Editor's note: This is the twenty-fourth in our popular weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of other weblogs...


One of the most interesting trends in the blogging world today is the explosive growth in business blogs. What's even more interesting is the specialization and niche focus many of the business blogs have adopted.

The Business Opportunities Weblog is a great example of niche specialization. And it is a very creative use of the blog format, as well.

The Business Opportunities Weblog is a "moderated list of legitimate business opportunities for entrepreneurs." This site is no shill for fly-by-night web operators. Rather, the site says it will "only list quality businesses opportunities and will not knowingly promote junk bizops, and will actively take a stand against them."

The Business Opportunities weblog is published by Dane Carlson, from Central California, USA.

The format of the site is simple: business opportunities are highlighted in chronological blog entries. In addition to business opportunities, there are occasional news links and other topics of interest to small business owners and entrepreneurs.

This is a very large site. It has over 2200 articles, going back to 2001.

One of the things I like best about this blog is the way it is regularly updated with good, useful, interesting content that is not covered anywhere else in other business blogs. For instance, one recent post noted the perfect businesses for stay-at-home Moms, acknowledging in the process the large number of stay-at-home Moms there are. Another post reviews a franchise opportunity called 1-800-DRYCARPET.

All the business opportunities that Dane covers are presented as straightforward and factually as possible. No hype. No sales pitches. Just information.

A while back I asked Dane if he receives compensation for reviewing individual business opportunities, and he says he does not. Given the fact that we are all bombarded with marketing at most of the Internet sites we visit, Dane's low-key informational approach is refreshing.

The Power: The Power of the Business Opportunities weblog is in its use of the blog format to highlight small business opportunities -- and in its straightforward, factual coverage of specific opportunities.