Let's face it. This isn't 1985.
Most magazines are getting smaller. Newspapers are having more-than-serious financial issues and so are TV networks.
This isn't the first wholesale change in our every day habits that the Internet has created. It's one of many, and somehow everyone is blaming Google.
We're probably only a few short years away from 'regular people' adopting broadband for TV viewing .... and mobile is another story altogether. It's still in it's infancy.
It's an all-out fight for your eyeballs! ... and it's on, in a big way, right now.
While habits are hard to break, people are exploring the 'net more than ever. They're changing their reading habits ... and even their daily routines. With the economy still a wholesale mess, many are busier (working?) and many simply want a quick 'daily take' when they get online.
The problem for marketers, advertisers and anyone else that want YOU to see them is that instead of 5 or 50 'channels', the are now literally millions.
The idea of micropayments, or charging you for exclusive access, isn't the answer despite ongoing pronouncements from CEOs saying "We're going to start charging for web content soon".
In most cases they wont.
Huge websites are being challenged every day but some brilliant bloggers. It's been going on for a long time .. but nobody complained until ad budgets were cut deeply during the so-called recession.
Aggregators like AllTop, PopUrls, TechMeMe and many others featured here over the last few years aren't 'stealing' content.
They're delivering visitors.
If you did your SEO homework (or read the instructions on how to get included in Google News?!), there's simply no reason to blame Google.
Imagine an Internet right now without search engines. It could be a vast wasteland. Think about it.
So instead of playing the blame game or dreaming about micropayments, maybe it's a good idea to get a better understanding of SEO, PPC, Social Networking and more importantly, welcoming your inclusion on aggregators ....
.... before you're extinct.
Just my two cents.
Charlie