I know more and more bloggers who live in Maine or blog about Maine (or both). I’ve also noticed a trend online toward blog networks lately, especially in my own personal finance niche. They make sense; there is a lot of crap out there in terms of blogs and some very short-lived blogs that just disappear. A blog network can help motivate people, boost traffic, and serve as a great resource in whatever niche you blog about.

I subscribe to Google blog searches for the word “Maine” and I’ve learned a few things reading a variety of posts about Maine by residents or visitors:
1) People think Maine is relaxing. Tourists talk about heading to Maine like they are headed to a Caribbean island. Whether it’s the coast or a lake or a woods hike, people are excited about getting to and being in Maine.
2) People enjoy the Maine lifestyle. It seems as if the slogan “The Way Life Should Be” has been collectively agreed upon. Full and part-time residents talk about this culture in concious and subconcious ways on their blogs.
3) People love reading online information about Maine. Whether we grew up here and moved away or have never left a day in our lives, ears perk up with news about Maine if you have any connection to it.
4) Maine is a that is small enough to feel very interconnected and big enough to be quite diverse.
 
I’ve been wondering lately: why isn’t there a Maine blog network that people can join? There certainly seem to be enough community for it. So I’ve decided to create The Maine Blog Network.

I don’t want to make something exclusive so much as a place were people can come to find quality content (links to great Maine blogs). They’ll be some minimum criteria to join (like being in Maine or blogging about Maine as well as having a blog of a certain age) but overall will serve as a showcase for good content and a way for Maine bloggers to band together.
 
I’ve just purchased the domain name maineblognetwork.com but before I get really excited about this, I’m wondering, are other people interested in this? Does anyone want to work with me on setting this up, probably after summer winds down and it gets a little colder?
 
Anyway, you can email me or comment on this post and let me know:
1) if you’re interested in being kept in the loop and want to be a part of it when it’s launched
or 2) If you’re interested in investing some time in developing this.
 
And I ask you to forward this to all your Maine blogging friends. I want people to feel included in this process!

I’ll start an email list of those of you interested in updates and those of you interested in becoming involved in a more hands-on way and update you accordingly.