I'm impressed with Verisign 

A developer on the new weblogs.com team at Verisign called me this morning about my blog post that expresses confusion over the audio.weblogs.com ping form. I didn't email them or anything. I thought it was encouraging that they're scanning the environment, that he took the trouble to find me and phone, that he really wanted to know what I did and what went wrong, and that they're looking into my problem with so much care and interest. Can't beat that.

Later today I learned in email that there is a problem with my feed. I posted on the Loudblog forum to ask about it. Loudblog is the PHP/MySQL app I use to do various steps of the podcast such as the blog part which includes generation of the feed. Funny it worked until last week. The nice developer guy said they're discussing making the XML readers a little more forgiving.

'You ignorant kids' 

Comment on my other blog in response to a post linking to MoveOn info about 2,000-killed vigils: "All you ignorant kids can think of is to protest!!!" Thanks, buddy! I needed to be called a kid today.

Wouldn't you know 

I'll still be taking a break from my literature game podcast starting tomorrow morning after I record the answer to the last round. But wouldn't you know, the day before I stop, the podcast has the biggest day ever, after getting a link today (one click removed) from the AOL Instant Messenger AIM Today page that pops up when you start AIM. I'm taking the break anyway.

Blogs have arrived? 

Steve Baker at Business Week's Blogspotting tells about an e-mail from Bacon's asking for information on his blog for the directory. This means blogs have arrived as a medium in the wider establishment world if the call for info has been widely circulated. Bacon's is the authoritative media list source for PR folks. Used to be, anyway; sounds like Steve is saying it still is. He says there was no mention of Business Week in the request, but I'd be curious to know if blogs not associated with mainstream media also have been contacted, and how wide the net has been cast, and what sources have been used.

I haven't practiced the Black Art for 15 years or so. I shouldn't call it that. There's a need for PR, I guess. It just wasn't for me. I did it for a long time and it gradually got to me, especially in agencies. You'd be effervescing one opinion that was not your own, then switch focus to another client and schizophrenically advocate a different position. Lawyers who have hearts and a sense of self have that problem too.

What's going on in Vancouver 

Wesley Fryer is doing an incredibly thorough job of blogging the 2005 World Conference on eLearning in Vancouver. Thanks, Wesley, for making such a good record.

Tease 

I wonder what that screenshot was that Dave had up late last night. If it's a way to browse an OPML file in a little widgetty, app separate from a browser, I'm in. It would be just what I was looking for to give to team members to peer in on a project's status without having to have the editor installed.