We awoke this morning to the Observer UK's list of "The World's 50 Most Powerful Blogs." Within the admittedly "idiosyncratic" compilation of regular web favorites and obscure indie blogger manifestos, Gawker took the #10 spot and Jezebel the #22. Although a global canvass, the UK list isn't about empirical figures like reach or pageviews. Instead it serves up what are — in The Observer's opinion — damn clever reads that are stirring up controversy in the educated digital populace.

On Gawker's editorial trendsetting:

"Gawker and its brethren are the epitome of a certain kind of blogging - fast, furious, scurrilous, bitchy and unashamed."

On Jezebel's gritty feminist revolution:

"Last year Gawker Media launched Jezebel - a blog which aimed to become a brilliant version of a women's magazine. It succeeded quickly, in part by acknowledging the five big lies perpetuated by the women's media...It offers the best lady-aimed writing on the web, along with lots of nice pictures of Amy Winehouse getting out of cars."

For full coverage from The Observer at The Guardian site:

Nick Denton and the Observer's favourite blogs
The Brit dishing the dirt on America
The world's 50 most powerful blogs

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