Dave Sifry is an American software entrepreneur and blogosphere icon known for founding Technorati, formerly a leading blog search engine. He also lectures widely on wireless technology and policy, weblogs, and open source software... (wikipedia)
Hyper-linking is a form of etiquette. It's a way of tapping someone on the shoulder with a sign of respect.
At that rate, it is literally impossible to read everything that is relevant to an issue or subject. A new challenge has presented itself--how to make sense out of this monstrous conversation, and how to find the most interesting and authoritative information out there.
Anything that helps enhance democracy to give average people a voice is a noble and good use of technology.