Steven Hodson writes:
I get a real kick out of it when people start pontificating on why the tech blogosphere is becoming nothing more than [a] self-fulfilling chamber filled with the dull echos of me-too posting that attach themselves like leeches to the supposed brilliant writings of the blogosphere mucky mucks.
Me too.
Every six months or so, techbloggers reach the joint realization that we're all linking to the same people having the same thoughts about the same subjects. Somebody blames Techmeme, a site that collects the most popular links, and we all link to that guy. The resulting argument shows up on Techmeme. A good time is had by all. Last time around, I said I wanted a Techmeme that pretends the most-linked tech sources don't exist, then looks at what's being linked by everybody else. The top bloggers link to each other constantly. You have to look elsewhere for up-and-coming bloggers who are still working in the sweet spot that lies between obscure and insufferable.
This morning, I'm launching a new site, Meme13, to find those bloggers.
Meme13 mashes together the last 13 sites that made their first appearance on the Techmeme Leaderboard. You can read these sites by visiting Meme13 or subscribing to its feed, which contains the latest entries from all of them.
I've been tracking the leaderboard since Feb. 4. In that time, 175 different sites have made an appearance on the top-100 list. The current Meme13 made their Techmeme debut in the past two weeks:
- Amazon Web Services
- Big Tech
- ProBlogger Blog Tips
- Deep Jive Interests
- Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection
- New Scientist Technology Headlines
- DVLabs
- Blog Maverick
- The Iconoclast
- 9 to 5 Mac
- Futuristic Play
- Web Strategy by Jeremiah
- Coop's Corner
When a new site appears, the oldest Meme13 site drops off. So far, sites have stuck around for approximately two weeks. Over time Meme13 should get better at finding lesser-known sites as its database grows.
Meme13's an XML hack that downloads OPML data using a XOM-based Java application, stores the elements in a MySQL database and uses Planet Planet to publish the feeds as a web site and Atom feed. It's updated hourly and published automatically.
The site needs a lot of work, particularly on the interface, but I figured it was time to loose this experiment upon the world.