Who Is Hosting The Big Guys?

You’ve got grand plans for your blog. Naturally, it’s going to be big – really big. But before you hit your rhythm with insightful, savvy posts, there are practical considerations – like where to host it.

With so many web hosts to choose from, that’s no easy decision. That’s why we compiled this handy guide to where the web’s top 100 blogs (by Technorati ranking on August 8 2008) are hosted.

If they’re good enough for these guys, right…?

Top Blogger’s Favourite Web Hosts

This graph shows every web hosting company appearing more than once in the top 100. It excludes sites hosted in-house and Akamai’s caching service.

And the Winner Is…

Media Temple and Datagram are twice as popular as any other host on the list, ignoring free blog hosting (eg, BlogSpot) and in-house hosting (eg, AOL’s blogs). These two web hosting companies account for 19 of the top 100 blogs between them.

However, six of the Datagram blogs are published by one company (Gawker Media). Ignoring Gawker’s multiple votes, one host is clearly far more popular than the rest.

Media Temple hosts over twice as many top blogs as any other web hosting company in the list.

Surprise Entries & Omissions

DreamHost are best known for offering cheap, shared hosting, rather than for hosting high-traffic sites. Given their customer offering – no SLA, no telephone support, no dedicated servers – it’s a surprise to see them make the top 100.

Likewise, we’re surprised to learn that eight of the top 100 blogs are hosted on BlogSpot – Blogger’s basic, free blog host – and Six Apart. None of the top 100 blog’s are using WordPress.com’s hosted service, a surprise given the popularity of WordPress itself.

The World’s Top 100 Blogs & Their Hosts

The list of top blog hosts in full.

Blog			Web Hosting
1.		The Huffington Post Internet-only news site specializing in political controversy.
2.		TechCrunch Profiles and reviews of new internet products and companies.
3.		Gizmodo Consumer tech news and reviews, focusing on gadgets.
4.		Engadget News, reviews and tips on all things gadget-related.	Hosted in-house (AOL)
5.		Boing Boing Cool stuff, cultural curiosities and interesting technologies.
6.		Lifehacker Tips and downloads for getting things done.
7.		Ars Technica News, analysis, and in-depth coverage of technology.	Hosted in-house
8.		icanhascheezburger.com Funny pictures of cats plus moggie macros, kitty captions and more.
9.		ReadWriteWeb Web technology news, reviews and analysis.
10.		Mashable! Social networking and social media industry news.
11.		Smashing Magazine For designers and web developers to make their life easier.
12.		Gigazine Japanese quirky stuff and funnies.
13.		Daily Kos Political community on the ‘state of the nation’.
14.		Gawker Manhattan media news and gossip.
15.		Seth’s Blog Views of marketing guru Seth Godin.
16.		Official Google Blog The word from the people who dominate web search.
17.		TreeHugger Green news, solutions, and product information.
18.		Kotaku Gamer’s guide featuring gossip, news and leaks.
19.		Dosh Dosh Online marketing, blogging tips and social media strategies.
20.		Blog di Beppe Grillo Gags that expose financial scandals and political corruption
21.		PerezHilton.com Hollywood gossip, juicy celebrity rumors and scandals.
22.		Problogger Helping bloggers earn money for their efforts.
23.		Jauhari Personal site of Nurudin Jauhari, packed with how-tos.
24.		TMZ.com Latest entertainment news, with celebrity gossip, reviews and more.	Hosted in-house (AOL)
25.		Daily Blog Tips Articles on blog design, SEO, promotion, monetization and more.
26.		The Caucus Politics New York Times politcal analysis and commentary.	Hosted in-house
27.		PostSecret Community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously.
28.		Think Progress No-nonsense, progressive political news.
29.		The Wrong Advices Tech news, blogging tips and assorted randomness.
30.		The Consumerist Shoppers rights and consumer information.
31.		Copyblogger Copywriting tips for blogging and online marketing success.
32.		Threat Level Wired Blog Daily briefing on security, freedom and privacy online.
33.		uthink Provides New Zealanders with a means to engage in debate.
34.		Valleywag Silicon Valley’s juiciest tech gossip.
35.		TUAW The unofficial Apple weblog.	Hosted in-house (AOL)
36.		GigaOM Technology news, analysis and opinions.
37.		Neatorama Cool stuff, funny pictures and offbeat news.	Hosted in-house (AOL)
38.		Bits (NY Times) Times’ take on business, Innovation, technology and society.	Hosted in-house
39.		Joystiq Video gamer news, info and reviews.	Hosted in-house (AOL)
40.		CrunchGear Gadgets and computer hardware reports.
41.		Dooce Personal musings and style tips from Heather B. Armstrong.
42.		Talking Points Memo Political news and commentary.
43.		The Drudge Report Ground breaking political revelations.
44.		Scobleizer Robert Scoble’s personal blog about Silicon Valley.
45.		The Daily Dish Politics, culture, faith, art, science and funny stuff.
46.		Crooks and Liars John Amato’s political views and insights.
47.		Blogscoped Unofficial site all about Google in its many forms.
48.		TopTut.com Dedicated to web development and design.
49.		The Web Standards Project Campaigns for adherence to Web standards.
50.		Wired Blogs: Gadget Lab Latest cool hardware news and reviews.
51.		Zen Habits Guide to achieving goals and creating success.
52.		/Film Movie news, reviews and insider chat.
53.		A List Apart Independent user experience and web design advice.
54.		Autoblog The auto industry inside track.	Hosted in-house (AOL)
55.		Ben Smith’s Blog Political News about the Democrats in 2008.
56.		Wired Science Best of the torrent of academic journal articles.
57.		Kottke.org Personal site of Jason Kottke, web designer.
58.		Mac Rumors Apple Mac rumors and news (unofficial)
59.		Yanko Design Modern international design news.
60.		Freakonomics Social commentary from the New York Times	Hosted in-house
61.		Apartment Therapy Interior design advice for stylish living.
62.		The Sartorialist Elegant and cool street fashion spotting.
63.		Search Engine Land News and information about search engine marketing.
64.		delicious:days Everything about food, for the gastronome in you.
65.		Webware CNET’s blog about Web 2.0 applications.	Hosted in-house
66.		The Corner Off beat reports from National Review Online.	Hosted in-house
67.		VentureBeat News about private companies and venture capital.
68.		Microsiervos Tech news and off-beat humor, in Spanish.
69.		Political Radar Reporting on politics and elections from ABC News
70.		NewsBusters.org News site opposing ‘liberal media bias’.
71.		Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com Views of lawyer turned author Glenn Greenwald.
72.		TravelPod Shared travel experiences from around the world.	Hosted in-house (TripAdvisor)
73.		The Underwire Everything from cars to culture, science to software.
74.		Hot Air Full-service conservative internet broadcast network.
75.		Pajamas Media Thoughtful news and opinion.
76.		Seeking Alpha Stock market news, opinion and analysis.
77.		Signal vs Noise Web design, usability and business.	Hosted in-house
78.		Coding Horror .NET and human factors analysis.
79.		Deadspin Sports news without access, favor, or discretion.
80.		How to Change the World Entrepreneurship, marketing, venture capital and evangelism.
81.		Gothamist New York City news, food, arts & events.
82.		Google Operating System About Google’s developments with online applications (unofficial).
83.		Stereogum MP3 Downloads, videos, news and giveaways.
84.		Pharyngula Evolution, development, and random ideas from a ‘Godless liberal’.
85.		Engadget Japanese Japanese version of top gadget news site.	Hosted in-house (AOL)
86.		PaulStamatiou.com Tech news, reviews and guides from a Georgia Tech student.
87.		Danger Room Wired’s military, law enforcement and national security blog.
88.		mentalfloss magazine Where general knowledge junkies get their fix.
89.		Pronet Advertising%