INGARTNER'S long litany of technology predictions for 2007 there was a snippet about blogging which suggested that one of the fastest growing web fads was running out of steam. Apparently the phenomenon of online personal journals, or 'web logs', is set to peak some time around the middle of this year.

The rise of the blog has been part a surge in peer-to-peer internet use that propelled MySpace and Bebo to enormous popularity as individuals planted their virtual flags in cyberspace and told the world they were there. People, it seems, have an unquenchable need to live their lives online and blogging is the chosen method for around 100 million.

They take many forms, ranging from the inspired to the terrifyingly inane. At best they provide a unique insight into events, disseminating information, providing eyewitness accounts in a way that the mainstream media could never match. They also work well when enthusiasts offer up passionate insights on subjects they hold dear.

Another interesting variation is the political blog, filed by our elected politicians, often posted up as part of a bigger web site.

A modest number of our TDs have taken up the gauntlet, mostly from the left and centre with Labour and the Greens better represented than the other parties. It's a shame that more don't do it because a blog encapsulates the best of what e-government is supposed to offer in terms of inclusion and openness, offering the electorate a more direct interface with the people who are running the country.

While some read like never-ending manifestos, others manage to suggest a genuine commitment to their work and constituents. A special mention must go to Liz McManus, deputy leader of the labour party, for a well-organised site full of pithy comment.

Green Party chairman and TD, John Gormley, should also be applauded for a thorough blog that includes podcasts of his speeches. But perhaps the sparkiest of all comes from Keith Martin, a Labour Party councillor in Westport. His relentless attacks on the government, under the guise of Political Quote, are frequent, thorough and amusing.

There is also a cracking collection of blogs from self-styled political commentators that offer a refreshing take on the events of the day. Slugger O'Toole's 'notes on Northern Ireland' is an example of a blog portal that features a rich mix of sources and strong reader feedback.

Political blogs serve a purpose and can justify their existence. It's all the others, which make up the vast majority, that I would take issue with.

The web has opened the doors to vanity publishing on an unprecedented scale. People with the misguided notion that they have something interesting to say are saying it in their millions. I'm sorry Ned from Navan but your insights into life as an office worker are neither funny nor interesting.

And Sheila from Cork, while we're happy that your pets give you so much pleasure, we don't really need to read about them.

These people are the virtual equivalent of the pub bore. The saving grace of the internet, however, is that you don't have to subject yourself to anything you don't want to.

Bloggers can't trap you in a corner over a pint. A quick escape is always just a click away.

Vanity blogs are bad but they are not the worst. As blogging became fashionable it was inevitably hi-jacked by big business and marketers. Executive blogs, which promise a sneaky behind-the-scenes look at corporate machinations, typically turn out to be nothing more than spin, an 'on message' rant dressed up as personal opinion.

In another twist, the mainstream media has also done its best to harness the blog, most noticeably The Guardian in the UK.

Not only does it feature blogs on its web site, it also includes them as regular items in its printed version. In one sense the blog is nothing more than an extension of the letters page, an age-old newspaper component that provides a forum for reader opinion. A more cynical view, however, might be that the old media is still unsettled by new media and somehow hopes to negate the threat by bringing it into its fold.

For those of use who have already grown wary of the phenomenon, the good news is that many bloggers have exhausted their capacity for self-advertising. Gartner estimates that the novelty has already worn off for some 200 million people who tired of the responsibility that came with having to update the world on their lives. Their musings are now part of the 'dotsam and netsam', the discarded internet content that sits silently in cyberspace. Long may it rest in peace. I, for one, have no plans to disturb it.