Everyone is buzzing (on TechMeme) about the TechMeme leaderboard. The leaderboard is basically a listing of who has the most share of voice on TechMeme. TechMeme, if you don’t know, pulls together technology publications and links the stories they cover together to show you what’s being talked about.

Frankly, three or four years ago this would be interesting. Today? Well, who cares that TechCrunch, Engadget, and the New York Times–we know those are the biggest/most important voices in the space. Frankly, I’m finding the conversations in the tech blogosphere so circular, insular, and–frankly–inane that TechMeme is less and less important to me.

Is Apple screwing up by not opening up the iPhone? Yes.

Do I need 50 different people’s opinion on that? No.

I don’t think is TechMeme’s fault, but I do think that the tail has started wagging the dog and this new leaderboard will make it get event worse. Why? People’s writing is based on how to get on TechMeme today. As people write based on TechMeme’s topics the conversation spirals into itself. Sometimes I’ll open 20 different posts around the same thread and realize that only one or two people out of 20 actually have anything to say.