There's an emerging form of media out there, beamed from Jupiter and called a blog.

This Jupiter isn't a planet. It's JupiterMedia, a seller of Internet research and related services. And blogs, short for Web logs, aren't alien e-mails. They're personal online journals where writers comment on just about anything.

JupiterMedia's found a way to use blogs to boost its business.

Over a dozen Jupiter analysts post blogs on the jupiterresearch.com Web site.

The at-times offbeat journals are stirring sales leads from clients who otherwise might not have contacted Jupiter, says David Schatsky, chief of research at JupiterMedia's Jupiter Research unit.

"One example is tech vendors whose marketers are checking to see if Jupiter mentions their products and what we say about them," Schatsky said.

The company can't say just how much business the blogs have generated. But Schatsky says scores of potential clients have contacted Jupiter because of the blogs.

Monday through Friday, Jupiter says its analyst blogs get close to 50,000 page views per day. That's still just a fraction of the 12 million daily page views Jupiter's Web site gets overall, but the company says its blog traffic is rising steadily.Jupiter shows that blogs, once the domain of tech geeks with persona l interests or peeves to air, are becoming useful tools for business, marketing and news. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, for instance, told a meeting of chief executives in May that blogs are a great way for firms to tell customers and workers what a company's doing.

Builds Connections

Jock Gill, a former adviser on Internet media to President Clinton, says blogs work for Jupiter because they create trust and build connections with readers. "You do business with people you trust, and blogs help create that trust," Gill said.

Jupiter is doing well. IBD gives the company, which sells digital images, manages tech events and has an ad-supported Web site, an EPS rank of 80. That means its per-share earnings growth over the last two quarters and last three to five years are in the top 20% of publicly traded companies. On Wednesday, analysts expect it to post third-quarter per-share earnings of 12 cents, up from 2 cents in the year-ago quarter. Sales are seen rising 41% to $1! 8.8 million.

Schatsky says the big advantage of blogs is the freedom of expression they provide. Jupiter analysts can be whimsical and cutting edge in giving their views on a variety of topics. The company doesn't edit the blogs.

You've Got Personality

Items include spill-your-guts judgments of new tech products and the latest trade show. The postings differ from conventional analyst reports, which tend to be formulaic and, well, staid.

The blogs show ... personality.

In a recent posting, analyst David Card dares to disagree with boss Alan Meckler, in an item he titles "Career Limiting Move Part XXVII." In an item, analyst Niki Scevak posts a "Happy Birthday" for the 10th anniversary of the often-derided Web site banner ad.

Most of the blog postings aim to provide insight.

"The blogs show that (Jupiter) has strong and substantiated opinions. They illustrate the value of a relationship with us in more conventional channels," Schatsky said.

Commenting recently! on this summer's exit of Sony (NYSE:SNE - News), SharpSHCAY.PK and others from the U.S. handheld PDA market, Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg wrote in his blog:

"No real surprises here. The Linux-based Sharp stuff had zero mass appeal. It was a mobile geek gadget that had mediocre core functionality. ... Sony had so many issues trying to define and refine their role in the market and just what device functionality they wanted to offer, they had to leave and rethink it all."

Gartenberg says he likes being able to speak candidly.

"Much of our research is data-driven. A blog offers the opportunity to provide some opinion," he said.

Schatsky says blogs also let analysts offer comments as events happen. "We view blogs as an opportunity to comment quickly," he said.

Still, it's not exactly anything goes in these blogs. The analysts know the blog is part of their job. Jupiter "asks" analysts to not give away too much of their original resear! ch.

One of Jupiter's most avid bloggers is its chief executive, Meckler. He says blogs are a way to turn the personalities of Jupiter's individual analysts into marketing tools. "Readers can start bonding with a certain kind of analyst long before they start using their research," he said.

There is a flip side. As any blog reveals the writer's thoughts and personality, it's always possible that potential clients won't particularly care for those thoughts and personality. Some believe blogs can be intentionally provocative so as to cajole people to contact you, giving the blogger a sales opportunity.

That's not the case at Jupiter, says Meckler. "If we were accused of that, I'd be the first to hear of it."