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Seth Godin had an interesting post regarding religion longevity, specifically Zoroastrianism, and viral marketing.

It turns out that Zoroastrians are all but extinct, as they have completely integrated with the general populace and no longer have a compelling message (subjectively speaking).

Despite its ancient roots, its message has been superseded by other memes that have successfully integrated several key features (e.g. evangelism, (very) long-term benefits for believers, sharp distinction between insiders and outsiders). Be sure to read the post as well as the original NY Times piece he quotes from.

So how does this notion of idea extinction mix with artificial monopolies on intellectual thought?

Is there an apodictic, a priori axiom of idea longevity or must empiricism be used? Will ideas in the “public domain” last longer than highly regulated concepts? Can written and oral language be an example of this?

Is the continued dominance of English in everyday business affairs due to its relatively liberal ability to integrate new words and concepts that other pure/purified languages (e.g. French, Latin) cannot?

Will this era of mash-ups, open source, robust APIs and other relatively free platform extensions transcend closed and proprietary solutions?

Or, do the artificially high barriers of obtaining and reproducing knowledge of its philosophy prohibit movements like Objectivism (whose adherents are firm proponents of strict IP enforcement) from spreading exponentially?

In short: does the openness of a movements corpus effect the spreading of its core ideas, and does this in turn contribute to its survival?

[Note: Objectivism in its official, State-protected form is essentially closed-source (kind of like Scientology); the only way to view the code is to buy its officially sanctioned books and pay a bunch of sacrosanct interpreters who are "officially licensed." Other non-licensed works are considered "unholy" and heretical.]

Business 2.0 has a really good write-up of all the blog-enterprises that are now funded through advertisements.

The main reason for their success: these blog cater to specific niches, thus the ads can be targeted to specific demographics much more effectively.  It is the Long Tail of advertising, what Chris Anderson calls “nichification.”

Via The Paradigm Shift

I’ll be honest, I don’t care much for the Google Reader. Here’s my brief review of it.

After a solid year, I still have stuck with Bloglines (despite trying others such as Rojo).

However, some people do like it and the gReader team has recently provided some interesting aggregated numbers for our consumption.

Note: these are extensions to the namespaces only — they only looked at things like how often a Creative Commons license is embedded into a feed (and not if it was RSS/Atom).

Via Niall Kennedy.

I recently switched most, if not all of the RSS/Atom feeds over to FeedBurner.

I figure one of these days I can fork over some cash to see their statistical data on RSS usage habits (based on AWStats the feeds were the most popular link).

So the 4 of you daily readers, whomever you are: sorry for any inconvenience.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about how companies can effectively incorporate “Web 2.0� applications and services inside their firm.  For instance, over the past year IBM employees have effectively used podcasting to save time, money and streamline long distance operations internally.  And in addition to putting a human-face on a seemingly impersonal entity, weblogs can also help foster and engender a loyal community as well as add transparency.

To take full advantage of many of the relatively free marketing and advertising benefits characteristic to public weblogs, I have previously suggested that a stereotypically impersonal organization such as Universities could benefit from maintaining a frequently updated blog.

Another technology that I have seen very little use of by firms such as airliners is RSS.  This web feed format could help travelers stay abreast of cancellations and delays as it was designed specifically for easy and broad dissemination of frequently updated data.   As a testament to its broad range of universal versatility it is also used by many news organizations such as Reuters, popular P2P applications like BitTorrent, climatologists and most notably in weblogs.

Earlier this week, News.com published a good write-up of other uses these technologies have found in the workplace.  Crafty and creative, like home chemistry sets.

I’ll admit to it: I “gamed” the original Digg system back in the day and now my IP is banned… so that I am effectively prevented from logging in at home. At least I could still receive the main syndication feed.

With the new version 3, it requires that I log into the system in order to view any syndicated story. In fact, of the six that are offered, I can only view the Technology feed. Lame.

BugMeNot has found yet another use.

See also, Markus Frind’s criticism of Digg and a Stephen Carson’s praise of Digg.

Via Science Blog: “If peer review were a drug, it would never be marketed.” - quoted from Lawrence Altman at the NY Times.

See also, “Teaching an old dog new tricks.”

As I reported earlier, UC Berkeley has been testing the podcasting abilities of Apple’s iTunes service. Now it appears they have joined at least six other large institutions in fully integrating this initiative for mass consumption.

Also, Ars has an intersting write-up on Google Scholar’s citation ranking algorithm. It was supposedly spurred on due to competition from Microsoft’s new Academic Live service.

An associate pointed me to yet another gem from Forbes, Is College Worth It? The conclusion is simple, unless you goto a nationally recognized brand-name institution like Yale, Harvard or 20 some odd schools the answer is no. One of the most interesting points the author notes is that,

Search engines such as Google have ushered in the era of open-source learning. Society is rapidly progressing to the point where any Googler is on equal footing with a Widener Library pass-holder.

When I was an undergrad (history/economics) I found many of the works we discussed in class to be available online for free (e.g. all of the Western Classics are in the Public Domain and can be found in digital libraries like Project Gutenberg). The other two main points he makes are worth reading as well, so leas.

The Associated Press also ran an interesting story discussing the uptake of podcasts at institutions of higher education across the country, specifically one liberal arts school. The moral of the story, innovative faculty members at a State-university in Georgia have created easy to use supplements for students or as administrators call it: value-added. This is just another continuation of the digital university meme.

Google finally released a beta of an RSS reader today. It has the slick clean interface like usual, however I find it lacking a couple of features:

I actually like the scrollbar on the left-side that Bloglines provides to navigate through the feed list quickly. With the GReader I manually have to click each time I want to go up or down (including Page up/down), rather than having the ability to slide the scrollbar (although there is a short-cut key for quick navigation).

Also, I like the item preview display that Bloglines has (GReader simply has headlines which you must click on for further information - no blurb).

In addition, perhaps organizing via newsfeed could be added as an option as well (currently only relevancy and date are the duo left to the task).

Layout issues aside, I was able to import my OPML file within a few seconds– everything else seems responsive as well. The keyboard shortcuts are nice too, probably addictive in the long run. It also has the obligatory ‘tag‘ creating ability article labelization (sic).

I am sure it will only be a few months until we see it integrate seemlessly with Blogger (an ‘InstaBlogThis’ feature over the horizon?).

I give it a B-. There is a dicussion of the service up at Google Groups.

While looking at GnuEconomy, I noticed a couple of TextAds in addition to BlogSnob. One is called SkipIntro and the other is called LinkShare.

Both are fairly straight forward in filling out (despite the fact that they are Italian).

With SkipAds, you fill out this form. Log in and fill out the rest of the information, say something like: Blog di [your blog name here] and it should at least be considered a candidate (don’t cry if yours is rejected, stoopid amerikan pig dawg!). Generate the HTML, place it in your index template and poof, it’s up (note: it takes 24-48 hours to have your site confirmed and added to their database).

LinkShare is even easier, just fill out this form. Italian is fairly easy to understand if you know any of the romantic languages, so you can guess what ‘categorie’ means. Once you’ve filled it out, submit and then check your inbox. Click the URL in the email they send you and then generate the HTML. Place it in your index template and again (say it with me) POOF, it’s up. I have no idea how long it takes to get added into their database, a safe bet would be like most others: 24-48 hours. Of course, if you don’t talk about Italian stuff or all you focus is on mimes and ventriloquism, you might get rejected.

And I’ll close with a song I actually memorized to woo a gal (too bad she was not my type):

That’s Amore by Dean Martin

I mentioned a couple weeks ago (when I was discussing RSS templates) about this new meta-thang called: Friend-of-a-Friend or, FOAF.

At the time I assumed that it required some sort of server-side hardcoding, especially after viewing this Six Log post.

Well praise the Internet Gods once more, no need for any fancy programming or weird uploads, just visit this automated FOAF-maker and fill out the form. Once you have the code generated simply put it in a file (or a new template in MT) and point to it like you do your RSS feeds.

If you need to borrow-a-friend, go here and you’ll have access to about 100 FOAFarians who are leading the way in FOAFary. As an added bonus, you can add my FOAF feed using this link: http://tim.movementarian.com/tim.rdf — don’t forget to smile.

I was over at BlogBib, going through their resources and stumbled upon a link discussing how bloggers can obtain an ISSN for their weblog.

ISSN stands for - International Standard Serial Number and is the standardized international code which allows the identification of any serial publication independently of its country of publication, of its language or alphabet, of its frequency, medium, etc.

The process is pretty simple: For online serials, provide an appropriate URL or e-mail actual issues or mock-ups which will accompany the application form to issn@loc.gov. Here is the application form (in PDF).

If nothing else, you can impress women by bringing them to the local library and the asking the librarian to look up your ISSN. They’ll bare your children for sure.

I’m not sure how many people actually use the Rings they belong to, but I spent an hour or so going through the MT Ring looking at what was out there. I stumbled across The People’s Republic of Seabrook, run by a fellow Texan and one with several links that I did not have. You know the drill:

I Wish, You Wish - a central collection of wishes from the blogosphere. Basically, if you have one of those Amazon Wishlists you submit your info and a link to the list. I wish Amazon carried what I wanted (despite having a degree in history I still prefer ezines and Google versus books).

Rice Bowl Journals - an Asian Online Community. This site is intended to be a gathering place for the Asian online journaling and blogging community. Also see the Asian Bloggers Ring.

Sis-2-Sis Blog Webring - it’s for women and for sisters of the heart that want to exchange thoughts, gifts and ideas with other sisters.

Blagger - It’s ring for Filipino bloggers.

Pinoy Ako Blogger Ring - another ring for Filipino bloggers.

Cheeky Girls - a blog ring for Cheeky Girls. (I’m not obfuscating, that’s really all it’s about).

Luffable Nutz Bloggies - No, not Furbies, Luffables. I really couldn’t tell you what they were.

Blurps Clique - a clique that brings together various online blogs, journals and diaries belonging to adult addicts of Neopets.com.

Mama Clique - for mothers or pregnant women who have blogs. See also Blog Mums.

Georgia Webloggers - For bloggers in Georgia. Also see the Atlanta Blog Ring.

Kimberly Bloggers Ring - for bloggers with the name Kim or a variation of it. Not limited to females. Also see the Jen/Jenn and Christine rings.

Leoville Bloggers - For members of Leoville that also blog.

Blog Domains Ring - This is a ring for people who blog on the “main” domain (not subdomain or folder within… more like Gnome-Girl). Dominated is similar but not specifically for blogs.

Oh My Glasses! - a ring for bloggers that wear glasses. Also see the Glasses Wearing Blog Ring.

Rantburg - a schmorgasborg for all rants and raves.

St. Louis Bloggers - Bloggers in St. Louis.

Kansas City Blogs - A resource guide bringing together local bloggers from the KC area and beyond.

Highway 101 - Another list of bloggers from California. Also see the California Blog Ring.

Seattle Bloggers - For bloggers in Seattle.

Blogs from Wisconsin - A list of bloggers in Wisconsin. Also see Midwestern Melodies and Wisconsin Blogs.

Israeli Blog Index - For bloggers in Israel.

DC Metro Blogs - They highlight the blogs in the D.C. Metro area. Also see the DC Metro Bloggers and Beltway Bloggers.

Alright, well, I hit the RSS template motherload today while perusing the MT Blog ring. I ended up at Sean Willson’s site (err, blog) and noticed all the pretty feeds. I started to write an email asking for the templates but noticed his post from April 10th. Instead of just grabbing the files, I went over to the Raging Platypus and looked at what his pad housed — even more.

I thought I was up-to-date and most of these matters (syndication wise), but I have no clue what XFML is. Fortunately, when you look at one of the feeds in action (click one of mine for instance), at the top are a bunch of sites which house either examples or definitions of what the tags/language means. So now I know XFML Core is an open XML format for publishing and sharing hierarchical faceted metadata and indexing efforts. XFML Core is lightweight and easy to implement, yet uniquely powerful. It’s also been in development for about a year now (published at least).

A few days back, when I was looking for more templates I came across FOAF - the ‘friend of a friend’ vocabulary. Not to overload you too much, but they work with the DublinCore metadata/tag guys — here is a good overview of RSS.

Hehe, and here is some info on ESF - Epistula Syndication Format, It isn’t XML. It isn’t RDF. It’s just data. Quick, reliable, and I’m never going to change the spec in such a way as to break the previous version. I have it output through a .txt and it worked the first time.

I’m still trying to find that one blog that had them all, including excerpts and comments. Until I’ve done that task I will not be a complete, true, blogger. Note, I’m also not Bobby Compliant either : (

If you know of any RSS MT template that I do not have and you do, please let me know (yea, I got excited and made a couple myself as you can see). Also, in addition to The Plat and Sean’s site, check out Dive into Mark, which has great resources on many other topics as well.

Lastly, the RSS 3.0 feed does not work (as an xml). I plugged in the code and it doesn’t like any ampersands within my posts. Once I went through and changed those it decided to not like ‘line 1, place 1′ and I have no clue where to go from there. Oh, and RSS 3.0 is still sorta not-standard. I remember reading something by some bloggers and Aaron Swartz (the Google Blog fella and co-author of the RDF standard) has weighed in. I also shot an email to Sean and The Plat to see if we can’t get this to work. Note: If you change the output to a .txt extension it works for now… I wonder if that’s the long-term plan.

Help me RSS Kenobi, you’re my only hope.

Yup, more blog rings. Joy.

Moody Bloggers Ring - A ring for those bloggers who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, chronic pain, or any other condition which affects their moods. Family members (including domestic partners) are also welcome. Not necessarily gloomy. I nominate Ray Romano’s family.

TechTV Blog Ring - For bloggers who, work for TechTV, inspired by TechTV or enjoys TechTV. Ms. Cheyenne is even quoted at the bottom: “TechTV Blog Ring - nuff’ said.” She has a way with words ;)

Hoopty Girls - Do you keep a weblog/journal? Are you messed? Got a screw loose? Do people tend to steer clear of your enigmatic persona? Are you commonly referred to as an aberration of nature? Are you frequently misunderstood? Is that because you’re speaking in tongues? Do you like pie? Cheese? Muffins? I don’t have any muffins or a few other anatomical features, but if you do, join.

Crappy Blogs - This ring is for people who blog. Blogging is fun and even us crappy webmasters can have a netring of our own. So I present to you the crappyblogs netring. The site is currently down so you’ll have to be patient and find another ring to submit your awful blog.

Buffy Blog Ring - Yea, I watch Buffy for the plot just like I read Playboy for the articles. It’s a webring for those bloggers out there who love the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Pawed - is a webring for cat owners and cat lovers that keep online journals, diaries, or weblogs. Blogs & Pets is a similar ring.

Bloggers for our military ring - another ring for bloggers that support the military. Similar to the Military Blog Ring.

Euronate - A friend of mine pointed out this Fark-like site that is more for Europeans. The offbeat news splash with a euro dash. Apparently they also pay you $25/month or some such for contributing.

By now you have a pretty good idea I’m stopping at almost nothing to create the best blog syndication list around. David messaged me right before I was going to catch some sleep (30+ hours and still going) and said that MSNBC had a weblog section I should look at.

Hehe, well I’m really not too worried after looking at their collection, but anyways, here are some links I did not have:

Hidden in this cache of what they call their Weblog Index was Weblogs Hidden in the Stars - You know how I said someone should setup BlackListedBlogs.com to warn the world of unpleasant looking sites? Well here is an example. There really isn’t much rhyme or reason to the site, just hyperlinks hidden behind images of stars and galaxies. In addition, there is no clear syndication method, though I assume Dumbmonkey is a moderator of some sort. Let me know if you find out anything else.

Fotolog.net (note: the editors at MSNBC added an 8080 at the end, I’m not quite sure why, works just as well without the Apache port reference). Compared to Photoblogs.org, Fotolog.net is both larger in terms of # of loggers and votes/day. Additionally, I find the layout at Fotolog.net more inviting (I’m partial towards white backgrounds) — try out both, tell me what you think.

AllConsuming.net - I mentioned Book Watch yesterday and it appears Erik Benson also found BW interesting, stating: Inspired by Book Watch, I created a script that visits newly updated weblogs hourly via Weblogs.com (if you’d like to let me know that there are books on your page, use weblogs.com’s ping form). The script then looks for links to Amazon.com items and saves them. I then aggregate all that information together to find the most frequently mentioned books. My scoring mechanism is weighted to favor recently mentioned books, so that the list remains fresh, and offers new insight into what the weblog community is reading at the moment. Check out the javascript here and see what you can do In No Time At All ™.

BlogCritics - A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, and technology - updated continuously. Do you have a blog and an interest in popular culture? Then email the editor, Eric Olsen. They’ve won several awards including the 2003 Bloggie for Music and listed as a nominee in Forbes Best Media Blog.

Blogmints - Dead, due to “lack of interest” however Justin created a new site similar to Madville and Catch called Linkfilter. In his own words: linkfilter.net is just what the name implies, a link filter. All links are posted and moderated by users. Links can be ranked on several levels: clicks, votes, age, or a combination of all three called points. So if you think other people would enjoy reading your article on how many marshmallows you could stuff in your mouth at the same time, then submit away.

Roses of the Blogoshpere- Mrs. Lynn was inspired after reading several outrageous generalizations about women bloggers. The idea was to prove a point about the diversity of interests among women bloggers. So if you’re a woman and have a blog or want to start blogging, check out Roses.

Additionally, there are two Blog webrings solely for women: Belle Blogs and Blogs by Women.

NYU Weblog Portal - Representing the NYU Students Who Be Bloggin’ Worldwide. Requirements: you either are or used to be a NYU student. This is similar to what we are planning on doing with AggieBlog & BevoBlog [shameless plug].

Boston Blogs - Fairly straight forward, just focus primarily on Boston and you shouldn’t have much of a problem joining it — no hazing anymore (see for yourself)

That’s it, that’s all MSNBC could muster. I’ll try to go through some of the ones Forbes did as well, soon.