Seth Godin asks: So, when did you last visit Hotbot?
It’s a nagging bit of perspective on the un-popularity of blogs and blogging. He also asks “I wonder when this tips?”, and I’ll point out that he can find the answer in his own book! In the box on page 34, Godin describes “Smoothness”.
Smoothness within the blogosphere is automatic, but to reach out of blog space into the rest of the internet isn’t very easy at all. Yes there are services like Typepad and Radio Userland available, but the general public isn’t going to pay to try out this blog fad. Even most free sites have a bit of a setup hurdle before the user begins to see some benefit.
So when will we get there? It’s got to be easy.. Dead-simple like IM or email. I should be able to right-click on a name in my contact list, and if that person has a blog, I should be able to preview/subscribe, two clicks max.
Here’s my prediction on the tipping point: It’ll happen when the free email services (Hotmail, Yahoo!, and GMail) integrate an aggregator into their interface, and provide free blogging capability with every account. I’d even bet that Google is already working on it. It’s only a matter of time…
One Man Shouting 