I remember when I discovered list view in Google Reader, at the time it was a breakthrough in dealing with RSS.

Now Friendfeed seems really promising in filtering stuff that is on topic, popular and linked up.

I think you are right we need human networks to help filter i.e. it's the sources we pull from in Friendfeed. So our sophistication in choosing sources we trust will become more important in relation to the tools.

Of course if everyone focused more on their purpose and less on being popular (myself included) and created genuine content (like you just have), the realtime web would be richer.

Thanks for provoking thought rather than inciting social excitement.

Dean

P.S. I don't want to sound down on excitement, it can be vital too.

Good stuff. DL Byron & Steve Broback, in their book “Publish & Prosper: Bogging for Your Business,” emphasize the need to ADD to the global conversation, not just repeat it.

That said, being new to Twitter, I guess I don't mind seeing RT's (yet?). They appear to serve as an underscore of the value or importance of a topic for me. At the same time, one hundred percent agree with the need to seek out the interesting, valuable, long-tail nuggets on the roads less traveled.