MyBlogLogMyBlogLog is a Facebook-type service for blogs, and in the grand tradition of freemium web2.0 ware, is largely a free service financed on top of some for-pay statistical tracking software.

Although MyBlogLog might be paying their bills through statistical tracking, its real draw is its ability to act as another layer on top of existing blogs, creating a web of natural and transparent connections that wouldn’t normally exist.

By marrying online tracking software (its bread and butter) with personalized accounts associated with blogs, MyBlogLog is able to track where blog owners go – and moreover, see which blog owners visit particular sites. Through this tracking, they’ve created “communities” around different blogs based on the frequency a particular reader has visited a blog.

By linking blog owners to a known list of networked blogs, MyBlogLog can effectively create a social network…of blogs.

For example, my own blog, DeepJiveInterests has 26 “community members”; blog owners who have visited my site often enough that they automatically register as “community members.” Alternatively, people can sign up for that blog community directly once they’ve logged into MyBlogLog.

The x-factor that makes this dragon go ‘round, however, is the widget that is widely populating the blogosphere. That widget allows blog owners to see who is actually visiting their blog, visually — displaying their names and avatars (often face pictures).

Now, how cool is that?

Metrics can give you all kinds of numbers – pages served, how often they’re served up, where people are coming from and so on. But they can’t attach an identity to those numbers. MyBlogLog also gives blog owners the ability to “push” messages to their visitors, because they’ll be able to tell who their visitors are. At the same time, users can communicate directly with the bloggers.

The widget can tell who is coming to your blog in real time; and, from the MyBlogLog dashboard, you can tell exactly who is a fan of your blog. Attaching names and faces to your visitors – automatically, is what makes MyBlogLog useful. It gives blog owners the ability to “push” messages to their visitors, because they’ll be able to tell who their visitors are; and similarly, it gives your visitors an easy way to communicate with you.

Perhaps because of its potential, MyBlogLog has sparked some acquisition rumors. The attraction is clear. The layer of interactivity provided with MyBlogLog is unique in that it benefits blogger and user. Sure, the tracking ability is important because it powers this process, but ultimately, it’s window dressing for what MyBlogLog is actually about.

Dr. Tony Hung is a 3rd year resident in Internal Medicine with a strong interests in communication and social media. He blogs regularly about web2.0 issues at DeepJiveInterests.com