The Long Tail or Local Community Building

Earlier this week I went to the launch party for 30threads.com . I now feel so dot commy. I have been to a real launch party.

30threads.com is as sight that aggregates local blogs for the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. Most people see the RTP as meaning Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. As a nod to the spirit of 30threads I will suggest maybe it is also Hillsborough, Morrisville and Lizard Lick.

At any rate, the premise behind 30threads fits with some reading I had been doing over at Kevin Kelly's Technium site. His post on Wagging the Long Tail says that there is no money to be made in the end of the Long Tail by the creators of the content. He suggests that the only money to be made is by aggregators of Long Tail content.

I think you would have to count 30threads as a Long Tail member of the Long Tail aggregators. With such a narrow focus - local content - I really don't see them as a money maker. But they do appear to be a good attempt at a community builder. And I think they do add value and exposure to the blogs they cover. They will probably help these blogs be found by more people.

Would your community benefit from this type of community building? Who would do it? This one is more or less done with the backing of a local television station. I think the tie in is good. I also think not pushing the tie in creates more credibility.

I think every community would benefit from a similar local content aggregation. And, if I were a local business I would definitely start a blog to be part of this type of aggregation.