Best Local Blog/Zine

There’s little not to love about local social media personality SARA HOPKINS. Her witty pop culture-laced video shorts have garnered her six digits worth of followers across platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. But it’s on the video-looping app Vine where her LOL-worthy posts really shine (she’s currently clocking in at just under 7 million total loops). Her prowess for crafting funny Snapchats for friends eventually morphed into viral videos (her uncanny dolphin impression and play on Dorrough’s rap hit “Ice Cream Paint Job” are fan favorites), partnerships with brands like Verizon and the Coca-Cola Company, and even a Shorty Award nomination — the Grammys of social media — up against names like DJ Khaled and Kylie Jenner. Major key. www.vine.co/sarahopkins. less...

Even before this year's shuttering of Southern Voice, the popularity of PROJECT Q stood as evidence that the new media (i.e., a website) can keep the community informed and entertained with breaking news, cheeky columns and pop-culture updates. You gotta love an outfit that titles its daily event listings "The Gay Agenda." www.projectqatlanta.com less...

No one in town is on top of the interwebs more than Holly Lang's PINE MAGAZINE. Lang's site is linked to the gills with videos, MP3s and listings for the discerning Atlanta music patron. In light of so much quality independent news, arts, opinion and music coverage she provides, it seems dismissive to relegate her site to the blog ghetto. But Pine sets a higher standard for the local fire starters while placing an emphasis on the art of disseminating information, not attitude. But the real secret weapons giving Pine so much street cred are the free, first Thursday of the month showcases at the Star Bar. Since starting the monthly concert series in January 2008, Pine has hosted more than 100, mostly Atlanta-based acts. If you're looking for a show, an interview, a news bulletin or anything else that might enhance your time in the cubicle, Pine is the most user-friendly URL on the block. www.pinemagazine.com. less...

Frustrated that metro Atlanta's most walkable burg didn't have its own daily news source, the quasi-anonymous resident behind DECATUR METRO decided to take matters into his own hands. Little did he know that his first post in September 2007 would give birth to the city's most prolific news source. Half community newsletter, half sounding board for city issues, Decatur Metro is hyperlocal to the core. Daily posts — which are really closer to conversations — have probed the enigmatic aroma that wafts through Your DeKalb Farmers Market, protested the strange garbage juice leaking from a downtown Dumpster, and even veered into coverage about the city's school system and annexation proposals. The site has become such a destination that even city officials chime in on discussions and answer questions. For his nose for news, clever writing, and creating a needed community, we raise a glass of the Brick Store’s finest. www.decaturmetro.com. less...

Political junkies are surprisingly nonpartisan when it comes to getting the latest scuttlebutt. You could have Ted Kennedy’s face tattooed across both ass cheeks and you’d still have to check PEACH PUNDIT several times a day to see what fresh dirt Erick Erickson and his crew of mostly conservative busybodies and gossipmongers have dug up. You only have to open a blog thread to see that readers of all political stripes have entered the fray, resulting not only in lively debate, but a much more fruitful exchange of viewpoints than you get on single-blogger sites. PP’s stable of insiders also occasionally scoops the news wires and dailies, especially during the General Assembly. Simply put, if it involves politics in Georgia, someone’s talking about it — and you can, too — on Peach Pundit.

www.peachpundit.com

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