NYTimes.com announced today that it had reached an agreement with UserLand Software to distribute content from NYTimes.com to the network of Radio UserLand 8.0 desktop content management users. This new feature allows New York Times links to flow, with reader annotation, through the growing network of "Weblog" sites published with Radio 8.
Weblogs are continuously updated news-oriented Web sites that are published by experts in technology, education, and in corporations. This new form of publishing, also known as "microcontent," relies on Web services technology such as XML as well as other technologies pioneered by UserLand including RSS, XML-RPC, and SOAP.
"Weblogs are a new form of journalism, practiced by hundreds of thousands of individuals for small audiences, sometimes as small as a classroom or a corporate workgroup," said Dave Winer, CEO of UserLand Software. "The New York Times is a trusted source for news and analysis, and partnering with them will help our network to grow beyond early adopters and technology aficionados."
The feeds from NYTimes.com will add to UserLand's flow of content in business and technology news, and will develop important new areas including the arts, international news, national and New York regional news, science, politics, travel and education.
"We are pleased to offer Weblog creators the ability to post headlines from NYTimes.com with UserLand's software," said Martin Nisenholtz, CEO of New York Times Digital. "Weblogs are an increasingly popular form of self-publishing within a highly influential community, and are therefore an important distribution channel for our high-quality content."
The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog - Weblogs -- frequently updated, independently produced, and curiously addictive -- have become some of the most popular sites on the Web today. The Weblog Handbook is the first book to explain how weblogs work and explore their impact on the media landscape.
There is no formula for creating a superb weblog--but there are lessons to be drawn from maintaining one. In The Weblog Handbook, Rebecca Blood draws on her experience as an early participant in the weblog community to share what she has learned in three years of "living online."
With a clear and engaging voice, Rebecca explains how to choose among the available tools, even walking the beginner through the process of creating their first weblog. Along the way she answers commonly asked questions concerning weblog etiquette, how to attract readers, and the qualities that make a weblog stand out, alerting the novice to considerations--and pitfalls--they didn't know to ask about.
For students of digital culture, The Weblog Handbook provides an account of the history of the movement, an explanation of the "weblog method", and a thoughtful examination of weblogs and journalism.
Finally, Rebecca examines how the weblog community has grown and changed, the dangers confronting it, and the ways in which weblogs are affecting and affected by both online and offline culture.