Blogs have flourished before major events, such as the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, and in response to major events, such as 9/11. The Virginia blogosphere exploded largely in anticipation of the 2005 state elections.

Now that the gubernatorial election (if not the AG race!) is over, will all of the blogs that have sprung up continue to publish? Will there be changes in format, consolidations, or pull-outs?

I’m betting we’ll see a blog shake-out. I would hope, however, that many of the political blogs will stick around to monitor the policy follow-through of the party/candidates they supported or analyzed. Debating death penalty and “sugar daddy” ads is fun, but the real action is in the trenches on transportation, education, and the state budget. There can never be too many eyes looking at who’s doing what to whom on those items.

Update: The future is now. Chad and Norm have thoughts on where blogs go from here.