Mark Cuban writes;

Whats a splog ? A splog is any blog whose creator doesnt add any written value. Im sure some might argue that packaging data , such as news feeds or the blog posts of others is added value. I dont think it is. After all, thats why there are topics and indexes. If I want information about the Dallas Mavericks, I can search for it, optimize it, and save it. Because indexes are based on freshness, my searches are automatically updated, freshest data first, as new posts are introduced.

Gotta disagree with him there, in particular where he says “A splog is any blog whose creator doesnt add any written value”, as that would include useful aggregators such as Planet Web 2.0. With these aggregators, value is added not just by content, but also by the aggregation itself. For example, while it’s true that, today, a subscription to Planet Web 2.0 will provide me the same content as if I’d just subscribed to the individual feeds it’s subscribed too, I get something else by subscribing to the aggregate; I’m buying into Ian‘s view of the Web 2.0 world for perpetuity, including the removal of feeds he feels are no longer relevant, as well as new ones he finds that he feels are relevant (temporally varying membership function anyone? 8-).

Search helps too, as Mark correctly points out. I’m subscribed to a number of Technorati/Bloglines searches. But there’s a lot of noise there which doesn’t make them a viable solution in the general case, IMO.

My time is valuable. If I can use the trust I have for Ian’s opinions to turn an O(N) integration complexity problem into an O(1) one, I’m so there.

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