' to report acts of violence... though I dare say that our own press is hitting the prayer mats each night wanting just such a law.