The web is abuzz with the news of the new and improved Technorati. Company founder and CEO David Sifry posted a fairly lengthy introduction to some of the new features on the Technorait Blog. Muhammad Saleem has written a great “get reacquainted” piece for Pronet Advertising that outlines the what and how of some of the new features. And Steve Rubel says that, despite the new version, Technorati as we know it today is on the way out the door.

I’ll be totally honest with you. While I still recommend Technorati to people who are new to the whole idea of blogs and blog reading, I rarely use it for anything myself. In fact… just the other day I was telling someone it was a good way to find blog information… but I couldn’t remember exactly how the site was laid out (so I couldn’t explain to them how to use it).

Other than making me feel a little foolish, that incident made me realize that “live web” search tools like Technorati eventually become a hindrance to people who spend a lot of time digging through the blogosphere. Sure… at first they’re a big help. At first they can help you discover new blogs and find out what everyone is reading.

But at some point the dynamic changes and blog surfers find better ways to get their content. Eventually you build up a good list of “default” sites that you read (or subscribe to) every day. As your network grows, so too does your exposure to new sites. And then you discover tools like Techmeme (or any of the other meme-trackers out there). You learn how to set up alerts in Google or Yahoo. You’re no longer searching for things that have already happened. You’re waiting for them to happen.

Before you know what has happened, the live web is coming AT you… as opposed to you going out to find it.

If my parents were to ask me about this “whole blogging” thing I would send them to Technorati. But I suspect they, too, would eventually “out grow” the usefulness of it all. Coupled with the fact that, while quite modern in appearance, Technorati’s interface is overloaded with way too much stuff… and you’ve got a short-term relationship in the making.

So while part of me is excited about a new version of Technorati to play with and explore (which I’ve already started doing this morning), another part of me knows that I’ll never use it like I once did. I won’t go as far as Rubel and say Technorati is on the way out. Even with Google’s universal search, Technorati has a place. Heck… Google Blog Search is a joke. Let them integrate those lousy results into their index.

But Technorati is a blogosphere beginner’s training wheels. It’s not an end-all, catch-all tool that people simply can’t live without. Eventually the training wheels come off and we control the live web - blogs included - and shape it to our own vision.

Congrats to Technorati on the remake. I’m sure a lot of hard work went into all of the changes and they look great. Here’s to continued growth and success!