Sunday, April 5, 2026

Natural Born Bloggers - NBBs

To follow in the footsteps of a Natural Born Blogger (NBB) is to subscribe to a specific ethos: the idea that the web is a collaborative, ongoing conversation where the "person" is more important than the "platform."

As you rightly noted, NakedJen (Jen Govey) is a cornerstone of this movement. Her inclusion highlights that the NBB isn't just a tech critic; they are someone who uses the blog as a life-support system for their ideas.

Here is a list of 25 Natural Born Bloggers who, in 2026, continue to embody the spirit of thinking out loud.

The Pioneers & Architects

These individuals didn't just join the web; they helped build its social fabric.

  1. Dave Winer (Scripting News): The source of the NBB term. His blog is the longest-running "stream of consciousness" in tech history.

  2. NakedJen (nakedjen.com): The "soul" of the early blogging world. Known for radical transparency and her deep connection to the Sundance/film community.

  3. Robert Scoble (scobleizer.com): An early adopter who famously blogs about everything he sees, often being the first to "break" a new technology through sheer curiosity.

  4. Dan Gillmor (dangillmor.com): A former journalist who treats blogging as "citizen journalism," constantly pushing for a more informed and participatory public.

  5. Doc Searls (doc.searls.com): Co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, Doc writes about the intersection of markets, identity, and the "VRM" (Vendor Relationship Management).

  6. Jeff Jarvis (buzzmachine.com): A media critic who has spent decades "working in public," dissecting how the internet has disrupted (and could save) journalism.

  7. Matt Mullenweg (ma.tt): The co-founder of WordPress. Despite running a massive company, he maintains a personal blog that feels intimate, focused on photography, tech, and travel.

The Curators & Cultural Critics

These NBBs use their blogs to filter the chaos of the internet into something meaningful.

  1. John Gruber (Daring Fireball): The definitive voice on Apple and design. His "Linked List" format is the gold standard for NBB curation.

  2. Jason Kottke (kottke.org): Treating the web as a "liberal arts 2.0" museum. He finds the fascinating threads that link science, art, and internet culture.

  3. Maria Popova (The Marginalian): A deep-diver into philosophy and literature, Maria’s blog is a lifelong project of searching for meaning.

  4. Austin Kleon (austinkleon.com): The author of Show Your Work, Austin’s blog is a daily practice in creative "scavenging" and sharing the process.

  5. Robin Sloan (robinsloan.com): A "media inventor" and novelist who uses his blog to run technical and narrative experiments (his "Lab").

The Technical Deep-Divers

For these NBBs, the blog is a laboratory where they test code and policy in real-time.

  1. Cory Doctorow (Pluralistic): A daily broadside against digital monopolies. He writes at a pace that suggests his brain is directly connected to a keyboard.

  2. Simon Willison (simonwillison.net): In 2026, Simon is the essential voice on AI, LLMs, and programming, documenting every discovery with a "look what I found" enthusiasm.

  3. Maggie Appleton (maggieappleton.com): A visual thinker who pioneered the "digital garden" movement—treating her blog as a living, evolving organism rather than a chronological list.

  4. Aaron Parecki (aaronparecki.com): A key figure in the "Quantified Self" and IndieWeb movements, he has been tracking his location and life on his blog since 2008.

  5. Jeremy Keith (adactio.com): A web developer who writes with a "craftsman" mentality, focusing on the long-term health of the open web and HTML.

The Philosophical & Personal Voices

These bloggers use their domains to explore the human experience of technology and society.

  1. Anil Dash (anildash.com): Bridges the gap between tech policy and the soul of the early web, always centering on justice and humanity.

  2. Om Malik (om.co): A tech journalist who writes about the "why" behind the "what," often accompanied by stunning black-and-white photography.

  3. Ben Werdmuller (werd.io): A technologist who writes deeply about the intersection of social media, democracy, and the ownership of one's digital data.

  4. Ton Zylstra (zylstra.org/blog): A Dutch blogger who writes in English about "interdependent thoughts," knowledge management, and the European tech landscape.

  5. Manton Reece (manton.org): The creator of Micro.blog, Manton is a "pure" blogger who focuses on the joy of small-scale, independent publishing.

  6. Clive Thompson (clivethompson.net): A science and tech writer who uses his blog to "think through" his upcoming books and articles in public view.

  7. Keith Teare (teare.com): A long-time associate of Dave Winer and a tech entrepreneur who maintains a sharp, opinionated stream of posts on the future of networking.

  8. Seth Godin (seths.blog): The ultimate example of NBB consistency. He proves that a blog can be a daily gift to an audience for over two decades.

The NBB Rule of Thumb: If you want to know if someone is an NBB, ask yourself: If the ad money dried up and the followers went to zero, would they still be posting? For these 25, the answer is a resounding yes.

Are there any specific niches—like Canadian politics or estate law—where you'd like to find more of these independent "thinking out loud" types?

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