Technorati and Associated Press

Technorati – that tagging juggernaut (can I still use that word?) – have done a deal with AP.

Technorati and the Associated Press this morning initiated a service to connect bloggers to more than 440 AP member newspapers nationwide. When readers visit an AP member Web site that uses AP Hosted Custom News, they will see a module featuring the “Top Five Most Blogged About” AP articles right next to the article text, dynamically powered by Technorati. Additionally, when readers click on an AP article, Technorati will deliver “Who’s Blogging About” that article. Now, if you have commentary about an AP story, you can get mentioned in that module simply by linking to that AP news URL, akin to what you can do with Washington Post articles, Newsweek articles, Der Spiegel articles, and a host of other media partners that currently work with Technorati.
We’re delighted to be working with the AP and thrilled that blogger voices will now be heard in several hundred local on-line news organizations across the USA. I believe that this is a deep validation of the power of citizen media and how each person is gaining more power – power to have their opinions and thoughts heard, in a truly democratic process.

Peter Hirshberg says it all, really, here. Wonder what that will do to services like BlogBurst hmm?

What is BlogBurst?
BlogBurst is a syndication service that places your blog content on top-tier online destinations. You get visibility, audience reach and increased traffic, while publishers get a wide range of new coverage to broaden their reach and increase page views.
How does it work?
Once you’re accepted into the BlogBurst network, just keep blogging as usual. Then, each time one of our publishers picks up your content, you’ll reach a whole new audience — and your byline link will drive traffic to your blog.

To streamline the content selection process, the BlogBurst editorial staff also identifies and pre-packages preferred blogs and posts in prepared channels called BurstWires for popular topics.

What do bloggers get out of this?
Visibility and exposure on major news and portal sites
Traffic through attribution and links back to your blog
Performance based compensation (after our beta period)
Authority and credibility within your topic area
New readers who wouldn’t normally find out about your blog

What is the plan to share the wealth?
We fully intend to have a compensation track for contributing bloggers in our system, just like we intend to have our publishers pay for access to the content. As is common practice, no money is changing hands in either direction during our beta period. Once we prove the value and economics of the system, we’ll roll out the compensation model for bloggers and pricing for publishers.

I like Technorati’s model. It uses GoogleEconomies of Scale. Or I’m assuming that Technorati is using trackbacks to show most popular. So egalitarian. And we on the ‘net do so like egalitarian. I’ve tried to join BlogBurst, to have a closer look at how it works – not accepted yet. But I think it’s dynamic so you probably don’t do anything but fill in a profile. But still, I don’t like BlogBurst as much as the Technorati deal. Traditional media values choosing our blogs for us? A ‘promise’ of sharing the wealth at an un named date in the future? Why not use an AdSense model or something?In fact that’s probably what Technorati will do – click thrus on an AP site for most popular blogs… or something. I have to think about it a bit more – any ideas out there, my dears?

Technorati Tags: Online Communities, Technorati, BlogBurst, Peter Hirshberg