It was a gray winter morning in CMSland and here's how we decided to spend it: we packed down a block of fresh soda bread and headed over to Chez Technorati to have a gander at their 100 most linked-to (popular) blogs. With that list in hand we skipped about through viewed source, many emails and some kindly conversation. In the end we had ourselves a nifty little list consisting of website name and the blogging technology or Web CMS platform said site ran on.Simply put, we found that WordPress dominates the list, that Movable Type comes in with a respectable second, and the rest are either custom jobbies or a smattering of other platforms which are, relatively speaking, eating dust.We enclose the full list here for your consideration, but first a couple of notes on the results.

Notes from the Field

  • WordPress wins -- it is used by a whopping 34 percent of the 100 blogs on Technorati's Top 100 linked-to.
  • Movable Type is used by 16 percent. So WP and MT between them provide the platform for half the surveyed blog sites.
  • This proportion would be higher, but for the amount of platforms which started out as either Movable Type or WordPress (usually MT, near as we can judge), only to be hacked beyond all recognition. These we classify as 'Custom'.
  • The "Big 2" blogging networks are neck and neck in terms of representation. Gawker has 8 blogs on the list, each using Gawker's own custom publishing platform (with a hacked Movable Type UI).The Weblogs network, also with 8 sites on the list, uses Blogsmith.
  • I'm not certain that Metafilter, Little Green Footballs, Crave|cnet and Daring Fireball are all categorized correctly. There could possibly be other gremlins lurking within this opus. Scornfully fill me in, if you know better.
  • Wider scope Web CMS technologies are not used much by the top blogs. Drupal scores 5 sites, with Plone used by 1. Other popular Web CMS platforms are conspicuous only by their absence.
  • Most of the custom systems built are legacy jobs used by websites for years (e.g., Drudge Report). No-one is crazy enough to build their own blogging platform these days...except maybe Gawker Media.
  • Judging by the list, the blogosphere is still at an immature stage. The list is dominated by gadgets, Web news, SEO, and general geekiness. Is that really all people want from a blog?

The Raw Numbers

Technorati Top 100 'Most Linked to' Blogs as of Jan, 2008 by publishing platform.
CMS/PlatformCount
WordPress34
Movable Type16
Custom CMS11
Blogsmith/Weblogs8
Gawker CMS8
TypePad7
Blogger/Blogspot6
Drupal5
Plone1
Scoop1
Expression Engine1
Community Server1
City Desk (Fog Creek)1
technorati top cms graph
And here's the full list of Technorati Top 100 Most Linked-to Blogs, as of 17 Jan 2008.
1)EngadgetBlogsmith
2)GizmodoGawker
3)TechcrunchWordpress
4)Huffington postMovable Type
5)Boing BoingMovable Type
6)LifehackerGawker
7)Ars TechnicaCustom
8)MashableWordpress
9)Blog di Beppe GrilloMovable Type
10)icanhascheezburgerWordpress
11)Daily KosScoop
12)TMZ EntertainmentBlogSmith
13)perez HiltonWordpress
14)postSecretHosted: BlogSpot
15)Seth GodinHosted: Typepad
16)ReadWriteWebMovable Type
17)proBloggerWordpress
18)Official GoogleBlogHosted: BlogSpot
19)treeHuggerMovable Type
20)Smashing MagazineWordpress
21)Kotaku, Gamers GuideGawker [MT]*
22)GigazineExpression Engine
23)Dosh DoshWordpress [Thanks Maki]
24)CopyBloggerWordpress
25)Think progressWordpress
26)The ConsumeristGawker
27)ValleywagGawker
28)GigaOMWordpress
29)ShoeMoneyWordpress
30)Crooks and LiarsWordpress
31)ScobleizerWordpress
32)at0micaWordpress
33)TUaW - Unofficial apple BlogBlogsmith
34)uthinkplone
35)GawkerGawker*
36)Search Engine LandMovable Type
37)JoystiqBlogsmith
38)a List apartCustom (Happy Cog)
39)Drudge ReportCustom
40)Talking pointsMemoMovableType [with 'limited customization' -thanks JoshMarshall]
41)NeatoramaWordpress
42)O'Reilly RadarMovable Type
43)Threat Level-WiredTypepad
44)How to Change theWorldTypepad
45)MicrosiervosMovable Type [thanks Nacho]
46)Lifehack.orgWordpress
47)dooceDrupal
48)Engadget JapaneseBlogsmith
49)Zen HabitsWordpress
50)Blogoscoped(unofficial Google)Custom [Thanks philip and Haochi]
51)autoblogBlogsmith
52)NewsBusters.orgDrupal
53)XiaxueBlogspot
54)“43 Folders”Drupal
55)Download SquadBlogsmith
56)The DailyDish/andrew SullivanTypepad
57)ancora ImparoCommunityServer
58)Secret Diary ofSteve JobsBlogSpot
59)TheWrongadvices.comWordpress
60)JauhariWordpress
61)Google OperatingSystem blogBlogSpot
62)NoscopeWordpress
63)Matt CuttsWordpress
64)The SuperficialCustom
65)TheCorner/National ReviewCustom
66)TheSartorialistBlogSpot
67)DeadspinGawker*
68)antbag.comWordpress
69)Hot airWordpress
70)kottke.orgMovable Type
71)SEOBookDrupal
72)CrunchgearWordpress
73)FreakonomicsNYTimesCustom
74)Vacuous VirtuosoWordpress
75)SlashFilmWordpress
76) stereogumMovable Type
77)GothamistMovable Type
78)Fanhouse aOL SportsBlogsmith
79)TorrentFreakWordpress
80)Joel on Software CityDesk (Fog Creek)
81)DlistedDrupal
82)InstapunditMovable Type
83)Make: BlogMovable Type
84)podbean Faq Wordpress (podbean runs off Joomla!)
85)Coding Horror(“..an ancient form of..”)Movable Type
86 incorporated suberversionWordpress
87)podbean NewsWordpress (podBean runs off Joomla!)
88)JalopnikGawker *
89)Global VoicesOnlineWordpress
90)Yanko DesignWordpress
91)Go Fug YourselfTypepad
92)Mac RumoursCustom (Thanks Dr. Q)
93)TechdirtMovableType
94)Gadget LabTypepad
95)Meta FilterCustom
96)Bad BehaviorWordpress
97)LittleGreen FootballsMovable Type (I think)
98)Dilbert BlogTypepad
99)Crave |CnetWordpress
100)Daring FireballCustom

A Few Thank You's

We do owe some thanks to everyone who tolerated our persistent pestering: people like Dennis at Techdirt and Maki at DoshDosh, in addition to the many names mentioned above. We have a particularly big thank you for Haochi of Googlefied, who had a list compiled of the top 75 popular blogs by platform, and was good enough to give us access to it. This saved me and my hamsters a nice block of time -- though not as much as it would have done had we stumbled into this man's lair a day earlier!