There’s a fierce debate raging about blogs vs. media businesses and it seems like the wrong conversation.
Bloggers can often afford not to make money, or to make a far lesser margin(remember that home office thing?)
And yet, fron a consumer perspective, while readers highly value the credibility of news organizations, they also want instant gratification and to see –as soon as possible–what other people are thinking and saying about an event (as opposed to just what happened.)
There are new tools that allow readers to monitor conversations online and see what others think–without big media’s aid. Two of those new resources are services called Feedster and Technorati–which provide abilities to search web and blog posts and SEE what people are linking to–almost in real time (best case).
If you haven’t tried these sites, check them out–they are a part of the wave of the future–and will show you new maya to access information that really matter.