I guess we'll have to respectfully agree to disagree.
Any site that makes a linking determination purely on the basis of
where a site is in ANY index or what that site's PageRank is or
whatever... clearly is not aiming to serve its users well.  It's like
saying "I'm only going to recommend this restaurant to my friends if
it's already popular, listed in the NY Times" and so on.

Surely there is some feedback loop, that's undeniable, and that's human
nature.  But to suggest that the only way to get noticed and get links
is to be already popular... well, that's discounting the vast number of
Mom 'n' Pop sites (info, commerce, etc.) who have garnered attention
and cash by doing amazingly un-radical (and fully appropriate) things
in the promotional world.

Sell widgets?  Post thoughtful, helpful comments on blogs that talk
about the care of widgets, traveling to see widgets, widget
troubleshooting, etc.  Be a part of the online community.  Get out into
the "real world," too, speaking at tradeshows, volunteering some time
with pro-bono assistance, whatever... but get out there.  IMHO, any
site that *depends* solely upon search engines for publicity and
traffic is just asking for trouble.  That's like a brick-and-mortar
company saying, "Well, we put up a sign by our shop.  Can't we just sit
and wait for the phone calls to come in?!"

The days of getting tons of search traffic just by putting up a site
are (thankfully) long-gone.  If you don't make an effort to engage
others or -- worse -- simply put up a flashy (or contrastingly
boring-as-heck) Web site that's an island unto itself, why SHOULD
others care, much less visit?

I think there is certainly content that Google can do a better job
indexing and listing.  And indeed, a core part of my job AND passion is
to make things easier for smaller (good) sites to get seen. But in the
meantime, I can only shake my head when people suggest that there are
no productive, within-Webmaster-Guideline ways to garner awareness and
traffic.  It's just not so.

Forgive my toughlove today, but whether you take it as a kick in the
pants or as a sign that -- on this gray Sunday afternoon -- I really
feel passionately about the potential for smaller sites in Google,
well, that's up to you.

Regards,
Adam