Google has got it down.  To verify to google that you're the owner of a web site so that you can view stats and do whatever, you either put a special META tag into your index page, or you upload a special file that is something like 239409f0jijf2sdf8.html.  They assume that if you can upload files or make changes, then you must be the person you claim to be.

So I started signing up with Technorati, so I could do cool things like have them tell me how much money my blog is worth ($100?  $200?).  But in order to complete the process they want my blog user name and password?   I don't think so. I don't care what kind of privacy policy you have.  Although I suppose I could always change it right after I claim it (would that then lock me out of anything on technorati?).  So I left in a huff. 

What kind of name is technorati anyway?  It's amazing what we get used to.  Yahoo?  Google?  If I had an awesome "can't lose" product and I had to create a company for it, I'd name it Schmigeggy, just to see if it would become a household name.   "I was impressed to see my site listed on page 1 on Schmigeggy for a query on widgets."