Brandon.D.Rhodes

Great work... W2 also brings power to the fringes. It gives strength to those "cultural creatives" on the periphery, and so enables those marginalized by those traditionally holding the reigns of public discourse. It's also interesting how W2 is, to borrow from Malcolm Gladwell, a sort of "maven magnet" -- an aspect of your language of "affinity" that could be drawn out further in future writings. This is excellent for hive-thinking innovative solutions to problems, for reinforcing said affinity, and for girding up identity. But it also can atomize thought, values, and skills. An example: if you lock all the doctors and medical scientists of the world into a room, they may indeed find cures to cancer, AIDS, and the cold. But they won't be spreading or cross-pollinating their existing thought, nor will they be providing services to others. To boot: their "loudspeaker" function is muted, as they find themselves in a quiet room. Perhaps that is where sites like Newsvine and Digg can serve a purpose. But I still see too little diversity in their readership to give them more of my time. Still, GREAT thinking. :)