Technorati's terrific report this week on the State of the Blogosphere concluded with a look at the commingling of brands and blogs --- specifically, too, how blogs are becoming their own brands and how willing they are to shepherd marketing messages and content from non-traditional sources.
Yes, bloggers are getting full of themselves (one in five don't think newspapers will exist in a decade, while half believe blogs will be a prime source of information in the decade ahead). But Technorati notes that bloggers are worth watching for another important reason: They adopt new technology earliest and are the sentries for the wider societal adoption of techniques and gear.
The report points to an increased credibility of blogs as sources of content and of legitimate media players. Technorati's package indicates blogs are now part of our lives in 2008 (they need no introduction that they needed, say, two years ago), that bloggers are increasingly making money, that they are adding to the public sphere, and that they are evolving swiftly into a vibrant form of media.