Digerati In search of Mainers who blog BY JESS KILBY

Being a computer geek in Maine can sometimes be a lonely proposition. And by geek I don’t just mean you comp-sci majors and Radio Shack junkies; I mean the growing number of us who would rather relax in front of our monitors than our TV sets. Raise your hand if there’s at least one Web site you follow more religiously than you ever did Party of Five. Real people are just more interesting than carefully crafted story arcs.

But there aren’t a lot of Maine voices out there. Go to meetup.com and scan the pages for any Internet-related Maine gatherings; we could barely field a team for the three-legged race. Add some geourl code to your Web site (http://geourl.org/) to generate a list of sites hosted in proximity to your own, and watch the New Hampshire and Boston hits explode. Like I said, a lonely proposition. Because sometimes it’s nice to read a blog you can relate to.

Portland blogger Michael Batchelder has recently tried to address this problem, with the launch of Portland Bloggers (http://portlandbloggers.blogspot.com), billed as a " group blog for people in the Portland, Maine, area, as well as links to their personal sites. " The site, as Batchelder bemoans in his most recent post (from nearly three weeks ago) appears to be dying on the vine — perhaps because it lacks any clear way for interested parties to get on board (or, ahem, contact the webmaster for interview requests).

Undeterred (and just plain lonely), " Technophilia " set out to round up our own list of Maine bloggers. By no means definitive, this roster ranges from the personal to the political, often within the scope of a single site. Poke around a little — maybe you’ll find a new daily read.

BLOG POLITICK

Since weblogs are so often criticized for their self-absorption, let’s start with this relatively outward-looking crew:

• Asbestos Den (http://www.asbestosden.org) Though neither right nor left, libertarian Shawn Levasseur tends more to the conservative in his musings, but without the vitriol typical of many right-wing bloggers. Sadly, the site hasn’t been updated since May 6 — maybe he’s just taking a holiday?

• Sasha and Andrew’s Roundtable (http://www.sashacastel.com) More libertarians! Like Levasseur, the caustic husband-and-wife team of Sasha and Andrew Castel-Dodge lean towards the right, but show their libertarian streak on issues like medical marijuana. European politics also seems to be a recurring topic.

• Rapid Dissent (http://rapiddissent.blogspot.com) Full disclosure: This is my husband’s blog. And no, the idea for this month’s column was not born of a desire to be his PR pimp, though I know you won’t believe me. He’s listed here because Ern Lombardi’s site is the only unabashedly liberal, Maine-based political blog I could find (this, after two days of searching), and we can’t let the libertarians have all the fun, can we?

ALL ABOUT . . .

Somewhere between what-I-ate-for-breakfast and all-politics-all-the-time are the blogs that deal, for the most part, with a single subject. Like knitting, or libraries, or autism. All three of which Maine seems to have in relative abundance. Blogs, that is. Though there’s certainly a lot of the real thing, too. Some very focused Maine bloggers:

• Kennebunk Free Library (http://kennebunklibrary.blogspot.com) What with the Patriot Act and a general erosion of our civil liberties these days, libraries across the country have become loci of political thought and action. The KFL blog tracks relevant national news stories, and also informs readers of important local events (like the recent referendum vote). Cool feature: Avoid giving your personal information to newspapers that require registration on their Web sites; the KFL blog offers a username and password for all to use.

• H20boro lib blog (http://www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm) The very hip Waterboro Public Library Blog has a more literary focus than its Kennebunk counterpart, though politics is occasionally covered. Cool feature: Not only is there an alphabetized guide to Maine authors (under " Maine " in the sidebar), there’s also a guide to fiction set in Maine. Just for the hell of it.

• Clara’s Window (http://claraswindow.blogspot.com) The blog of a knitting-boutique proprietor in Buck’s Harbor, which manages to be both endearing and interesting to even a non-knitter, as a chronicle of opening a small business (and following your passion) in a remote tourist town.

• Wampum (http://wampum.wabanaki.net) A mixed bag of fascinating topics, or, as the site labels itself, " Progressive Politics, Indian Issues, and Autism Advocacy. " Recent posts have focused in-depth on the economy and the nation’s jobless rates. Crisp, intelligent writing.

• Matt and Me (http://mattandme.squarepics.com) A straightforward account of life with an autistic son, by a Kennebunk mom.

• Angela Hoy (http://www.angelahoy.com) A Bangor writer, Hoy describes herself as an " author and advocate for freelance writers’ rights, " and blogs accordingly.

DEAR BLOG

Sometimes you just want some fluff. Not Dateline, not the Discovery Channel — just a blissfully irrelevant episode of Buffy. Get your sad, happy, witty, tired, pregnant, broke navel-gazing right here:

• No Use for Virtue (http://www.michaelgenrich.com/blog)

• Laura’s Mind Closet (http://laura.blog-city.com)

• Double Taps (http://www.midcoast.com/~paddy/index.html)

• amytart (http://www.amytart.com)

• druzba (http://druzba.com)

• Richard Hoy (http://www.richardhoy.com)

• In Remembrance of Me (http://home.maine.rr.com/sfe2/blog/index.html)

• The Illuminating Realm of Suz (http://suz3.pitas.com/)

• Nature’s Milk (http://www.naturesmilk.blogspot.com/)

Well I feel a little less lonely now. How about you?

Jess Kilby can be reached at jkilby@phx.com