this is a great thread. Excelent post and advice and I love it.
Greenguy did in fact start the first blog i've ever seen, daily updated personal entries dating back to 2000. I've always loved that about his site. I'm sure the surfers do too.
I disagree that a link farm, affiliate farm, etc cannot work. But they wont work as well as a good hybrid site that includes these types of things and much, much more to go with it. I concur that if you just want to blast a ton of links somewhere using a blog script can make it a simpler process but less rewarding, i believe, than if you'd done it another way.
ultimately i like to think of MY blog as a type of news channel, or a talk radio show. What is boogie looking at and viewing and doing today. If people like me, or my sites, they might like what i like as well. right?
each page and each entry is designed to bring some personality to the page so it doesnt look like, well, every other site out there.
I believe that was the heart of your post and I hope that all people adopt that philosophy when blogging.