Bloggers are more of a threat than people realize, and they are only going to get more toxic. This is the new reality. — Peter Blackshaw, Intelliseek (which has a blog !)

Steve Rubel is right. Forbes blows it.

According to a rather alarmist cover story, bloggers are a veritable lynch mob. Why? Because bloggers have the power to create “swarms,” which could be a benefit or threat to the target.

Blogs started a few years ago as a simple way for people to keep online diaries. Suddenly they are the ultimate vehicle for brand-bashing, personal attacks, political extremism and smear campaigns. It’s not easy to fight back: Often a bashing victim can’t even figure out who his attacker is. No target is too mighty, or too obscure, for this new and virulent strain of oratory. Microsoft has been hammered by bloggers; so have CBS, CNN and ABC News, two research boutiques that criticized IBM’s Notes software, the maker of Kryptonite bike locks, a Virginia congressman outed as a homosexual and dozens of other victims–even a right-wing blogger who dared defend a blog-mob scapegoat.

But as Steve said, bloggers “can be a company’s greatest allies and evangelists if AND only IF we take the time to take them seriously and engage them in dialogue.” He advises businesses to ignore Forbes’s tirade and judge bloggers for themselves.

Other bloggers buzzing: Blogspotting, Jaffe Juice , Chris Pirillo, NevOn, Below the Fold…