I noticed a new addition to the great library of resources on washingtonpost.com this afternoon.  It seems they've added a local blog directory.  It includes some useful features, like searching according to neighborhood, keyword, and tag.  They also display the most recently updated blogs, and offer a new feature for people to tag their Flickr photos "wpblog" to get their photos listed.  

I signed TBR up for this, and while the process was pretty painless, there were a few minor glitches.  First, you have to be a member of wapo.com to get your blog listed–I have absolutely no problem with this.  But, the sign-in area on the blog directory needs to be a bit more clear. It asks for your username and password, when WashingtonPost.com actually just uses email addresses as usernames.  That was a bit confusing.  I also ran into a couple of broken links in the process.  Overall, however, I think it's a pretty easy to use system.

In our newspaper study, we mention "complementing print online" quite a bit. The Washington Post has done this well, and has developed its crossover audience–number of people that use both print and online editions–by offering interesting online features.  We've talked about the site's databases before, and the local blog directory is just one more feature that will attract more visitors online.  Well done!

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