Nearly two years ago, The Advertiser entered the blogosphere with its first five blogs, and today we have increased that number to 36.

Four of the five originals remain and are as popular as ever — Stephen Tsai's "Warrior Beat," Catherine Toth's "The Daily Dish," David Shapiro's "Volcanic Ash" and Jerry Burris' "Akamai Politics" — but many more have been added and they are specific to age groups, geographic locations, hobbies, entertainment, sports and lifestyle.

Blogs are a great way to fill areas of interest that readers want, but they are also fun for those who write them and allow us to get information to people that don't always make it into print. It is our intention, however, to take some of our best blog entries and try to include them in The Advertiser whenever we can.

I'm always on the lookout for new blogs, specifically in areas that aren't already covered, and I am always asking staffers and those outside the staff if they are interested in blogging. Some have started blogs and decided the time commitment is more than they bargained for, so they drop out. But blogging is about experimenting, and if a blog doesn't work, there's no problem replacing it with another authored by someone with a fresh perspective.

The popularity of blogs waxes and wanes with each month but Tsai is still the king of Advertiser bloggers and accounts for about half of the page views we get for all blogs. Toth gets the second most hits, and the next grouping includes Wes Nakama's "Prep Talk," Kim Fassler's "Quarterlife Cafe" and Lance Kwon's "Wassap Wit Dat!" Kwon, who works in our accounting department, has pleasantly surprised us with his witty local-style entries that have struck a chord with readers. Nakama's knowledge of high school sports is unparalleled, and Fassler offers a younger, thoughtful perspective that gives us hope for the future.

Two other relatively new blogs that are resonating with readers are Rodney Lee's "Midlife Crisis" and Edward Sugimoto's "World Wide Ed." Lee, who works in the Advertiser's tech department, and Sugimoto, who is the online editor for Oceanic Time Warner Cable, use photos, video and interesting links to useful and fun information. Melissa Chang, who works at Aloha Tower Marketplace and lives in the Ala Moana/ Kaka'ako area, is gaining readers with her well-written and amusing blog.

More blogs are coming. My assistant Leslie Kawamoto, a pet lover, just started "Island Tails" and business writer Rick Daysog has a new blog called "Biz Bites." Copy editor Shauna Goya looks for strange news you might not otherwise have noticed in her "Odds and Ends" blog and reporter Dave Dondoneau chronicles strange happenings on the overnight shift in his "Midnight Oil" blog. Blogs have recently launched from residents of Manoa, Kalihi, Kapolei, Kailua and the North Shore.

We are looking for even more bloggers for geographic areas that are not covered or subject areas that you don't already see. Interested in writing a blog? Drop me a line with a brief description of what you'll be covering and a sample entry or two. Maybe you'll soon be part of our blogosphere.

Mark Platte is senior vice president/editor of The Advertiser. Reach him at mplatte@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8080.