The Truth Laid Bear, known for his Blogosphere Ecosystem, had the brilliant idea of giving new bloggers exposure through a competition he calls New Weblog Showcase, or Microbes on Parade. I guess this makes the Bear sort of the Robert Redford of the Blogosphere.

I encourage everyone to go vote if they have the time. First, it gives great exposure to up-and-coming bloggers. Last week’s winner was the most excellent Smallest Minority, which I have had blogrolled for several weeks. Thanks to the Bear, links to The Smallest Minority have grown significantly. Second, it allows you to find some great new blogs. I’ve made several additions to my blogroll as a result of what I read there.

You vote by linking from your blog to the contestent’s entry. My votes this week go to:

The Blog Herald should get a vote on the merit of the idea alone. He blogs news about blogs. This includes blogging appearing in the media, commentary (such as the role of bloggers in the recent NY Times embarresment), announcements by blogging software creators (e.g., Moveable Type), and more. I don’t see Greymatter listed as a catagory, but it could just be that they haven’t posted any news about it yet. So the Blog Herald gets a vote for its post Europe Goes to the Blogs.

I usually don’t have time for diary-type blogs, but Serenity’s Journal is a grab-bag of interesting anecdotes and cutting political commentary, making for a fun read. I found her via another favorite, Courtney, before the Parade started and was a regular visitor, so she certainly deserves a vote. She’s going through cold-turkey nicotine withdrawals at the moment, giving her posts an extra edge that she should probably try to cultivate. Her entry, 100 proof, is a fine example of her political commentary. (Not only that, she gave me a damn fine plug, but I voted for her on merit – really, I did.)

Judging from the number of times I see The Mudville Gazette referred to as I hunt the blogospere, this is a popular site. A quick peruse and I see why. Check his entry, Sacred Words.

DANEgerus’ weblog is a work of art, with biting political commentary. ‘Nuff said. Check out Gary Hart fisked.