I just read Nat's blog entry about Why Yahoo and Google Still Don't Get It. First, I must say that Yahoogle is the best word I've seen since Orkwhore.

What is Flickr anyway? It seems everyone is talking about it lately. I even see people talking about Flash again (and not in a derogatory manner). Maybe it is something I should consider using instead of Gallery, since I have some pictures of OSCON and my trip to Italy that I want to post. At first glance, it looks like a slightly better Ofoto, but there must be something more.

I would poke around a bit more and find out, but the registration page currently tells me:

Flickr is currently closed.

I also thought Nat made an interesting point about the influence of blogs, at least those of people he calls alpha geeks and influencers:

I see the world working like this: Tech reporters and widely-read people like Tim watch alpha geeks to figure out what's new and important. The general public learn from their alpha geeks and from tech reporters. So if you (generic firm) can't get the alpha geeks talking about your product, you face an uphill battle to get the general public aware of it and using it.

I wonder how closely that resembles how the world really operates. I certainly agree that the blogs of alpha geeks and influencers are collectively the best research tool for any tech reporter, but I wonder whether there are really that many who realize this.