"TimesSelect represented the last gasp of the circulation mentality of news media," says Jarvis, "the belief that surely consumers would continue to pay for content even as the internet commodified news and -- more important -- even as the internet revealed that the real value in media is not owning and controlling content or distribution but enabling conversation."

I think real value is in weaving yourself into the Web. "Conversation" is blogger's shorthand for that larger idea.