Blog2.0

It seems all the talk these days is about web interoperability. Interoper-who? Basically, interoperability is the ability of a program or service to work across different platforms. Think about a program like Firefox that works on Windows, Apple OS X, and Linux. Not so easy to do. Now add a dash of web platform. Imagine a web application that runs on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and more.

Side step.

Over the years, I have been collecting online identities. Four years ago, I signed up for a Blogger account. Three years ago, a MySpace account. Two years ago, a Facebook account. And recently, a Twitter account.

With a pile of web applications on my hands, it soon becomes a burden to update my information. Post a blog twice? Change my status four or five times? Sorry. Not my style.

Recently, I found http://ping.fm. Ping.fm allows you to update your status and add a blog post to multiple sites at once. I had tried to do that using Bloggers API on my old website, but honestly, it turned out to be more work that it was worth.

Ping is currently is in beta and requires you send them your email address and request an invitation code. It takes a day or so to receive, but if you can't wait, the most recent beta code is itsaboutping. Not sure how long that will work for, but give it a shot.

My initial feedback.

Most social applications are supported in Ping. And if you have your own Wordpress blog (I just upgraded today), there's a wordpress plugin. The thing I like about this best is that I don't have to give up my old Blogger account in order to use Wordpress. With ping, I can post to them simultaneously.

Gripes.

I know it's only in beta, but if there was something I could suggest, it would an improved interface. For updating my status, it's perfect. Text area, that's it. But when writing a full blog post, a small text area with a scroll bar makes it pretty tough to visualize what you're writing. I'm doing it now and can't see more than a sentence or so at a time.

So if you're out there blogging (which I hope you are), sign up for ping.fm. And since you can post to multiple sites simultaneously, get a Blogger and Wordpress account! And a Facebook account. And a MySpace account. And a LinkedIn account. And a Twitter account. Soon you'll need a bigger virtual wallet to carry all those online identities.

is changing his status using ping.fm