[Air-l] origin of "blog"

[Bernard Stehle]

Last week, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition
(2003), appeared in bookstores for the first time. I was surprised not
to find an entry for "blog."  I thought the term was at least 5 years
old.  Am I right?  For how long has the term been in existence among
bloggers?  (Webster's Tenth Edition, 1993, understandably did not
include "blog"; a representative from M-W says, however, that even for
the 2003 edition the term is neither old enough nor generally known
enough outside bloggerhood to be included in the Eleventh. Am I
justified in my astonishment, or is the rep telling it like it really
is?)  --Bernard