Following an editor with a cult-like following is no easy task, but Ann Shoket, who replaced Atoosa Rubenstein as EIC of Seventeen early this year, is trying. Daily. And it's tough. How can one ever live up to an EIC who admitted to being a cutter, surviving a near date-rape, being a victim of racism, and countless other "I've seen it all" experiences?

Apparently, the answer for Shoket is the same as it is for any middle-schooler facing insecurity and overbearing expectations—let it all out in a blog.

In her first editor's letter, which ran in the April issue, Ann promised, "I'm going to blog about what's going on here at Seventeen every day at seventeen.com/newgirl." And we're keeping count. Okay, she missed a couple of days when she was out of town, but she made sure that her assistant blogged for her. And she skipped another couple when she was in New Orleans helping hurricane victims with other Hearsties, but we'll let that slide. So far, she's making good on her word.

Over the past month, Shoket has blogged about everything from Elizabeth Edwards's breast cancer ("this time, it's incurable. Ugh!!!") to Seventeen's "Spirit Workout" (where the cheerleader they featured "looks so fresh and fun and full of life and energy!") to ex-American Idol contestant Sanjaya. ("He's fun, he's got great hair, and he's a good sport about all the teasing he's getting. But he's not a great singer.")

Which is to say that her blog bounces around as much as her readers' minds do. And while this daily venture seemed a little TMI at first, it's actually an incredibly smart way to connect with girls. On the initial posts, reader comments were about 90 percent like this: "what the heck happened to atoosa????" But as Anne's kept on blogging, that question only appears in about 10 percent of the posts. Soon, the 'Toos will be a distant memory in the minds of those Seventeen readers (well, at least the ones who aren't reading Rubenstein's incredibly regular posts on MySpace). Way to totally connect with your audience, Ann. I'm being completely sincere. Seriously, I am.—Melissa Walker

LINKS
• Ann's blog
• The Toos's Myspace
• A raven, a skull and a bleeding rainbow—no lie