Content as a Service

It was also this week that Loosely Coupled added articles to its content mix, continuing its planned transition from a single weblog into a next-generation online media site, with weblogs, RSS feeds and other services contributing to a philosophy that I like to call "content-as-a-service". 

What they’re trying to build now is precisely what MySmartChannels 1.1 represents—a “Content as a Service” framework. LooselyCoupled.com is not the future [envisioned] MyST customer – rather, every business that wants to mimic LooselyCoupled.com’s “content-as-a-service philosophy are the customers. Google understands this play of course as do Yahoo, AltaVista, and all the other search companies looking for differentiation.

The fact that various entrepreneurs with successful track records in online media are all converging on the weblog format suggests that they're onto something, and Google's participation only adds weight to that conclusion. What I find most interesting about Google's entry is the potential for cross-fertilization with some of its other initiatives, particularly the Google API and Google News.

IMPORTANT – MySmartChannels already supports cross fertilization of the Google API and Google News with ChannelGears (see ChannelGear Demo in the published channels space—it uses two gears that access Google News and Google API).