The community is very important. But there's something to be said for the ability to filter properly - there was a blog post on HN recently discussing how aggregate sites end up with the lowest common denominator. What ends up on the first page is only a small % of the submissions that are actually interesting. I probably miss half of the stories that I would like just because they fall off before I even see them.
The question is, how do you figure out what's interesting to who? Joel is attempting to answer this for himself. A site that could answer it for everyone while still somehow maintaining social bonds would do very well I think.
I have been working at it with http://hubski.com. In short, you choose people to filter content for you based on what they post, and what they share. You in turn choose what to pass on to those who follow you. It's been working pretty well.
I'm still working on recommendations. There are suggestions once you follow someone. It's a good way to get started, but the best way to get good content is to hand pick folk based on what they have shared.
The question is, how do you figure out what's interesting to who? Joel is attempting to answer this for himself. A site that could answer it for everyone while still somehow maintaining social bonds would do very well I think.