] When they plotted the links and topics shared by various
] sites, they discovered that topics would often appear on
] a few relatively unknown blogs days before they appeared
] on more popular sites.
]
] "What we're finding is that the important people on the
] Web are not necessarily the people with the most explicit
] links (back to their sites), but the people who cause
] epidemics in blog networks," said researcher Eytan Adar.
]
] These infectious people can be hard to find because they
] do not always receive attribution for being the first to
] point to an interesting idea or news item.

Different people are good at different things. Not everyone who has good ideas wants direct attention. This is one of the many elements of group think that systems like MemeStreams can be used to tap into.

There are ways present to drastically increase intellectual production capability by using Information Technology to route and filter information between individuals.

Its not nearly as simple as some people being particularly good filters or explorers. Without context, its all crap.

HP tracking the spread of memes through the blogosphere