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Huffington Is Made for the Web

Former 'political opportunist's site has grown into a web fixture

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2007 8:19 PM CDT

(Newser) – Since 2005, Arianna Huffington has built her huffingtonpost site into an Internet media fixture with about 3 million monthly viewers. The site has also reversed Huffington's image, from that of oft-derided social climber to semi-mystic web guru. Fortune argues that her extensive networking, and the army of celebrity bloggers she's culled from it, is the source of the site's success.

Huffington has and continues to use her social engagements to solicit blogging talent, to date enticing 1,600 bloggers. A single day on the site sees the likes of John Cusack, Deepak Chopra, Al Franken, Bill Maher and John Kerry contributing. The only issue left is sustainability, both of Huffington's manic development pace, and the public's interest.

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Huffington greets supporters during a campaign for governor in this file photo. (Getty Images)

Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post, arrives for the 2007 Matrix Awards, presented by the New York Women in Communications, Inc., in New York, Monday April 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Bebeto... (Associated Press)

Political pundit Arianna Huffington arrives at the Time 100 gala, Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at the Time Warner Center in New York. The gala was to celebrate Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the... (Associated Press)

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Arianna Huffington @ the Take Back America gala dinner (Politicstv (YouTube))

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Huffington Is Made for the Web