Web-based aggregation network Rojo came out of Beta today. Been playing with a preview version and have to say it’s a nice re-design and a simpler way to share while reading. In effect, they are trying to blur the line between blog writer and reader — emphasizing a social network of readers that tag and share.

Therein lies the strength and weakness, as it is trying to be many things to many people. Some bloggers will note that they engage openly in the same activities as readers in the course of writing and linking — contrast with blogging and del.icio.us as more open infrastructure.. Some readers still view it as a entirely private activity. On the other hand, Rojo may introduce more people to sharing on the web — just as social networking did get more people to express at least a facet of their identity and Flickr for photo sharing.

Wherein lies the threat and opportunity. The threat is that more accessible models from an ecosystem of tools may gain faster traction. The opportunity is that this is a well implmented tool that is a great fit for distribution by established media companies. The prospect for a branded aggregator with modest viral atrtributes to engage readers with purposeful sharing activities while accreting metadata is pretty interesting.