Beattie realizes the mash-up nature of aggregators and that packaging is king:
"What happens when all the niches have been filled? And what happens when we're all using our aggregators for most of our online reading?

Then I started to think about the coming advertisements we're going to see in RSS feeds. There's already some sites out there doing it, and I assume it'll become more common soon.
(snip)
What's happening is that online content is becoming a series of single serving content bits, sent around and filtered in a variety of ways. It's the same way that online music stores like iTunes have pushed singles back to the forefront again. "

Susan sez: Yep, and to the content delivery systems go the spoils, aka the ad and premium content revenue--and the bloggers will just get the wobbly bits--unless some of these let's start an ad agency and help people make money efforts folks talk about start to kick in.

Shelley Powers has a thoughtful post on tagging, focusing on the recent Technorati implementation of tags, but going far beyond in her thoughts about tags and structured data. This is a rich, complex discussion with lots of quotes and citations, illustrated with some kick-ass photos.
Su Chaw and others have equally wise comments, like this one:
"I can't help feeling that we're really only at the very beginning of the creation of meaningful tagsonomies and tagsonomical tools. Technorati's implementation of tags is one step on a long road - until we can sort by what Technorati calls 'authority' (but which is really a sort of popularity), pull the search results in to our aggregators by RSS, search using Boolean operands on multiple tags and do all sorts of complicated bespoke filtering, tags will remain a bit of a kludge."
This is a fairly technical discussion, but if you're interested in tagging, it's a great read.

NewsBluntly: A new Knight Commission study says 32% of HS students feel that the media has too much freedom. And more nuggets on how awareness of the First Amendment is eroding.
JD Lasica: The San Jose Merc's get a good package on podcasting.

Steve Rubel: PR client Weatherbug's gonna be blogging for Groundhog Day--that means 30 days of posts! Of course, all I can think about is the Bill Murray movie.
Terry Heaton: Greensboro paper is brilliant to blog letters to the editor. The News-Record sez: "We're adding this feature for two reasons. First, the blog format will enable readers to discuss and comment on each individual letter. Second, it will enable bloggers and other online writers to link directly to an individual letter, rather than just to a Web page containing multiple letters.

Tom Foremski: "...blogging is the most honest form of self-promotion out there bar none."
United We Blog: Nepalese bloggers.

Personal: Birmingham News story on 90 year old singer Claude Jeter and the American Gospel Quartet Convention in Birmingham-Spencer travelled from California to take Jeter down to this event from NY.

So, like the rest of the world, I took a look at the new Mediabistro and Gawker blogs.
Some first reactions, in no particular order:

FishbowlNY: Honey, where is the RSS feed?
And is Washington the new Brooklyn? Or just where exiled media honchos go nonprofit? (Okay, that was mean.)
And what is this UN and US Army stuff anyway? Give us more stuff about Page Six's Paula Froelich--that's what will get clicks on your job ads.

UnBeige: Promising, but still finding its design-y feet.
Lifehacker: Gina T can clearly write, now I want her new tech blog to surprise me. Saucily, as promised.
Gridskipper: Peking, Budapest, Brooklyn, Madrid...yawn. Help me make some travel decisions, awright?

As for the real deal, Jeff Jarvis has the last word:

"But note what Denton has done twice: He got big-time advertisers to sign onto a product that didn't even exist yet. Take it from a guy who started a magazine; that doesn't happen. So why did they do it? Clearly, they wanted to be associated -- branded -- with the next, new, cool thing. Just being the first in equals branding. That is a value of this new medium: its newness."

Papa Denton's at Gawker's got some brand new blogs-- Gina Trapani's Lifehacker (I dig her scribbling.net), focused on technology(download recommendations and content about spam filters, virus killers, spyware, search engines, e-mail applications, Internet phones, and general productivity tips)--sounds like it's going after the boingboing crowd--which would be most of us.
And Gridskipper, an urban travel blog (?) written by Andrew Krukoff, one of those I will read anything he's written NYC guys who've written for both Gawker and Gothamist--and who is a wonderful writer with a good sense of humor.
Oh, and they've got advertisers--Sony Electronics will sponsor Lifehacker, while Cheaptickets will likely sponsor Gridskipper.
And Steve Rubel got quoted.
(Via MediaPost)

Update: Sony's paying $25,000 a month for placements on Lifehacker and Gizmondo, says Ad Age (reg. required.)

In an amazing week of NYTimes media relevance, see today's story about MediaBistro's Elizabeth Spiers and FishBowlNY, the NYC media trade rag she's launching tomorrow via blog.
The Times is pitching it as clash of the titans, with Gawker publisher Nick Denton and former employee Spiers going head to head, but Paid Content may actually be the site from which Spiers snares traffic.
MB may also end up taking some traffic away from other folks--in addition to FishbowlNY, which will be co-written by Spiers and journo/x-movie guy Christian Moerk, there's the talented Jen Bekman's Beige, a design blog, Claire Zulkey's MBToolbox,which sounds like useful writerly stuff, and a slew of local DC and LA blogs, enabling MB to build that all important targeted sales network.

Some Russ guy with no last name is pushing the eBay platform with an offer to give a banner ad on this blog to the highest bigger--the winner will get an ad in a banner position--120 x 90--top right for a month.
(I notice the bidders so far seem to be the same crew who bid on the PeopleSoft team.)
Russell says: "Advertising on blogs is going to be the next big thing, in my opinion. It offers very tight targeting, no wastage and offers the same accountability that has resulted in online advertising growing like crazy in the last few years."

And he wants to go into biz making this happen!

Note: For 5 minutes, I thought this was Russ Beattie--it's not--I apologize for the confusion.
Oh, it's Russell Buckley (thanks, SmartMobs)

Ypulse blogger and programming whiz Anastasia Goodstein is the subject of a nice profile from The San Francisco Chronicle today.
"Ypulse has become a must-read for fans, from Seventeen magazine's editor in chief, Atoosa Rubenstein, and Aaron Cohen, chief executive of teen marketing powerhouse www.bolt.com, to youth ministers and librarians trying to gain insight into youth culture," says the writer--and she's accurate--Anastasia's mix of marketing savvy and insight into non-commercial aspects of kids lives has a special flavor.

Congrats!
(Via Micropersuasion)

For a graphic look at how global warming has melted glaciers and changed the land in Alaska, check out SFGate's story and gallery of global warming shots from the past 100-odd years.
Here's two, from 1899 and 2003. Lots more there.

Elizabeth Grigg's got some observations on the recent Business Blog Summit that have relevance to new conferences and emerging technology seminars beyond this last one. As someone who's planned her share of these events, I've seen the wide variance between the we-drank the Kool-Aid and are preaching to the converted set and the "What the hell is this and it it relevant to me.my business/my life?" consituency --and they are often speaking different languages (in the same room, no less.)
Some Elizabeth G points:

• Conferences like this need to figure out whether they are something for people already in the business to figure out what's latest and greatest, or are they for new people considering business blogs. Everyone in attendance had already taken the red pill. Everyone WAS the red pill.
• People talk about ROI for blogging. The I is investment, presumably time and perhaps bandwidth. This is not the real metric we are interested in. What we're looking for is return on risk. What is the existence of a blog doing for us that makes it worth risking lawsuits, bungled PR, breach of contract, nondisclosure, and various other mishaps. Side note: of course I believe it's worth it, but it's for everyone to measure. ROR seems like a more relevant metric.
• What about career based blogging. A career is a business on an individual scale. This has its own set of how tos. Are you a linker or a thinker? How to get google juice? Title of article: "The Self Centered Blogger" Ahhh, honesty.

Lots more on her site.
(And more on summit takeaways from SeattlePI's Brian Chin here.)

Via Josh Spears and Scoble, the Escape route photo album, a flashdriven, super-cool design showing cities around the world. Check it out--photo values are s good as Nat Geo .

Rojo has been getting some great press of late.
It is a very cool blog aggregator with social networking features.
Want an invite? Email me.

The brilliant Andy Carvin has yet another good idea--create a blog and wiki where folks can write and share about Christo's The Gates, the long-planned NYC art installation.
Andy sez: "This website is an experiment in community art criticism. When Christo's The Gates opens in New York's Central Park in mid-February, the public will be invited to post their comments on the exhibit to this website. You'll be able to post your own blog entries via email as well as by phone. I'll post more information on the idea in the coming weeks."
(Note: there are three photos for " The Gates" on flickr right now, some others tagged with Christo.)

Blog, blog, blog,blog, blog--I am getting sick of this word!
None the less, a very big newspaper has an article about how readers can make $$ from their you know whats.
Highlights--

• Google Adsense
• BlogAds
• Affiliate sales like Linkshare and Amazon
• Schwag a la cafepress
• Tip jar/ donations

(Of course, if you really get into blogging, you will probably end up trying to make money as a blog consultant, author of a book, or paid shill, (okay, hopefully not the last one.)

Anyone want a gmail invite? Leave a note here--I have many at the moment.

The Media Center seminar/conference on "Emerging Technology, Business and Policy for Senior Executives" on February 8-10th is coming up fast. Working on this has been part of my fellowship, and there are numerous insightful people coming to share ideas and experiences,
The questions the seminar will focus on are as follows:

• 'What trends and market disruptions are emerging that will change today's economic models and alter the digital-media consumer experience?
• How can established companies look ahead and evaluate these developments...are they opportunities or threats?
• And how do new tools, services and copyright paradigms reposition the business and social landscape? '

It's a small conference--and expensive--but a great crash course for someone looking for immersion in current issues and bright ideas from innovators.
Post event, there will be write-ups and more info from the conference and notes on Morph, the Media Center blog.