Gary Stein, an analyst at Jupiter Research, takes a look back at his favorite topics of 2004. Not surprisingly, blogs made it to the top of the list. The chattering masses have always loved blogs, of course, but now it appears that advertisers and marketers are also tapping into the blogosphere as a rich source of real-time information: "The ability to tap into consumer conversations is fantastic and powerful. Companies are falling all over themselves trying to figure out how to use the blog phenomenon to their advantage. All too often, they conclude they should use blogs to talk. Please. Brands do enough talking as it is. Use the blog space to listen." (Hat tip: Micro Persuasion)