Technorati released its annual blogger survey results recently. The 2009 State of the Blogosphere report is available on Technorati's site (follow the preceding link to view it). This year's study provides some interesting insight into the goals and habits of nearly 3,000 bloggers as well as statistics from Technorati's index and Lijit.

Perhaps most interesting in the report is the breakdown of bloggers into four primary categories: hobbyists, part-timers, self-employeds and professionals. Each group has different goals for their blogs and invests different amounts of time on their blogs.

Whether your goal for your blog is to make money, establish yourself as an expert in your field, grow your business, or just to have fun, there is a place for you in the blogosphere! I think that's one of the most insightful things we can take away from this year's report. What other medium provides a place for everyone with so few barriers to entry? Blogging truly is what you make of it!

What do you think?

Calling all Wordpress.org users! Take the poll and tell us what your favorite Wordpress plugin is. Don't see your favorite listed? Leave a comment on this post and tell us which Wordpress plugin is your favorite and why you can't live without it!

Be sure to check out the About.com Web Logs list of 55 must try Wordpress plugins!

54 blogger jobs have been added to the About.com Web Logs forum in the blogging jobs folder. I'm seeing a lot of unpaid jobs this week. I try not to list any of those in the forum. While it's very possible that someone might want to accept an unpaid blogging job to build their online presence and get quick exposure to an online audience, I try to keep the list of blogging jobs in the forum to include only paying blogger jobs.

To learn more about blogging pay rates, be sure to read about the 5 common paid blogging pay rates.

For U.S. bloggers, the next big holiday coming in November is Thanksgiving. That means it's a great time to dress up your blog with some Thanksgiving clip art! I collected links to a bunch of clip art from the About.com Web Clip Art Guide, Bobbie Peachey. Have fun exploring and dressing up your blog!

• Thanksgiving Titles
• Thanksgiving Dividers

And if you're looking for free photos to use on your blog, check out the sources listed here.

74 blogging jobs have been listed in the About.com Web Logs forum in the Blogging Jobs folder. There is a huge variety of blogging jobs on this list, including fashion bloggers, finance bloggers, tech bloggers, social media bloggers, and more! Check out the list and see if your next paid blogging job is waiting for you!

Many blog owners require that bloggers include images with their posts. Check out the articles listed below for info about finding and publishing images online legally and ethically:

• Top 5 Sites to Find Free Images to Use on Your Blog
• Review of PicApp as a Free Image Source for Your Blog
• Finding Free Images from Flickr to Use on Your Blog

Did you know you can make money blogging with merchandise or mini malls? There are a number of third-party sites that allow you to easily sell products through your blog such as CafePress, Printfection, Zazzle and Chitika (read more about merchandise and mini malls here).

Take the poll below and tell us if you use merchandise or mini malls to make money from your blog, and then leave a comment and share what has worked well for you!

Do you use an offline blog editor to update your blog such as Windows Live Writer or BlogDesk? Offline blog editors are handy tools that allow you to update your blog from your PC or Mac desktop rather than through the Internet. They offer a number of advantages and many bloggers couldn't live without their offline blog editors of choice (follow the link to learn more about the benefits of offline blog editors).

But how do you know which offline blog editor to choose?

They each provide different nuances, and it can be challenging to narrow down the best one for you. Since many are free, you can download and test them at anytime. However, some do have price tags attached to them, so check the details before you download them and make sure you understand the essential features to look for in an offline blog editor before you get started.

Follow the link to get my list of the top 5 offline blog editors for Mac and PC users.

What offline blog editor do you use? Leave a comment and tell us why you like it!

Blogger just celebrated its tenth year in business and continues to be one of the most popular blogging applications available. The team behind Blogger is looking toward the future and asking the user community to help them move forward by providing three words to describe Blogger now and the three words you'd like to be able to use to describe Blogger in the future. Sounds like a great way to find the gaps and learn about users' needs and desires in a fun way.

You can get the details in this post on the Blogger Buzz blog and submit your descriptive words to Blogger using this form. Have fun and be honest!

45 blogging jobs have been added to the About.com Web Logs forum in the Blogging Jobs folder. Go take a look and see if the right opportunity is waiting for you!

Of course, always apply to any blogging job with caution. Check out the tips in these articles if you need help:

• Top 5 Tips for Paid Bloggers
• 4 Common Pay Methods for Bloggers
  

• Should You Join a Blog Network?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enacted new regulations that directly affect bloggers and microbloggers -- effective December 1, 2009.

The new guidelines require bloggers to disclose any "material connection" to an advertiser or an entity that provides free products, services, money or other compensation in exchange for the blogger writing a blog post or Twitter post. Bloggers also have to provide accurate reviews about how a product or service they're endorsing or reviewing would work for the average user.

Compliance to the new guidelines is mandatory. If you're caught breaking the rules, you could face penalities up to $11,000 per violation.

The new FTC guidelines don't stop with bloggers and Twitter users. They also apply to local review sites, such as Yelp, and online stores such as Amazon. If the person who writes an online review is compensated in any way, then the new FTC guidelines apply. Even if it's your own product, you have to follow the guidelines!

The FTC rules are far-reaching and carry stiff penalties that the average blogger who makes a few dollars for writing a review won't be able to afford. Don't put yourself at risk. Be sure to read the complete new FTC guidelines -- disclose any reviews or posts you write in exchange for money, products, or other compensation, and provide accurate reviews. Also, be sure to read these 3 tips for publishing sponsored review blog posts.