Q. Who created the directory? Who maintains it?
A. Newsbobber created the Minnesota Blog Directory to help users discover and explore Minnesota-related blogs.

Q. What is the 'Newsbobber Score' and how is it determined?
A. Each blog gets a score from 0 through 10. The higher the number, the more engaging and popular the blog. Newsbobber created the ranking system using several metrics, including Google PageRank, the PostRank blog analysis service, Yahoo inlinks and Google Reader subscribers. Each measure is turned into a 10-point scale. The Newsbobber score is the average of a blog's points in each category. This scoring system is by no means perfect. In fact, it's really a work in progress. Newsbobber welcomes comments and suggestions about how to improve the scoring system.

Q. Can I rate or rank my favorite blogs to help improve their score?
A. Not yet. Newsbobber is working on a system to let visitors vote on blogs ... the good, the bad, the ugly.

Q. Who decides which blogs are included? What are the criteria?
A. Newsbobber chooses the blogs. The goal is to include as many Minnesota-based or Minnesota-centric blogs as possible, so the directory has an open-door policy. For the directory's launch, Newsbobber aimed to list popular blogs with a track record of updating fairly frequently. Going forward, Newsbobber plans to accept almost all comers. New blogs, obscure blogs ... all are welcome. If the blog is based in Minnesota or written largely for a Minnesota audience -- and the writer updates at least once in awhile -- it will get listed.

Q. Who wrote the descriptions of the blogs?
A. Most of the blogs have a self-description. Those were copied from the blog itself or its RSS feed. Many of the blogs also have a description labeled "Newsbobber says." Newsbobber is spending time with every blog in the directory and writing those descriptions.

Q. How do I get my blog listed?
A. Suggest your blog or any other blog. We just ask that the blog be Minnesota-based or Minnesota-centric.

Q. What if I find outdated or incorrect information?
A. Use the suggest a blog form to submit changes.

Q. Why does my blog list zero Google Reader subscribers or a Google Pagerank of zero?
A. Newsbobber is in the process of entering subscriber information for each blog. So some blogs have recent data entered, others do not. With Pagerank, some blogs returned a zero rank for whatever reason. Those blogs are being updated with the correct Pagerank manually.

Q. How is the directory any different than a blogroll?
A. Blogrolls maintained by authors you like can be a good way to discover new blogs. But most blogrolls are simply lists of blog titles and links. It can be a daunting and time-consuming task to peruse a long list of "blogs I like." The Minnesota Blog Directory helps you discover and explore blogs in several ways. You can peruse blogs by topic. You can search by title, author, affiliation or keyword. Plus, each blog entry features a description written by Newsbobber. And finally, each blog gets its own page, so you can see recent posts, popularity data and other information before deciding whether you want to visit the blog.