UPDATE: The ReadWriteWeb Blog Network is being shut, see more below).

Blogging network ReadWriteWeb has dumped the AltSearchEngine blog, the second blog launched by the network in June 2004.

AltSearchEngines covers search engines, with a particular interest the hundreds of alternative search engines that compete with the big guns like Google and Yahoo.

The site hasn’t been shuttered but appears to be handed over to Editor Charles Knight, who writes on the blog that “AltSearchEngines is now an independent blog, although I doubt that you will notice any changes.” Allen Stern notes at Centernetworks that the traffic for the blog was relatively low, with Compete showing 40,000 page views for the site. Quantcast, which directly measures traffic on the site shows 35,700 page views a month.

I’ve asked ReadWriteWeb owner Richard McManus for comment, and if I get a response, we’ll update the post. From the outside though it would appear that the days of going wide in a blog network with multiple sites as a business model is starting to decline.

ReadWriteWeb is currently on a growth path, with key new hires (including occasional Inquisitr contributor Zee) and new blogs, so shutting one would seem a little strange, traffic aside. Notably, the latest blog ReadWriteWeb Jobwire exists as a sub-blog off the main site as opposed to a fully stand alone blog (with its own URL), so it would appear that there may be a focus on the key brand and site at ReadWriteWeb as well, and it’s a sound business decision…least it works for us.

UPDATE: email from Richard McManus: the ReadWriteWeb blog network was disbanded November 1. Richard will have a post up shortly about it, and we’ll link when its up. He did note in his email that the move was about refocusing on the core brand.

UPDATE 2: Richard McManus has a post up on ReadWriteWeb here. McManus notes the move is to focus on the core brand, but he maintains a stake in both Last100 and AltSearchEgnines.