Blog Networks: Play Hard, or Don't Play At All

Scrivs has predicted that many blog networks will fail in 2006, and I think he's spot on.

Why Most '2nd Tier' Blog Networks Are Garbage

1. Many new blog networks do not have the necessary funds to pull off a medium-scale project. You need a stash of cash to pay writers through the first six months (before major ad revenues come in and balance out this cost), and it doesn't hurt to have money to throw at good development, design and hosting, too. (Yes, I'm aware that some networks have tried paying writers on a rev-share basis, but this seems to fail time and time again.)
2. Most new blog networks have an identity crisis - they can't tell you what they are (besides a 'blog network'), or what differentiates them. They are, in a word, generic.
3. They aren't putting out content which is useful to the reader. Most of them just re-post regurgitated news without adding much value or commentary.

So, although I do believe that owning content is generally a good investment, it's also apparent that if you don't have the resources to do a blog network right, it's not gonna be a huge success. Not that that surprises anyone!

Who do you think will rise to the top in the 2nd generation blog network race? My money is on FineFools and InstaBlogs. The flip side: who will crash and burn (or just slowly fade into irrelevance)?