While they haven’t come out and said it the main consensus seems to be that Google may have another way to get a leg up on the news and on the linking infrastructure which it relies on.
With weblogs it can get near instant updates on events, the blogosphere is it’s own ecosystem for the internet. Even people at MIT study it to see how it affects the Internet. On the flip side, many think it is a passing fad.
Whichever the case, blogs have changed the way many people see the Internet. Google would gain instant access to one of the largest databases of blogs, to their links and their data.
It’s another way to make their search more powerful and remain ahead of the game.