Intense Web Media

Google has released some interesting new features today.

One new feature is feed recommendation. What is interesting is the method they come up with feed recommendations. For example, one of my recommendations was a Japanese blog, in Japanese. None of the blogs I subscribe to are Japanese blogs so I am wondering why this is part of the top 20 recommendations.

As for bundling feeds, I am not sure I am interested in this. I already have a few hundred feeds to read and it is too much. I suppose for someone new it is advantageous, but for most I am guessing it will go unused.

On the other hand, search for feeds will be used. This should get interesting.

Alex Iskold has an interesting post up at Read/Write Web that the blogosphere seems to be interested in today.

Essentially, he differentiates between making money from the “Long Tail” and being apart of the long tail. If you are a blogger and part of the long tail then you are going to have difficulty making money is the conclusion.

I would agree with his estimate. I will say, that money derived from blogging through traffic and advertising like adsense is not the only benefit from blogging. While someone in the long tail of blogs may not make much money from blogs, if they speak to a niche group and have a core group of readers, that blogger can become an expert/spokesperson to that niche. So, instead of dollars being made, the blogger is increasing their personal branding. This could lead to job opportunities, partnerships, and speaking engagements which isn’t immediately quantifiable and thus left out of the equation.

I don’t think Alex would disagree with my feelings, but I wanted to say that value can be derived while still in the long tail of bloggers even though their readership may not be gigantic.

Outbrain is a widget that easily lets someone rank my blog posts. They have taken a lot of time and thought in the development of it (notice how well it blends into my blog).

I met John Logioco who does biz dev for them at the Blog World Expo and he is a good guy.

What I have heard most from people after explaining Outbrain is that “it is just a five star rating system.” It’s not very sexy, to this I respond with something along the lines of how the value this widget brings to me is immediate. From day one I see utility in what it gives me. This is the same type of response we have been trying to create with the Intense Debate comment system. If you are a widget, you cannot count on the network effect to takeover immediately. You must give users value from day one. A great post about creating value from day one is over at Steve Poland’s blog and is about a conversation he had with Scott Rafer.

As many of you know Scott Rafer was involved in MyBlogLog and it is a good read if you have not come across it yet.

The guys behind Outbrain are smart and although I don’t know the full extent of their plans, you can count on it being more than just a five star rating system. Good luck to them.

There is a cyclone swirling around the blogosphere about ClosedPrivate.

The details have not been released, but it seems to be the polar opposite of OpenSocial.

The instigators have been in hiding, but experts say the movement is organized by Brad Feld and Alex Iskold. This could only mean one two things: they are well funded, and their logo is sure to include the color blue (or something blue-ish).

The initiative seems to be in stealth mode and our people on the ground claim they are in pre-alpha testing. We are trying to secure an invite, but everything seems to be very cloak and dagger. We called their offices, but the answering machine played a message in some type of Easter European language. Our translators are on this like sh** on a stick.

If you have information leading to the exposure of what the ClosedPrivate initiative is all about, leave a comment in my most excellent commenting system.

Okay, so we all know I moved to Colorado now to work on ID full time. Moving here isn’t quite the same as if I would’ve moved to a town where I know no one. Here, I know a few people and I am trying to meet more so one sometimes has to do things they are not accustomed to doing.

One day a few weeks back I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something most males with a certain amount of pride would not do: hot yoga. Micah Baldwin, an Intense Debate user, invited me to check it out. After reading some of his posts about his hot yoga adventures, I had to give it a shot. What was particularly attractive would be the potential comedy that would arise when women release their trapped air (fart, for the lay person).

For the unfortunate few who may be unfamiliar with hot yoga, it is a 90 min period of yoga in a 105 degree room. I had never performed yoga, but I figured if I can do it at 105 degrees, then room temperature will be no problem.

And so we went to hot yoga and much to my disappointment, there was no gas passed by incredibly good looking, sweaty, women. The experience was genuinely good besides the long periods of incredibly awkward positions we were asked to do.

So, the moral of the story is to step outside of your comfort zone as a person and you will be rewarded with great experiences you can apply later. For me, I have something to chat with yoga bloggers about.

This will be the first Thanksgiving since being in Iraq that I will not be with family. Since moving to Colorado to work on Intense Debate I have felt closer to family than I did when I lived in Florida. The reason: Skype.

Since moving, I have evangelized my family about the merits of Skype. I picked up my MacBook Pro back in August and it came with a webcam. I never had use for one before, but my family has embraced seeing me in the flesh. So much so, I have two uncles, one grandma, my parents, in-laws, Sister-in-Law, cousin, and a few more all with webcams now.

This Thanksgiving we will be using Skype to connect and see Thanksgiving as it happens. It will be like Justin.tv with Memaw, turkey, and more. I am actually looking forward to it even though I won’t be there. I am sure my wife feels the same. Ain’t the web great?

If anyone is interested, I am giving Tumblr a try here. You can keep track of my Tweets and some miniblogging. Think of it as Crunchnotes, Morgan-style.