The West Coast Blog Mafia

I'm gonna have to do more work on this idea, but is anybody else about as sick of what I call the "West Coast Blog Mafia" as I am? If you're a blogger, you know what I'm talking about.

Maybe I'm paranoid, as it's true that I like my independence and I certainly like to strive to rail against whatever I perceive to be "the system" (meaning pretty much any of "the system"s that exclude outsiders, free-thinking, etc). The West Coast Blog Mafia all link to each other and high-five each other and affirm each other's brilliance, you know? And, like all mobsters -- you're either in their mafia or you're not.

It's sorta' heartbreaking to see a "system", a "clique" or as I call it here, a "mafia" developing in what's supposed to be a wild west, meritocratic blogosphere. But it is what it is. And it's a shame.