• by Shankar Gupta , November 18, 2005

Is it possible that we could one day soon be reading posts about porn for the video iPod from Fleshbot.com via Yahoo?

Not that we read Fleshbot.com, of course. And if we did, it would only be for the posts. But be that as it may, the recent deal between blogger baron Nick Denton and Yahoo! that syndicates Gawker Media's blogs Gawker, Wonkette, Gizmodo, Defamer, and Lifehacker on the Yahoo! News page will give the portal some edge in the content race, but is it the kind of edge that will do it any good?

Yahoo's a great place to check your stocks, get directions, or do some shopping, and it's built a respectable stable of content--streaming video, news, and the like. But just because "content is king," doesn't necessarily mean that big portals are the place for blogs like Wonkette, which used (how can we put this delicately), a particular profane description for a nontraditional sex act as a running gag seven times in August.

Part of the appeal of portals like Yahoo! is that they're very broad--everyone can use a few news headlines, or a look at the day's weather. Denton's stable, on the other hand, is far more focused: Not only does one have to be intensely interested in Tom Cruise's crusade for Scientology to be interested in Defamer, one also has to be fascinated by Craigslist ads for--we kid you not--roles in a porn film starring a former cast member from MTV's "Real World." Open casting call, for those with interest piqued.

We wish Yahoo! luck with its play for an edgy edge over other portals' blog offerings--AOL's purchase of Jason Calacanis' Weblogs network was bold, but not nearly as bold as putting headlines like "'Desperate Housewives' Alleged Junk-Dangler Speaks!" on the news page of an ostensibly all-ages portal.