BlogMad News Update

Interested in joining BlogMad? Go ahead! BlogMad is the next-generation traffic exchange for bringing the most traffic to your blog. BlogMad has now launched their forums. Have questions? The forums are the best places to get answers! Also, there is now an "official" BlogMad blog, BMlog. The blog will have BlogMad news, info on launch dates and more. As you know, I’ll be one of the beta testers of BlogMad, and that test begins February 1st, 2006. One month later (March 1st), is the tentative launch date for the public beta of BlogMad. And finally, on June 1st, BlogMad will leave its beta stage. Wanna see some screenshots?

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If you have multiple Gmail accounts to manage, now there is a tool available to help you with that task: Gmail Manager. The software, found on BetaNews: allows you to manage multiple Gmail accounts and receive new mail notifications. [It] displays your account details including unread messages, saved drafts, spam messages, labels with new mail, space used, and new mail snippets. I don’t have multiple Gmail accounts to manage, but maybe now I’ll create some! With these 99 invites just laying around, I could give out throw-away addresses to websites anytime I wanted!

Disney just announced that they are planning to expand their iTunes offerings soon. The new content will include the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Nokia Sugar Bowl from ESPN, ABC News, Touchstone Television content, shorts from ABC’s "America’s Funniest Home Videos," content from the Disney Channel, as well as content from Disney’s animation department. Most of the content will be $1.99, except for the news, which will be free.

I wonder if the promised animation content will ever include Disney full-length feature films. I can’t imagine these ever being offered at $1.99, especially with Disney’s strategic marketing plan of releasing films on DVD for a limited time, then putting them back in "the vault." However, getting "The Lion King" on the iPod would definitely expand the market base of the Apple player, making it not just a tech toy for the masses, but the sought-after item on kids’ wish lists, too. I’m interested to see where this goes this year. Mark my words, the future of content is anywhere, anytime, and portable.

As I reminisce about the year gone by, I realize that there was a lot going on. What really stands out for me as the top tech stories of 2005 are as follows:

1. Google. Google becomes a powerhouse company, rolling out beta after beta. Some bomb (Web Accelerator); some are so fantastic I wonder how I lived without them (Gmail/Gmail Mobile), and some just confuse (GoogleBase). Still, Google makes it known they are a force to be reckoned with. Watch out for Google’s online office suite in 2006. You know it’s coming.
2. Tagging. Everyone is tagging now. Tag photos on flickr. Tag bookmarks on del.icio.us. Tag blog posts on Technorati. Tagging is Web 2.0 and the future of organizing information on the web.
3. MySpace blows up. Everyone who is anyone (and under 30) has a MySpace profile. The MySpace music scene explodes. MySpace breaks news artists online, releases an album,  starts a label, and basically thumbs their nose at the traditional music industry.
4. The rise of AJAX. Not a technology, but a new way of bringing technologies together, Ajax makes the web look new again. And it’s everywhere. As you drag and drop items on your Google Personalized Home page, spy on stories at digg.com (the Web 2.0 slashdot), use free online office software, IM without an app, and more.
5. The end of free-for-all file sharing. P2P Networks get shut down. 12 year olds are sued by the RIAA. Meanwhile, those who want legal content have more options than ever. iTunes starts offering TV shows for $1.99. Movielink offers hundreds of major releases. AOL announces In2TV. Tivo joins forces with Yahoo! to allow users to schedule recordings via the web.
6. The rise of podcasts. Podcasts are hotter than ever. Free content on a variety of topics is appealing to many. Plus, easy access via iTunes takes podcasts’ popularity to the next level. Almost everyone with an mp3 player subscribes to a few. Podcasters have an expo. Advertisers get on board. Corporate podcasts show up, hoping to jump on the bandwagon. Expect to see more offerings in 2006, and expect the most popular to find ways to monetize their shows.
7. The XBox 360. Everyone wants one. No one can get one. People who do get them report crashing, but it doesn’t diminish the demand. Frustration sets in as millions of kids are disappointed on Christmas day.
8. DVRs are in more homes than ever. Nielson realizes they need to start counting who records shows, not just who watches them live in order to get true ratings. Fast-forwarding through commercials means more blantant product placement within shows. Networks force you to upgrade to a DVR by pitting their most popular shows against each other.
9. Apple innovation. iPods with color screens play videos. TV available for download at iTunes. Apple makes what is essentially a flash drive (the Shuffle) sexy. Macs to have Intel inside very soon.
10. XML. Every blog, every site has a feed. Feeds can be added to your homepage, be it MSN, Yahoo, or Google. Feed reeders as free-standing apps decline in popularity as online feed readers/reader services and browsers with feed reading built-in get popular.

Last, but not least: