For those starting out, and even more savvy bloggers, aggregators such as FF, with phenomenal UI's (which can be used to increase readership in a way that one's silo might not), are megacommunities which are going to be impossible to match. If pioneers, large or small, can harness these real time technologies and beat the big boys, who knows--but these feed / dialogue giants bring compelling dialogue, and are hence highly attractive to a great number of users. - Rob Schieber