We brag frequently about being able to build Weblog applications very quickly, and the reason is pretty simple - we use a higly organized hierarchy of XSL transformation models that are rules-based and easily over-ridden for specific custom requirements. We no longer have to ponder the basic elenments that cut across all Weblog application requirements.

This level of agility is achieved through a continual model review (a refactoring and maturity process) to move functionality from custom applications to reuseable classes of XSL transformation rules.

"Weblogs are poised for wider use in the enterprise, particularly with the addition of functions such as subject sorting, sophisticated filtering, and authentication". -- Amy Wohl, editor of Amy D. Wohl's Opinions.

Amy's right about that -- with MyST we take that viewpoint to the extreme. For example, the MyST platform provides extensive support for semantic relationships by using typed associations (part of the information architecture of the MyST platform).

Why is this important? Typed associations don't require a bunch of relational actions - there is no need to "sort" per-se. Instead, the platform offers the ability to "triangulate" semantic relationships at an abstract level. For example, when I share something with you, a trinary relationship is automatically created between me, you, and the content I shared. Using these association objects, we can easily understand who knows what, who shared what, and who finds what interesting.

A company's future, is determined by creativity and innovation, and harnessing the resourcefulness of people to create new knowledge. -- Denham Gray

Imagine a friction-free tool that enables upper management to ask its employees for advice whenever it was needed. Further, consider the power being able to ask specific questions to groups of employees who receive the questions in real-time on the desktops. Then imagine answers flowing back in real-time to management. Imagine the benefits that accrue to this method of gauging employee reaction to management's need for guidance and information.

This concept can be applied to many situations including the search for ideas, a deeper understanding of operational realities, and the development of a genuine listening post. Tools like this must be simple - the question must appear without interrupting the employee, and the answer must be captured without friction.

I've created exactly this tool - talk to me if you find this compelling.

I keep seeing more hype about SOA's and I've already begun to take the concept for granted. In using MySmartChannels I've come to love the fact that the application's federation of components can act as a unified tool like when you log into the public experience application, or it can act as a discrete collection of micro-functionality for specific purposes.

The unified application is handy for users that need process and workflow for dealing with information, whereas the components are very helpful in debugging, quick tasks for power-users, and of course, assembling new applications.

If you're interested in understanding SOA's simply get a MyST account and play with the platform. Give me a shout and I'll walk you through some power-user links that will open your eyes.

"We know that the best coders are far more productive than the norm. Arguably, that variance might lie in the patience, discipline, and research skills required to recycle rather than to reinvent." -- Jon Udell

MyST and MySmartChannels have many equivalents of "base-on-balls" thanks to Chief Architect, F. Andy Seidl:

• Business-logic plugin's;
• XSLT rules-based inheritance;
• Aggregation services engine;
• SOAP interface;

Organic search optimization is about creating useful, primary content, and that seems to require specific focus on a topic. This just seems like a more natural approach to creating value-networks of information.

MarketLeap seems to reflect that vision, but I have no idea if they mean what they say. Regardless, pay-for-placement is an arms race; there has to be a better approach, because I may want to find stuff that has no relative connection to the value that it can be sold for.

"If this continues, you can only imagine how bad it might get. By bad, I mean unreliable results, with page after page of sponsored links before you get to the link you really need, all because the search-engine company has been bought." -- Ephriam Schwartz

We recently helped a small supplier of playwright material (Pioneer Drama) create an organic search program to increase their visibility. It seems to be working, but it requires alot of thinking to create useful, primary content about a topic - but isn't that how companies should compete for attention?

Orasi Software, Inc. is drilling into this problem space with laser focus and I expect to see some interesting solutions emerge very soon. This is the same team that created CaliberRM (the highly successful requirements management system that Borland now sells.

IdeaScope is the name of their new product, and it's objective is to help companies increase the probability that new products and services they choose to create, will be accepted by their customers. This is more about customer voice management and the leading edge of the requirements process.

For more than two years we've been discussing the likelihood that Windows and other tools (specifically Microsoft Office) would eventually integrate RSS consumption capabilities, and it's starting to happen. It was inevitable; RSS has so much momentum and it provides useful solutions for many information problems.

Looks like Bill Gates has RSS in his cross hairs. Longhorn is going to have integrated RSS support (no surprise here). So, get ready to uninstall all your third party RSS readers and have 95% of user-based RSS traffic come from Microsoft products. rssweblogsinc.com

Where does that leave most RSS newsreaders? Well, they were somewhat commoditized long before Microsoft got into the act, and whether Microsoft has RSS in its crosshairs of not, is irrelevant. If Microsoft didn't integrate RSS, a slew of third party firms would have; and NewsGator was the first to innovate on this idea. The bigger question - what will enterprises do with this new capability?

In Outlook (with NewsGator) we're already enjoying the benefits of integrating email with RSS feeds - even secure feeds with granular permissions are possible today (i.e., items are fed to users based on what they are permitted to see in the feed). If the past is any indication of how Microsoft will impact an idea that has proven itself useful and demanded, the future for independent RSS readers is probably going to change. One way for newsreaders to keep their users and possibly earn revenues is to differentiate dramatically and partner with content and technology platform providers.

Alan Kucheck (a Borland VP) tipped me off to this research. Perhaps this explains why he doesn't have is own Weblog. ;-)

“If you created 800 MBytes of new information last year, congratulations: You're as prolific as the average person on the planet.”

That's a big number, but it will likely grow faster than we can imagine. This is the "information tsunami" that we refer to from time-to-time.

Although MyST and MySmartChannels are far from the solution to this rapid per-capita growth of content, they do represent useful tools for chipping away at many of the information problems that are best addressed by lose-coupling applications.