I think I must have missed something. This doesn't seem like a new idea at all. The existing methods are described as either RSS or one giant site (ala Facebo

I think I must have missed something. This doesn't seem like a new idea at all. The existing methods are described as either RSS or one giant site (ala Facebook) and the solution is described as a giant news aggregator (with some social based filtering) coupled with each community site integrating OpenID.