DEMO.com The blogosphere as echo chamber

DEMO.com The blogosphere as echo chamber: "Chris Shipley

The economics of starting up have changed dramatically. Today a plethora of Web services, open-source platforms and open affiliate and advertising partners can lower the cost of creating a Web-centric business and leverage others' efforts to take that business to market.


These economics have spawned thousands of new companies around the globe, and turned up the volume in the innovation ecosystem to deafening levels. Keeping track and pace with these new companies is a full-time job, one taken on by dozens of bloggers who have set up shop to act as 'early warning systems' for each new wave of so-called Web 2.0 companies. You see, the economics of media have also changed, and dramatically. Now, anyone with a bit of time and minimal technical patience can opine endlessly about the technology market – or any other topic, for that matter.

Like many of you, I follow the technology blogs. Some of them are quite good. Others are link factories that crank up the noise but deliver little additive value. Never was this clearer than during the 48-hour Google/YouTube rumor-fest prior to the official announcement of the acquisition (and one wonders how blogosphere rumor-mongering accelerated negotiations and drove the announcement timelines)."