1.

But I wished for more. I wanted Salon to open up to amateur authors. This made sense to me, because more than any other publication, Salon was "of" the Web, not of print. The value of a publication like Salon is its reputation, which can direct attention to people with something to say, even people who write for love, not money. Salon's editors could play different roles, scouts, curators, editors, and promoters of talent. New businesses could be spawned from the new weblogs, and therein, imho, lies the elusive business model for the Web.

2.

As a recent NY Times article pointed out, Wall Street may have fallen out of love with the Web, but Main Street hasn't. Perhaps Silicon Valley can't compete with Wal-Mart and USA Today; but Joe's Motor Shop can be enhanced by having a nice weblog to communicate with their customers and other people in their community. Joe can be an expert in his domain, a weblog helps him share what he knows, and builds his reputation. That translates into more business and more profits. It's not hard to see how new businesses will start. I've written about this at length over quite a few years.