Last month's Democratic National Convention in Boston gave many Americans their first exposure to Web logs or "blogs" - free-form, interactive online journals that have given people from all walks of life the chance to publish their ideas for a worldwide audience. The DNC marked the first time that bloggers were awarded official credentials to join the mainstream media at a major political convention.

ELECTION 2004

• Election offices await orders • Delegates, protesters converge in N.Y. • Guards' focus is underground • Gay marriage still divides GOP • New York prepared for riot • Terrorism, economy top issues • Young 'maverick' rakes in donations ENQUIRER EDITORIAL • Let's campaign on real issues • Convention blog watch

Now the Republican National Convention, which opens today in New York, follows suit. The GOP has issued credentials to bloggers, although fewer than the 37 individuals (and dozens more big-media blogs) who got passes to the Democrats' Beantown bash. The American Press Institute again offers a list of convention bloggers with links (www.cyberjournalist.net). The political parties see blogs as another opportunity to get their messages out. But politicians love to control their messages, and blogs are hard to control. So hang on as we check them out in this space this week.

• Encore, encore: You might think that since bloggers tend to be more ideological than professional as journalists, the ones who covered the Democrats wouldn't be caught dead with the Republicans, and vice versa. But at least a few repeat names are on the GOP list: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire (www.politicalwire.com), a very newsy, well-balanced cyber-column; Alan Nelson of the Command Post (www.command-post.org), which has a broader scope than partisan politics; Brian Reich for Campaign Web Review, which examines how candidates and parties use the Internet.

Then there's Jay Rosen, the New York University professor who offered insightful commentary from Boston on the role of conventions and the parties themselves. Even before the Democratic convention ended, he had accepted an offer to blog for Knight-Ridder at the Republican convention (www.jrosenkr.blogspot.com). His pre-convention entries discuss how concerned the TV networks are about being the cause of street protests by their presence on the streets of New York this week.

• Trivia time: There may be some exceptions, but don't expect profound thoughts to rule the convention blogs. Most entries will be of the "Dear Diary" variety, with personal impressions of the scene and amusing anecdotes. Robert Cox of The National Debate (www.thenationaldebate.com) points out that he correctly predicted at the Democratic convention his "fellow bloggers would spend most of their time writing vapid posts on thequality of their Internet connection or the power of their laptop battery. This is because covering events is not what bloggers do."

If you spot any convention-related blogs we should check out, particularly by bloggers with ties to Greater Cincinnati, let us know. Send your suggestions to Ray Cooklis at rcooklis@enquirer.com.