Not to sound too pedantic, but meme's are a viral & integral element within the Blogosphere (see, that wasn't too bombastic).
One of the contentions I receive on a regular basis regarding independent blogging (as in, you start up your own blog without nanny to hold your hand like LiveJournal or BlogSpot) is community, and more importantly, a community based around common ideas.
LiveJournal has that ability and Google can now sort of do that (one of the theories behind the Blogger buyout was that it would give Google News the ability to stay at the bleeding-edge of news and trends).
Another group getting in on the action is BlogPulse. They're powered by Inteliseek, one of those innovative dotcom's that mines data for specific purposes (as opposed to just indexing the entire web mindlessly).
BlogPulse is still in beta but is usable and gives viewers a rough idea of some of the common and popular topics bloggers discuss (I would have hated to see what they looked like when Britney Spears or Enrique Iglesias or Las Ketchup first hit the scene).
I didn't see any information as to how they go about their indexing or where they cull their data from (just random blogs). It's hard for me to believe though, that out of 30,000 blogs they claim to crawl through each day, they only find about 100 matches for the 'hottest' topics. I visit on average, 30-40 blogs alone each day and many of them discuss the same things (like Gnomedex or syndication or how to please your significant other). Just looking at the cliques alone (like TechTV or LockerGnome) many pen similar conjecture and musings. At the same time though, blogging as a whole is still negligible compared to "normal" sites.
I'll keep you posted on how BlogPulse unfolds.
Posted by Tim at April 18, 2003 08:42 PM | TrackBackBlogPulse isn't the only one. There's also Daypop Top Word Bursts. Both tools work based on text. There are also quite a few based on links.
I'm impressed with your buttons (and what they link to). First time I've seen a BlogShares button in antipixel style.
Posted by: Michael Fagan at April 18, 2003 09:41 PMGood point and thanks for the links - your summation regarding RSS was simple and to the point (expect some linkage action shortly).
Posted by: Tim at April 18, 2003 11:53 PM