In the Weekend WSJ article, "The Wizards of Buzz," Newsvine's Pamela Drew and Killfile were listed among the top 20 Tastemakers, each leading their respective categories for "Social Issues" and "Breaking News."

A new generation of hidden influencers is taking root online, fueled by a growing love affair among Web sites with lettin gusers vote on their favorite submissions. These sites are the next wave in the social-networking craze--popularized by MySpace and Facebook. DIgg is one of the most prominent of these sites, which are variously labeled social bookmarking or social news. Others include Reddit.com (recently purchased by Conde Nast), Del.icio.us (bought by Yahoo), Newsvine.com and StumbleUpon.com. Netscape relaunched last June with a similar format.

The article, which is subcriber-limited online, goes on to describe the commonalities of the sites, their value to advertisers in identifying "tastemakers" that generate early buzz for products. It also discusses some of the risks, including payola schemes, cartel-like behavior such as recently alleged at DIgg, and the question of whether these sites really influence decision-making or provide a genuine information product of value beyond the social networking to their users.