This sad, Gawker stroking blog should be a clear sign that the blog revolution is over and the days of the “second ring”, echo blogs are upon us. What made the best early blogs good – authenticity, cheekiness, directness- gets lost in the emulation and imitation that marks blogs like Slanderous Minneapolis. Same Gawker/Wonkette/Defamer tone. Check. Weird obsession with sighting local “celebrities” out in the wild? Check. Hates Uggs? Check. Uncomfortable feeling that someone is trying too hard? Check.

Why doesn’t the guy (i’m assuming its a guy) just call his site “I want to work for Nick Denton and be bitchy for money”. You know he’s reaching (desperately) when he name checks George Corporal (a local guy who does commercials for his auto glass company) as a local “Celebrity”.

Look, Minneapolis is never going to be New York, so the “Gawker for Minneapolis” thing is always going to seem just a little “off”. It’s like that faux english accent you tried for a couple months in college, when you asked people to call you Stephen, instead of good old Steve. Accept the fact that you live in Minneapolis and it isn’t, despite good intentions, the mini-apple. Uggs, despite their awful-ness, are just a little less awful here because it’s actually really cold here. Wear your flannel with pride.

You know what’s sad, though? It’ll probably work. He’ll get some interest from City Pages and will probably start writing for them someday. Maybe he’ll show up on a couple local radio stations, desperate for something edgy. But the DJ will be thinking “If I were in New York or LA, I wouldnt have to deal with losers like this guy”.

I like websites. And, though I’m embarrassed to admit it, I like “The Apprentice”. So I couldn’t help myself. Like Vince Neil going for bottle of Jack and a pair of hookers, I had to check out the website for the Apprentice’s own Kelly Perdue. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he had a website. I shouldn’t have been surprised it didn’t suck. But holy crap! Look at that thing! It’s as overly polished, finely groomed and, yes, as robotic, as he comes off on screen.

An insider’s review of research associated with blogs, blogging, and the growth of blogging. Short story: Of the 126 million people online, there are a lot reading weblogs regularly (11% of users), and a growing number (8.8 Million) writing them. This is an important dynamic on the web, not a fad or phenomenon. (see also: Pew’s “Content Creation Online“)