Wow! Information overload. For someone who tends to be a browser rather than a person who has a targeted need/desire for information, this is just overwhelming. The tool is certainly a good one for finding out what's out there but gosh... just how much info can one take?
The Top 100 idea is interesting. I wonder if it tends to lead to conformity, following "news" fashion trends.
I explored Boing, Boing based on it being the top blog. It was pretty amusing although I don't see myself having the time or inclination to read it on a daily basis.
Tagging - the upside is clearly that the power to categorize something is left to individuals rather than some potentially too academic authority. On the other hand, letting subjects be deemed by individuals certainly has the potential to muddy the water and allow related topics to be missed due to inaccurate linking.
There are certainly some educational applications for this (assuming the district allowed access to blog sites) but there's a lot of work to be done with students to help them evaluate sources for bias and accuracy. Even more so than with websites, I think, since blogs tend to be so personal and informal. However, given that this is the world they'll live in, we need to be helping them to navigate it using good critical thinking techniques.
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