Who are good examples of current leaders among the New Media Tastemakers? Here's a small sample list:

• LX.TV
• Slashfood
• Turnhere
• Chow.com
• YumSugar
• Eater.com
• Zagats
• Winelibrary.TV
• SeriousEats.com
• Gayot.com
• Like.com
• Gothamist.com
• Gridskipper
• Fashiontribes.com
• Hulu
• Joost
• Veoh
• Tablehopper
• Off the Broiler
• Chocolate & Zucchini
• 101 Cookbooks
• Dessert First
• Food Porn Watch
• Becks & Posh
• Cool Hunting
• Candy Addict.com
• Tastespotting
• Stylehive

... and we when say that this is a "short list," we mean that was very, very short. The combined readership of these content creators and distributors is estimated to vastly outnumber any of the established traditional media outlets covering the same topics. And their impact on sales, trends, and awareness is much more immediate.

Still, when money and revenue are required for continued viability, even if what you do is an all-consuming hobby, the question currently being bandied about is, "What's really in store for these new influencers? Can they survive, can they thrive, or are they just a flash in the pan?" These are not simple questions. As pioneers in the lifestyle segments, the issues, challenges, revenue opportunities, and business models facing these trendsetters are unique, and very little media coverage on new media has examined them or provided either answers or clues.

To address these issues, a New Media Tastemakers Summit on New Media and Video 2.0 has been announced for May 2, 2008 in San Francisco. It will be a first-of-its-kind gathering of some of the most important digital media, traditional media, online video, and Web 2.0 producers, platforms, and startups specifically focused on the lucrative and highly influential lifestyle categories of: food and wine, fashion and design, and regional/city sites.

Will a consensus be reached? Unlikely, but a lot of networking, information sharing, and idea swapping could lead to one eventually. For the New Media Tastemakers, the race may have just begun.