The Winter Olympics in Vancouver are the first every winter games to feature bloggers as reporters, commentators, critics and shmoozers.

It is now possible to enjoy the games from the point of view of a citizen blogger; fresh, real and usually unscripted. (And in many cases, “unspell-checked”, too.) This changes the way the rest of us—who are not in Vancouver or commenting from our living rooms—will see, experience, enjoy and participate in future Olympiads.

Some of the blogs belong to accredited journalists who file a story for their home base—newspapers, magazines, or television news outlets—while the majority are written by citizens who have an Internet connection and a desire to publish their thoughts.

Even a cursory google search will bring up an astounding and impressive number of results for “Olympic Blogs.”

Always a place to be surprised, amazed, shocked and startled the Internet doesn’t disappoint when it comes to blogs about the Winter Games. Pictures of the crowds in downtown Vancouver are popular and designed to foster a sense of “being there” without actually having to “go there” in person.

Many people believe the new maxim “I blog therefore I am.” Mainstream, hardcore journalists have taken this to heart. Fashion journalist Jeanne Beker is blogging for Fashion Television, her home base. Jeanne is blogging about fashion at the Olympics.

Jeanne Beker is no lightweight in the world—and business—of fashion. She enjoys an international audience and her face and reportage are recognized around the globe.

A number of years ago I interviewed Canadian figure skater Matthew Hall and ended up in hot water when I stated—in print—that no sport could hope to be taken seriously if judges were expected to consider “costume” in the tabulation of scores.

Jeanne proves me wrong.

I recently watched Jeanne chat it up with the folks at CTV discussing, of course, the fashion sense (or lack thereof) of the figure skating competitors. Jeanne and the two reporters from CTV spent a reasonable amount of time discussing the various costumes that competitors were sporting (pun intended). The segment ended with a robust invitation to Jeanne to return before the Olympics end to continue the discussion.

Other fun blogs provide tips on where to eat (always handy) or what to see and do in Vancouver when a break from the Olympics is on order.

Not to be outdone, the tweeple* of Twitter are also busy spreading the message, 140 characters at a time. Of course not every tweet is worth writing home about. Just visit @wintergames for proof. Equally disappointing is the lost potential at @olympicgames where 140 characters is 140 too many.

The blogs are worth reading; real opinions and fun.

* With a nod to writer, actor, bon vivant and Twitterer Stephen Fry. I follow him on Twitter and I first encountered the word “tweeple” on his feed. I now use it shamelessly.