Jason Calacanis posts the traffic growth of DownloadSquad...

A long overdue move. See it here...

Weblogs, Inc. has launched the Engadget Index:

Engadget and Blogging Stocks have teamed up to create the Engadget Index. A portfolio of the hot tech stocks both in front and behind the scenes of the technology sector. Engadget will update the index monthly and quarterly, to give a snapshot of the tech sector, which also gives a glimmer of insight into the consumer electronics world at large (of course, they didn’t really buy the stocks, and aren’t financial advisors, so take whatever they glean with a grain of blogging salt).

9rules has received 1,190 entries in their Round V submissions – open yesterday only. A couple interesting highlights:

If you break it down per minute, we received an average of more than 1 blog every minute for the first 19 hours.

If you add up the total number of blogs from all networks it’s still less than the total number of blogs submitted to 9rules in just one day. But quantity doesn’t mean quality, I’ll get to that in a bit.

Other interesting stats in their post...

b5media has launched two blogs covering Washington, DC and the State of Washington:

The DC Traveler, written by Jon Rochetti, covers Washington DC, and nearby Virginia and Maryland neighborhoods. Jon says: I look forward to writing The DC Traveler and hope that it provides insight and resources about visiting and experiencing all that Washington DC has to offer – to not only the first-time tourist but to life-long locals as well.

[...]

The Seattle Traveler, written by Mary Jo Manzanares who also writes at Flyaway Cafe, covers the greater Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington State. Mary Jo says: Whether you’re visiting the Seattle area for your first time, or one-hundredth time, there’s always something new to see or do. And if you’re a Seattle area resident, hopefully you’ll get some new ideas for exploring your own hometown.

Syntagma Media has launched Arts & Mind:

Have you ever thought of art as a process that shapes your mind? It could be as simple as doodling at times to capture ideas. Or, it could be as complex as writing a new chapter for a book, with Count Basie’s smooth jazz in the background. Art with the brain in mind, might be as playful as putting your own words to a tune you enjoy. Or, it could be as serious as capturing a metaphor for a poem delivered at a friend’s funeral. In this series, you’ll step into the complex parts and the playful parts of your mind to experience delightful nuances from the arts. We’ll dabble at times in creation, and at other times we’ll simply draw enjoyment from the greats.

Metroblogging has launched #50 – Graz, Austria:

That’s right, we’ve just launched our 50th Metroblogging city – Graz, Austria! We felt sorry for our lonely friends in Vienna and thought we’d get them some company. Graz marks our second Austrian blog, and another to our growing list of European cities. For more history and info about the city check out wikipedia or jump right over to Graz and see what the locals are talking about. Enjoy!

Read about it here.

Submit here...

b5media is seeking an online ad manager for their growing (and newly funded!) blog network.

Valleywag thinks so...