Google, Pyra, etc.
February 18, 2003
I should probably clarify some points. I've been linked to a lot as the requisite naysayer voice about the Google/Pyra deal, and that wasn't my intention in my post at all. I unequivocally think that Pyra making this deal is a good idea for them. And I'm an unabashed weblog evangelist, so established companies stepping into this space is 100% positive in my mind. Even in regards to the rumors of AOL moving into blogging, or Lycos' rather unimpressive entry into the space, I am totally in favor of it and think that the more people participating, the better.
My observations about Google's role were related to some of the specifics, particularly that they were only going to be able to focus on part of the weblog realm through their relationship with Pyra. It's something I was concerned about (keep in mind, my post was written in the minutes after I found out about the deal) because I realized that I track about 80 to 100 weblogs regularly, and of the ones I follow, four or five are Blogger-powered sites. That's a radical shift, given that it used to be nearly every weblog I read ran on Blogger.
Granted, I have a disproportionate interest in technology and the weblog world, so maybe my list of sites that I read isn't typical. But I am leery of those sites not having full access to the benefits that Google extends to Blogger/BlogSpot sites. In short, the Deja purchase made sense because it opened all of Usenet to Google's users. Google getting into weblogs makes sense if it opens all of the weblog world to Google's users. Assuming Google continues to be as smart as they've been and opens their weblog interfaces to the tools vendors who make the sites I read, all's well.
In short, I do think that focusing on one vendor in the weblog space is short-sighted on Google's part, so I'll stand by my original post. But don't misconstrue my concerns for anything other than excitement about the development. I'm impressed by what Pyra's accomplished in this deal, and excited that the profile for the whole weblog world will be raised, and frankly fascinated to see what comes next. I just want to make sure that "what comes next" applies to all the sites that I read.
As a side note, I'm kind of terrified at the insularity of the weblog world, though I realize I'm part of it. I have to keep up on this stuff; It's my career. But to those of you who don't work in this area, take a look at the top of Daypop and Blogdex and you might realize why people criticize and malign weblogs as being unimportant and overly self-referential. Replace every mention, on all the hundreds of sites, of the Google/Pyra deal with a reference to the Google/Deja deal, and see if you think that the attention is disproportionate.
Also disconcerting is that the weblog world keeps carrying on the print tradition of having a "token dissenting voice". My comments, and even more, the astute comments my readers left, about the Pyra deal were much more nuanced than just "It's bad!" but that seems to be the direction that the interpretations went. Isn't one of the points of microcontent media supposed to be a greater variety of voices and opinions instead of the binary yes/no of the major corporations?
All grumbling aside, I've been in the IT industry for a long time. When I started my first company, Windows NT hadn't yet been released, Netscape didn't exist, the biggest networking software vendor was Netware, and the Pentium brand name hadn't been announced. With that perspective, I know that weblogs are important and they matter. But they're just one piece of a whole ecology of software, platforms, devices, and tools that encompass the realm of online expression.
Seems like we're finally ready to take the next step, and we've reached the end of the beginning of weblogs. I'm hoping it gets even more interesting from here, and I bet it will.
4:11 PM
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I doubt we will see alot of Inovations in nano publishing from major corporations. SixApart, Textpattern and the Open Source Community on the other hand is where I think we are more likely to see advancements in the technology.
It is just the nature of a labor of love moves at a faster rate.
Thanks for the clarification, although on my behalf I never felt that you were an opponent of the situation.
On another note, way down here on the page I can see your Feb. 12 links. Tostitos lime chips? They're the debble. Not only do you have to eat the whole bag, but when you're done with it you feel like you've scraped eight layers of cells from your tongue. I do, anyway.
Maybe it's premature to assume that Google's purchase of Pyra means they are going to focus on that single vendor as they move into the blog space.
Yup. "Assuming Google continues to be as smart as they've been and opens their weblog interfaces to [other] tools vendors... all's well."
Well said, Mr. Dash.
On the point that you think that we are bound for some more innovation. I would like to see that too.
The question is, how do we make sure we get farther? Do we just do what we do? Write? Question?
Not to go too meta, but how do we collectively analyze and shift with the nano-times?
I think (hope) the deal will have more benefits than flaws. Here's how I want the deal to play out:
It would be a great thing. Because it is API based, it would be a truly real-time system. Posts show up as search results on Google as soon as they are posted. It would also enable all sorts of new Google services. It might lead to a stronger community and a good weblog XML DTD? All sorts of things could go right. What could go wrong? People stop using Blogger. Shit, the cofounder stopped using it years ago.
Theory: Insularity is perceived, based on focus. I understand where you're coming from Anil, but people congregate with those of like mind. Your own disproportionate interest could be reflecting back at you if you're only reading sites catering to the self-indulgent blogging world.
I realize the list of sites I check out daily all lean in that direction too. Hardly surprises me when half of them cover Overture picking up Altavista. It's to be expected, based on subject matter. But for every one of those I could find ten that couldn't care less about the latest Movable Type plugin. To some, the tool is transparent and they hardly give it a second thought. To others, the tool is the focus.
It is surprising right now how many fall into the latter category, no doubt. But we started out a small community of technically literate people who actually dig this geek stuff; the blog is going mainstream, we're not going to be the average user in a year or two. It's Usenet all over again.
Browse LiveJournal for proof.
Google + Blogger = Go_Ogle, the mother of all online dating sites.
Here's how it will happen:
First, Google will improve the searchability of the "blogosphere" by making it easy for bloggers to append a file containing information about themselves and their (blogger) friends. This information will likely be encoded in the RDF dialect FOAF('Friend of a Friend').
Soon after, it will start to dawn on people that the FOAF file is effectively a (static) online profile, while the associated blog is akin to a living profile (in the 'living document' sense).
One tipping (i.e. inflection) point later, usage of Google by date seekers will grow to an such extent that our (grand)children will read about it in their history texts. (Online dating is at 26M users and growing, after all.)
Google will then acquire the best RDF query toolmakers and launch Go_Ogle, the mother of all online dating sites.
Once Go_Ogle is in place, the possibilities are absolutely mind-googling :^)
More on this, including a pointer to foundational code for XSB-powered, GPLed Go_Ogle, at www.opportunityservices.com
Enjoy,
Frank Ruscica
Founder
The Opportunity Services Group :: Have Fun to Get Ready
www.opportunityservices.com
Not to troll, but didn't you already naysay when you switched to MovableType nine months ago?
I mean, actions speak louder than words, no?
People who have weblogs are interested in a lot of different things. Perhaps the only interest they all have in common is... weblogs. No surprise then that the news would dominate Blogdex etc., right? I don't think this demonstrates insularity. (Which is not to say that there is no insularity.)
Joe, I don't believe Anil was naysaying when he said:
"The fact that I'm still going to run some of the other sections of this site on Blogger, and that I'd still recommend it unequivocally to anyone who's starting out in the world of weblogs, says a lot for the product. But my needs have changed, and my programming skills have improved, and it's time to use a new tool so I can do the things I want to add to this site."
I think he was wanting to do things with his weblog that Blogger wouldn't let him do anymore.
I've mentioned this on other forums ( Always On ) but I'll repeat here.
By having access at the POST point (via Blogger's API perhaps) Google has an opportunity to index and capture information about the "blogsphere" in near real time - this compliements their Google News services quite well.
I'm perhaps less concerned about whether or not this will be "open" to the rest of "blogsphere" than some here - perhaps in part because my own blog is on blogspot at the moment - but also because anything which helps me find interesting content more quickly is a very good thing.
And personally, I'm more of a fan of live search than RSS feed aggregation - the feed model generally results in me looking at hordes of links, which I quickly start ignoring - while the search model (and/or the Google News model) presents similar information in a more customized and focused manner.