The Wall Street Journal does a nice write up on Mike Arrington today, examining the history, the motivations, and the ambitions of the biggest cheerleader for the Web2.0. For bloggers out there who are drooling with envy interested in how TechCrunch became the biggest gorrilla on the blogospheric block, its wise to note that he did so by actually making connections, and helping his connections:

Then, at one of Mr. Arrington’s parties, Mr. Rheingold met a Forbes reporter who wrote about Dogster for the magazine. At another Arrington party, he met Joe Hurd, an executive with start-up VideoEgg Inc. The meeting led to a distribution partnership between VideoEgg and Dogster. These days, “between any two companies in Silicon Valley, there’s probably a path to them through Arrington,” Mr. Hurd says.

The biggest thing I took away from the interview, as I harped on yesterday, was how connected he is — and how that connectedness is reflected both in the nature of blogging, and the content that he blogs about.

The article also doens’t shy away from the current controversy around how the connectedness may interfere with what is usually expected out of journalists – perhaps recognizing that Mr. Arrington doesn’t quite fit that role:

But Mr. Arrington’s do-it-all approach sometimes puts him in unusual — and potentially compromising — positions. The blogger, who once dated a Miss Universe contestant from Denmark, tries to break tech news the way newspapers do, but he also reviews new Web sites and services. And he has advised companies he has written about, accepted paid advertising from them, and still gets money from some of them to sponsor his parties, and even invests in them. (Last month, for instance, he bought a stake in Dogster).

Why its important that everyone know that he dated a Miss Universe contestant is unclear. What is clear is how the article discusses how Mr. Arrington is viewed as a powerbroker of sorts, with the blog being an extension of that. But because he’s gotten as large as he has, and by extension TechCrunch, controversy seems to follow.

The article does a fine job in extolling the juice TechCrunch has, and what it means to be “Crunched”.

But what I would have liked to see is a discussion of the checks and balances with regards to TechCrunch, and the real lack thereof. While TechCrunch provides a valuable service, because of its deliberate club-like mentality, its unapologetically arbitrary opinions, and its “happily-in-bed” with several of the startups TechCrunch reviews, I began to wonder again, where are the TechCrunch competitors?

Put another way, is there a voice in the blogosphere — or is there a collective voice — strong enough to provide dissenting opinions?

Or, to give the un-Crunched masses a voice?

I’m not sure if there is — or will be.

And I think the reason goes back to the WSJ article — TechCrunch is a blog, but its far more than that. Its Mike Arrington writ large in the blogosphere, and an extension of what he does in “real life” — broker connections between real people.

While TechCrunch today has achieved the critical mass it has as a blog, and yes, being “Crunched” results in thousands of pagehits and recognition that can turn into real dollars (i.e. VC funding), the real power behind the blog is in the man himself – and how it got started in the first place.

Mike Arrington, like Om Malik, Thomas Hawk, Robert Scoble and others, are all bloggers, but serve another role out of the blogosphere that cannot be ignored — that of connectors.

They connect information about start ups to the unwashed masses (you and me), but also between startups and what they need — whether it be funding, exposure, people, and probably even capital, through the connections they know and have developed.

Jason Calacanis has given us the recipe for being an A-list blogger: [Courtey of Triss Hussey, Tucows blog]

Be an A-list blogger:

1. Go to Techememe
2. Blog something intelligent about the top story of the day
3. Link to and mention all the people who have said something intelligent
4. Repeat for 30 days
5. Go to a couple conferences a month
6. You’re an A-list blogger.

Inspite of Mr. Calacanis’s Promethean feelings of reassurance that the A-list is within everyone’s reach, I would argue that there’s an a-list and there is an A-list (I would almost qualify as an A-list blogger — come on!)
To be a blogger of a certain A-list status, its more than just punditry and opinion (like yours truly) — you’ve actually got to be active within the community, and it sounds like, be of some real use. Its not for everyone. But then again, there can really only be so many real “A-list” bloggers because there are so many bloggers who serve this function in the Valley.

Mike Arrington might be a royal Ass to some, and Saviour to others.

Some might even ask “where’s the competition?”

I think the reality is that Mr. Arrington serves a real purpose in real life, making real connections both in and out of the blogosphere — and, like it or lump it, that’s why TechCrunch is where it is today.

Not just any blogger can step up to the plate and be that check or balance to TechCrunch — or potentially unseat the currentl web2.0 high priest. It will take another powerbroker (or, powerbrokers) to offer a credible blogging alternative. But until that time, Mr. Arrington will probably continue his reign on top of the bubble.

Well … until it pops that is.