Tech analyst, AI & the web
I founded the tech blog ReadWriteWeb in April 2003 and ran it until October 2012. During my time running the business, it was well known for its cutting edge content (“What’s next on the Web”) and its influential global audience. At its peak, RWW was ranked among the top ten blogs in the world by Technorati.
This category contains all of the articles I personally wrote for RWW, now archived on ricmac.org for easier browsing and search. If you’d like to explore the original context, you can also view a year-by-year archive with links to the Wayback Machine
This from Sir Robert Scoble: “Watch for more business deals and from places you wouldn’t expect them. I’m hearing from several of my friends, for instance, that AOL is looking for media properties blogging networks.” Interesting… I wonder if AOL read my Network of Niches post – I know some MSN folks did 😉 That … Read more
IBM’s new ‘SoulPad’ is a virtual computer on a small portable storage device, like a USB key or an MP3 Player. According to IBM, SoulPad “enables a paradigm of mobile computing where a user can suspend his computing environment on one PC and resume it on another PC that he may have never seen before.” … Read more
Google News now has RSS feeds (finally!). It’s great that all the big Internet companies now offer RSS feeds, but Google’s move unfortunately signals a split in RSS branding amongst the big media and technology companies. Like Microsoft, Google isn’t embracing the term ‘RSS’. Microsoft wants to call RSS “web feeds”, while Google is simply … Read more
The Not Web 2.0 discussion has legs. Dave Winer pointed to Dare Obasanjo’s post, specifically this bit: “The problem with ‘Web 2.0’ and other over hyped buzzwords is that 90% of the stuff you hear or read about it is crap.” I agree, provided my blog is in the top 10% of Web 2.0 content … Read more
A Network of Niches is a group of niche bloggers, each with their own unique look n’ feel but collectively part of a branded network of like minds. This could be the way forward for a big company like Yahoo or AOL to roll out their blog networks, at the same time giving hope to … Read more
sponsored by: Onfolio is offering R/WW readers a coupon code entitling the bearer to $30 off a purchase of Onfolio Professional before August 31st (a 30% saving off the normal $99.95 price). To use the coupon, enter it at the time of purchase. Coupon Code: RM857202 This week: Hype 2.0, Education 2.0, Battlestar Galactica 2.0, … Read more
sponsored by: Onfolio is offering R/WW readers a coupon code entitling the bearer to $30 off a purchase of Onfolio Professional before August 31st (a 30% saving off the normal $99.95 price). To use the coupon, enter it at the time of purchase. Coupon Code: RM857202 This week: Hype 2.0, Education 2.0, Battlestar Galactica 2.0, … Read more
Remember my post last year entitled Gettin’ Paid: A Future for Content Creators?. In it I passionately made the case that there is a future for niche writers to make a living on the Web. Well there are signs that it may yet happen… Microsoft has just started a network of blogs called Filter. The … Read more
Summary: Web 2.0 is everyday, non-technical people using the Web to enhance their lives and businesses. The fact that so many people are now creating and building on the Web is what the ‘2.0’ signifies. Tim Bray dislikes the Web 2.0 meme, but mainly because it isn’t technically version 2.0. With all due respect, this … Read more
Jane Kim, program manager for RSS in Internet Explorer, has written a useful post detailing the new RSS features in IE7. A few comments from me… 1) Microsoft has decided to call RSS “web feeds”, at least for now. Jane says they’re “still actively exploring what is the right name to use for RSS feeds”. … Read more
I love to read Steve Gillmor’s posts – he has a unique way with words and it’s fun (OK sometimes frustrating) to decipher his messages. But I really wish he would look beyond his Silicon Valley-tinted glasses and mention/link to some new blood now and then. Take this extract from his latest post, referencing what … Read more
Doc Searls grabs the Web 2.0 meme by the horns and gives it a good shake. He’s posted a thought-provoking piece in which he frames Web 2.0 in the following way: “I propose a goal: Make Web 2.0 the best possible commons for supporting free markets and free culture.” I’m glad Doc has weighed in … Read more
I’ve resigned from my day job, so in 4 weeks time I will be fully self-employed. I’ll be doing freelance analysis and writing work, plus an exciting project which I will advise you of soon. I’ve been extremely busy lately, hence the relative lack of blogging. But soon I’ll be back into it and writing … Read more
– Google does RSS… sort of (you can now add RSS feeds to your Personalized page by clicking ‘Create a Section’. It’s made with cool Ajax, but this is no RSS Aggregator folks… come on Google, you can do much better!)- Attention Trust is a project led by Steve Gillmor and others that is the … Read more
sponsored by: Onfolio is offering R/WW readers a coupon code entitling the bearer to $30 off a purchase of Onfolio Professional before August 31st (a 30% saving off the normal $99.95 price). To use the coupon, enter it at the time of purchase. Coupon Code: RM857202 This week: Thoughts on what News Corp will do … Read more