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September 29, 2008 6:32 AM PDT

AOL's DigitalCity goes after Gawker crowd

by Caroline McCarthy
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Digital City screenshot

Is this a local news site or a celebrity gossip blog? I can't quite tell.

(Credit: AOL)

Maybe it's just because it's Monday morning and I've had only one cup of coffee, but I'm not quite comprehending DigitalCity.com, the latest in a parade of bloggy new sites from AOL.

A press release describes Digital City, which gets its name from a very vintage AOL brand, as "a new approach to geo-blogging by showcasing original content with a local slant, but global appeal." In other words, it's stuff about nightclubs in Vegas, concerts in Portland, and New York vs. Boston rivalries that are written so that you don't have to actually live in one of those cities to get what's going on. I suppose it's supposed to be in contrast to the insidery SFist or New York magazine--more like Gawker, which is New York-centric but pulls in traffic from around the world.

Unfortunately, it's disjointed, and that's something that advertisers, in addition to readers, will likely note. A post about great grilled cheese restaurants (one in Colorado, one in L.A.) precedes one about John McCain's ties to the gambling industry and then one about Segways. And the most recent post right now informs us all that it's Zachary Levi's birthday. We all heart Zachary Levi (he's the title character on sitcom Chuck, not Bristol Palin's fiancé, FYI--that's Levi Johnston), but this blog still doesn't exactly have a clear vision.

AOL can back it up with a ton of non-blog content, like its city directory and local news sites, but I can't really see how that would fit into DigitalCity.

Oh, well. Better luck next time, AOL.

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About The Social

CNET News' Caroline McCarthy is a downtown Manhattanite who believes that, despite popular opinion, the Web can actually help your social life. She's happily addicted to fun social-media tools from Twitter to Yelp to Facebook, sends an inordinate number of text messages, and has a tendency to waste time at the office reading restaurant blogs. Here, she explores all facets of the Web's gregarious side, as well as the unique tech culture in her home city of New York. (Don't call it Silicon Alley.)

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