Hey, remember Blarch Badness last year? Our immensely successful attempt to increase our February/March site traffic crown the Best Blog In Seattle?

Well, I’m such a glutton for abuse from West Seattle Blog that I’m bringing it back for 2008.

There are some changes this year:

1. The regional names for brackets that got everyone confused? Out.
2. In fact, there will only be two brackets. And I haven’t named them yet. Salmon and Blackberry? Viaduct and Condo? Erica Barnett and Annie Wagner? Who knows. (But hey, you got cash, I’ll sell you naming rights.)
3. The weird regionals are now replaced by categories. More on that in a moment.
4. The four semifinalists last year automatically go into the bracket and don’t have to come through the category round. And the Metblogs authors will pick four additional blogs that we think are so exemplary that they won’t have to endure the category groups, either.
5. More blogs! I’m not sure how many, but more!
6. And I’ll find another crappy voting system to run it all with!

So, here’s where you come in. I have come up with eight categories. I need your nominations for blogs that fit these categories. And even if they don’t fit these categories, just mention them in the comments and I’ll try to find room for them.

Here’s the preliminary category list:

• Art, Fashion, Photography (sorry it’s all one category)
• Food and Drink (blogs about eating/drinking)
• The Hood (the blogs in your neighborhood)
• Music
• P-I Bloggers (because there are so many of them, they get their own category)
• Religion, Politics, and the Great Pumpkin (the three things people are passionate about here in town — religion, politics, and environmentalism)
• People
• Sports
• None of the Above/Enemies of Metblogs (everyone who doesn’t fit in one of the above groups and/or hates us)

Yes, I know that’s nine. I’ll work it out later.

So, who are your favorite local blogs? Who do you want to see on the list? That’s what that comment box down there is for. Go for it.

If you’re one of those shameful sorts that wants to nominate yourself, you can do it anonymously by using the “suggest a story” button or sending an e-mail to seattle.metblogs@gmail.com.

The bracket will be announced next week. And then, we start the fun. By mid-March, we will know, again, who is the best blog in Seattle, or at least can summon up their readership to come vote over here.