The Windows Live manager (and son of Nigeria's former president) kept his online diary going in various forms for seven years, including his internship at Microsoft.

I don't know where he found the time. In addition to running projects at work and building an open-source RSS tool as a hobby, Obasanjo thoroughly reported on developments in his corner of the tech industry, including remarkably balanced takes on competitors' products and events.

A year ago I was surprised to run into Dare at Google's Kirkland offices, where he was among the handful of media types invited to interview Vint Cerf during a visit. I couldn't tell if it was a recruiting ploy or a nod to the quality and reach of Dare's blog.

I used to also regularly read the blog of Charlie Owen, Media Center program manager, which has gone intermittent since he reordered priorities a few months ago.

Maybe I'm missing them, but I haven't seen a lot of new personal blogs by Microsoft employees. Instead the energy seems to be going into product-team blogs.

Are Microsoft bloggers getting burned out? Maybe they're cutting back on personal blogs because they're working on new stuff that isn't bloggable yet. Like Ray Ozzie, who hasn't posted anything since August 2006.