Welcome to the 2nd annual top Chicago blogs of 2013. We chose the top 10 blogs in the city and surrounding suburbs to give you an idea of what type of quality blogs you can discover in Chicago. For those of you who were not with us last year, we take a look at the top 10 blogs in Chicago based on the credentials below. The field is a lot wider this year than last year, as blogging is becoming more common.

No surprise then that the list has had some turnover. We have six returning blogs from last years list, and four new ones. Plus, we have 2 honorable mentions for some up and coming blogs that are just not ready to be on the list due to age and others factors.

First, here are the rules:

1. The blog must be 1 year or older. No exceptions this year.
2. Second, your Alexa ranking should preferably be around 150K. (#6 is a bigger component)
3. You need 4 blog posts in the last 30 days.
4. I do not want this to be a list of radio, news, and TV stations. Therefore, any traditional broadcasting out are not considered.
5. A strong Chicago connection is required. The topic does not have to be Chicago as long as the blogger is a Chicago resident.
6. How much interaction via commenting and social shares does a blog receive?
7. How easy is it to create a community on the site. If you have to register you do not understand the concept of blogging, and engaging a community. There were a lot of great blogs that I discounted, because of this reason. I can not stand when Wall Street Journal or the New York Times does this. What makes it alright for community blogs to do the same.
8. You do not have to live in Chicago proper, just in the Chicagoland area. That means that Aurora works, but Dekalb does not. I am sure some city dwellers will argue the distinction, but tough!

Your Top Chicago Blogs Of 2013 In No Particular Order Are:

South Side Sox– Welcome to the list South Side Sox. Needed a good commentary on the “other” baseball team in Chicago.  Sorry, lifelong Cubs fan with major bias. Cross-Town Rivalry starting a bit early this year.

View From The Bleachers-Not to be rude, but there is no way in the big fiery place down below (otherwise known as Comiskey Park) that I would include a Sox blog here without a Cubs blog. Fortunately both sides have some great blogs, so it made this an easy decision. Welcome Back View From the Bleachers.

Mugshot Mondays- Welcome Mugshot Monday! This is a cool blog with a lot of coffee mugs. Every Monday a new person is featured drinking coffee. Some of the pictures are fun, others amusing, and others make you “a what now?” Either way, a cool blog to add to your list as you doze off on the “L” to work.

Uptown Update– This has to be one of the best neighborhood blogs in the city. Two years in a row on this list, and they keep chugging with great info. According to the site counter they have over 8 million visitors to the site cumulatively, plus a thriving Facebook page with 6,600 fans and 420 active fans. 10% is a pretty high number for such a large page.

Ed Brill-Last year, I included 3 personal blogs. This year, only 1 personal blog made the cut. The reason being is that it is really hard to run a blog by yourself. The time and dedication to get it right, and make it profitable can be taxing on most bloggers. So, well done Ed on getting it done.

The Expired Meter– How do you expect me to exclude one of the greatest fighters against the evil that is Chicago Traffic Cams. Any true Chicagoan knows the city is desperately trying to make up their budget in the name of “safety” by ticketing as many Chicagoans as possible. These cameras are a danger to the roads, and a public nuisance. The second biggest nuisance is the outrageous parking meter arrangement the city set up.

Street Blogs Chicago– Call me an idealist, but I thought a city with as many transportation challenges as ours needs two transportation blogs on the list. That is why I added Chicago Street Blogs to The Expired Meter. Both cover different transportation issues affecting the city.

Signals Versus Noise-How can we not include for the second year running the creators of BaseCamp. For those who have never used this project management software, it is one of the best. Run off of a WordPress platform, I know from experience working on WordCamp Chicago and Milwaukee that it is their preferred method of communication and organization. Great Software, and a cool blog to boot.

Gapers Block- Every year I debate about putting Gapers Block on the list. However, they have so much quality content that I cannot pass them over. While the engagement level on their site seems a bit low, and I could not share buttons for their posts, I still think quality content in the end must win. Also, they have over 3,300 fans and 16K followers on Twitter. They must be doing something right on the engagement front.

Chicagoist– this is their second year on the list. The Chicagoist has a number of great Chicago articles, including one article on Michigan water levels, which I found personally interesting.

Honorable Mention: Go77Chicago.Com and Spudart get honorable mentions, and are definitely sites to keep your eye on. Go 77 Chicago is a new and upcoming site. SpudArt just missed the cut, but do not be surprised if you see this blog on next years list.

Thanks to all the blogs listed above for making Chicago a livelier city. We appreciate the information you spend so much time cultivating, so we can have a more informed city. This year, we are initiating a new Top Chicago Blogs badge.

Top Chicago Blogs Get Your Badge To Display Proudly On Your Site

Below is the html code for the top Chicago blogs to display your Top Chicago blog status on your site.  The badge is simple, but powerful reminder of what you have accomplished.

<a href="http://andynathan.net" target="_blank">
<img src="http://andynathan.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/TopChicagoBloggers2013.png" />
</a>
Thanks for all the great bloggers out there who make Chicago great. 
Let us know which one of our top Chicago blogs is your favorite.