You can't aggregate what isn't there

Earthlink joins the hordes trying to do local via aggregation, in this case using Topix and Google. Both are fine services, but can only deliver the volume and relevance freely available online. And locally — where most people live and spend their money — it just ain’t there.

That’s why any successful local play has to be a hybrid of original content and aggregation.

Mike Orren is the Chief Product Officer of The Dallas Morning News; President of Belo Business Intelligence; husband to Crystal Orren; and a Mungarian at Munger Place Church in Dallas, TX. All opinions herein are mine alone.