Here’s part 1 of a list of trends I saw gaining momentum in 2005 that I see growing even more important in 2006. Part 2: Synchronization and Local Store

This started out as a list of technological trends, with RSS, Ajax, and Ruby on Rails being the headlines, as all three had huge years in terms of implementation and being squacked about. But these things, while interesting, aren’t really trends in the way that people are using the Web. Instead, they’re trends in building. Nothing illustrates the disparity between technology and usage more than the what Yahoo had to say in their October whitepaper: RSS-Crossing into the Mainstream. They claim that while over 1/4 of all Web users consume RSS in one way or another, only 4% know it.

So, in the spirit of usage I offer the following trends, focused on the way that those in the curve use the Web. Those ahead of the curve are probably on to whatever will get mainstream next year…

Continue Reading: Trends to Watch in 2006

As any blog grows, so do the demands on its writer’s time. An increased audience means increased attention, both positive and negative. Requests to look at this new product or write about that new company begin to come in just about the time when you’ve gotten into a groove writing, when your audience is becoming familiar with you and you them. In other words, at the point when you most clearly see that your audience really doesn’t want another product pitch.

Being a part of the Web20Workgroup has been a boon to Bokardo, and presumably, to the rest of its members. It meant an immediate increase in readership. And it meant a closer relationship with other bloggers who are firing off some of the best blog posts out there. The recent additions of Robert Scoble, Steve Rubel, and Stowe Boyd demonstrate that the Workgroup is attracting some of the most-read bloggers on the Web.

Continue Reading: Parcelling Out Attention: Handling Requests for Product Placements on your Blog

Seth writes a fantastic post detailing his thoughts about self-promotion on blogs. This is blogging at its best, folks, when you ask important questions honestly, and earnestly.

Promotion, self-promotion and [insert ad here]

Joe Reger, with whom Alex Barnett and I did a podcast last week, and Phil Pearson, both take me to task for omissions in my article on Structured Blogging.

Joe points out that I completely missed one of the major reasons to datablog: personal data mining. For example, let’s say you’re a runner. Joe’s software will allows people who run to input things like running times and graph those times over the course of a month or year. You can quickly and easily monitor your progress (or lack of it). This personal value has little to do with the value to the network that I was talking about….

Continue Reading: Learning More about Structured Blogging

I use the term “Web 2.0” because:

1. it is easier than saying “all the lessons we’ve learned so far about what works on the web that you should be paying attention to”.
2. it signals we’re talking about the Web and newness and something being different than it was before
3. it’s easy and fast to say and use, and can be used by marketing people, software people, VCs, whomever
4. I’m a writer. So it is in my best interest to use terms that people use, and people use the term “Web 2.0”

But if someone doesn’t want to use that term, if they’re somehow offended, if they think it’s an attempt at self-promotion, or to ride some hype wave into prominence, then fine, I’ll use whatever term they want to use.

…as long as we understand each other.

Continue Reading: Why I Use the Term “Web 2.0”

David Newberger recently interviewed me about blogging. He published it this morning.

Here’s the interview: 10 Questions with Joshua Porter

I feel like I’m in pretty good company. David recently interviewed Robert Scoble and Doc Searls…

And by the way, it was the first time that I had used Writely other than to kick the tires. I’m really impressed with it as a collaboration tool. The auto-save feature made me smile…

Part 2 of the podcast Alex Barnett and I had with Marc Canter and Joe Reger is now available. In it, Marc Canter riffs about OPML, the Compatibility Box approach, and calls Structured Blogging the “next era of blogging”.

• Part 1 mp3 and Notes
• Part 2 (13:26 – 12.3MB mp3)

Continue Reading: Structured Blogging Podcast with Marc Canter and Joe Reger, Part 2

Alex Barnett and I have done another podcast, this time about Structured Blogging. Alex has the first part up on his site, along with great notes:

Structured Blogging podcast with Marc Canter and Joe Reger

This was fun. Marc and Joe are great guys to talk to, both very articulate and smart. They’re hugely optimistic about structured blogging, and by listening to them at least some of that optimism is bound to rub off on you, too.

Continue Reading: Structured Blogging Podcast with Marc Canter and Joe Reger

This Meeblog post is indicative of the genuine human voice that startup companies have. I love it. You won’t find this voice in companies over a year or two old. They’ve usually found that they’re the center of the world by then, and so they don’t expose their indecision with such openness and questioning as Sandy does in this post.

For those unfamiliar with Meebo, it’s a tool that allows folks to connect to their favorite chat programs indirectly through the site, allowing you to bypass the many firewalls that block chat programs and having it all on one screen. TechCrunch recently reported on their rediculous growth.

Makes you want to root for Meebo, doesn’t it?