Categorization and K-Logs.  Categorization of posted Weblog content offers lots of advantages.  Since most Weblogs are built on a content management system, you can use categorization to repurpose categorized content in new ways.  For example:  Radio automatically creates category specific Weblogs. 

Here are some lessons I learned working with categories.  Four years ago my team and I at my last company built a dynamic publishing system that supported categorization.  My initial intent was to build a large comprehensive list of categories our analysts could use to tag content when they published to the system.  We were going to provide our customers with the ability to build their own Weblog based on the categories/topics they selected.

The categorization scheme quickly got out of hand.  It became too unwieldy and complex to introduce into the analyst's workflow.  We opted instead for a system built on automated search functionality that looked for keywords in the content. 

That experience has taught me that the best way to use categorization as a means of serving the needs of specific groups of readers.  For example, a corporate K-Log may use three categories:  one for work group peers, one for the entire company, and one for friends and family.  For simplicity, the writer only deals with a few core categories.  Also, the writer still only interacts with a single Weblog home page.  As a result, the workflow needed to make this possible is simple and easy to incorporate.  The readers, however, get targeted content.  Personal content isn't included in the corporate and workgroup Weblogs.  Workgroup content isn't posted to the corporate Weblog.  Dual posts to both corporate and worlkgroup Weblogs is easily done by clicking two checkboxes. 

The benefits of this system really show when RSS headlines and search functionality is added.  As a reader I can now subscribe to a targeted Weblog via RSS headlines (Radio has this capability) that arrive on my desktop every hour.  With search (Daypop is a great example) I can find Weblogs and specific posts that are talking about topics that I think are interesting. 

Perhaps an innovation that Daypop could introduce is RSS feeds based on keywords much like Moreover but for Weblogs.  That would be a very nice innovation and something I would use.  It would also introduce a level of serendipity into the RSS subscription system by introducing me to Weblogs/writers I haven't read before.  Within the context of a K-Log, this automated RSS feed would need to be installed on the corporate intranet as part of a K-Log community server package.  [John Robb's Radio Weblog

Categorization and K-Logs.  Categorization of posted Weblog content offers lots of advantages.  Since most Weblogs are built on a content management system, you can use categorization to repurpose categorized content in new ways.  For example:  Radio automatically creates category specific Weblogs. 

Here are some lessons I learned working with categories.  Four years ago my team and I at my last company built a dynamic publishing system that supported categorization.  My initial intent was to build a large comprehensive list of categories our analysts could use to tag content when they published to the system.  We were going to provide our customers with the ability to build their own Weblog based on the categories/topics they selected.

The categorization scheme quickly got out of hand.  It became too unwieldy and complex to introduce into the analyst's workflow.  We opted instead for a system built on automated search functionality that looked for keywords in the content. 

That experience has taught me that the best way to use categorization as a means of serving the needs of specific groups of readers.  For example, a corporate K-Log may use three categories:  one for work group peers, one for the entire company, and one for friends and family.  For simplicity, the writer only deals with a few core categories.  Also, the writer still only interacts with a single Weblog home page.  As a result, the workflow needed to make this possible is simple and easy to incorporate.  The readers, however, get targeted content.  Personal content isn't included in the corporate and workgroup Weblogs.  Workgroup content isn't posted to the corporate Weblog.  Dual posts to both corporate and worlkgroup Weblogs is easily done by clicking two checkboxes. 

The benefits of this system really show when RSS headlines and search functionality is added.  As a reader I can now subscribe to a targeted Weblog via RSS headlines (Radio has this capability) that arrive on my desktop every hour.  With search (Daypop is a great example) I can find Weblogs and specific posts that are talking about topics that I think are interesting. 

Perhaps an innovation that Daypop could introduce is RSS feeds based on keywords much like Moreover but for Weblogs.  That would be a very nice innovation and something I would use.  It would also introduce a level of serendipity into the RSS subscription system by introducing me to Weblogs/writers I haven't read before.  Within the context of a K-Log, this automated RSS feed would need to be installed on the corporate intranet as part of a K-Log community server package.  [John Robb's Radio Weblog]

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