alternative news management sites, worth the effort?
wheels: You don't want to end up in a pissing match in a dominant market unless you've got something that will truly differentiate you up your sleeve.  This isn't to say that you couldn't compete, but even in your best case scenario, you've captured part of a market that is heading towards being a commodity.  Sure there are lots of IM programs out there.  How many of them do you think generate revenue of interest?Maybe consider open sourcing it so that folks can build their own friendfeed-ish sites.