xWinLib Supports Google Chrome

The release of Google's latest software contribution to the world, the GOOGLE CHROME browser, is causing quite a stir in the software industry -- especially I would think over at Microsoft. All for one really good reason --- Chrome, at least on the surface -- is a shiny as its name would imply! Initial perception: VERY COOL!

Along with that, and you know I just could help myself, the xWinLib browser windowing library fully supports Google Chrome!!!

Viva la innovation!

Data Portability Steering Committee

Congratulations to all of the members of the Data Portability initiative throughout the world that have helped champion this important cause. The recent election of the following members (in alphabetic order) to the Data Portability steering committee promises the hope of worldwide acceptance and adoption:

• J. Trent Adams
  
• Daniela Barbosa
  
• Elias Bizannes
  
• Brady Brim-DeForest
  
• Steven Greenberg
  
• Brett McDowell
  
• Drummond Reed
  
• Steve Repetti
  
• Chris Saad
  
• Christian Scholz
  
• Steve Williams
  
• Phil Wolff
  

This effort can only bode well for Facebook, MySpace, Zude, and the countless other places where your personal data may reside. Again, congratulations to all!

Zude at Summerfest!

I love talking about Zude. It’s easy to get excited about it. Zude’s latest news is that it was selected as the official social network for Summerfest – the largest outdoor music festival in the world!! Go team Zude!

Catching up from Web 2.0

Wow, it’s been a hectic couple of weeks since Web 2.0! We had a terrific show --- got lots of traffic, multiple interviews, and generally had a blast. We showed off our latest stuff, including Zude’s new SocialMix (http://www.zude.com/socialmix), which was just written up in TechCrunch (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/17/facebooks-friends-data-has-already-left-the-barn/).

Web 2.0 had a great turn-out and was populated by all the big guys: Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Citrix and more (a total of 178 companies exhibited). The best news for us was the selection by eWeek of Zude as the #2 coolest technology amongst all of the exhibitors --- second only to Microsoft’s new Mesh stuff! Now, that’s heady stuff!!!!

Here’s the whole article: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Coolest-Technologies-Demoed-at-Web-20/4/

Data Portability Ratchets up the BUZZ!!!!

Today, a WILD conversation is going on over at TechCrunch started by Mike Arrington (Data Portability: It’s The New Walled Garden) which has quickly evolved into a shouting match between him, Robert Scoble, and both sides of the Data Portability/Data Ownership issue. Interestingly, and despite the volume, they are on the same side of many of the issues -- though it's hard to tell from some of the posts! Make sure you check out the post and all of the comments (over 100 now and counting!).

All of this has important ramifications for you, your data, the sites you visit, and more. Want to get even more involved? This is not just an issue for MySpace, FaceBook, or Zude. Carry the conversation further on DataPortability.org.

Google, MySpace, and Facebook Open Up???

There is currently a "lands grab" going on in the social computing space that was started by the whole Data Portability initiative -- unfortunately the stakes being driven into the ground are centered around proprietary solutions (APIs) . Two conflicting schools of thought are emerging related to this subject. Google, MySpace, and Facebook believe that a SINGLE STORE will be used to house all of your social presence -- regardless of where you access it from. And, of course, each one of these guys believes that they can own the STORE --- which is exactly what puts each of their solutions at odds with each other (and other existing solutions and standards). The Data Portability initiative sees things a bit differently. Specifically, your data is housed GLOBALLY (without single ownership of a DATA STORE), and they seek to provide common ways to access and update the information in a distributed manner.

On the larger front, it is interesting to note that Google by itself does not really have a USER BASE to share, regardless of their CONNECT initiative. However, I believe this signals a MAJOR SHIFT for them from casual visitors (i.e. users of their search engine) to registered users with associated profile data. This is initially fed by iGOOGLE and ORKUT, but I think GOOGLE will now focus VERY HEAVILY on "profiling" the world's user base...

Stay tuned as I believe this is opportunistic for all users as well as Zude!

Web 2.0 Surprises

In less than two weeks, Zude will be in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 conference. And, we'll be showing a bunch more cool stuff in the area of data portability, social computing consolidation, advanced mashup platform and distribution mechanisms, and lots more! Hope you get a chance to stop by and check it out for yourself, or stay tuned here for specifics when we get back.