Published Prose

Towards the end of 2007 there was a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to Generation Star Wars! This was due in part to a Google PageRank of 4, and that Generation Star Wars is listed on BlogBurst, a syndication service that makes premium blog content available to major international publishers such as Reuters, USA Today and Fox News.

USA Today was the first to syndicate one of my posts:-

Vanquishing Vista

Now it appears that Reuters is also syndicating some of my posts, giving Generation Star Wars significant exposure and introducing it to a larger readership in the process.

I have listed a couple of examples below:-

Platinum Bells
Warner Bros. Do Blu Only

Please let Reuters know what you think of the posts and this blog. Thank you.

Warner Bros. Do Blu Only

The news Blu-ray supporters have been waiting for! Reuters confirms that Warner Bros. is to back the Blu-ray format exclusively!

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers," Warner Bros. Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer said in a statement.

From Michael Bay on Blu-ray/HD DVD and Transformers

Director Michael Bay posted this message on the Official Michael Bay Forums:

"Well another studio down. Maybe I was right? Blu-ray is just better. HD will die a slow death. It's what I predicted a year ago. Now with Warner's down for the count with Blu-ray. That makes it easier for Wal-Mart to push Blu-ray. And whatever Wal-Mart pushes - wins. HD better start giving out those $120 million dollars checks to stay alive. Maybe they can give me some so I can give it to my Make-A-Wish charity, just to shut me up. Have faith people Transformers will come out in Blu-ray one day..."

Personally, I can't wait for Batman Begins, The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix trilogies! Where Warner Bros. leads, other studios will, ultimately, follow! Warner Bros. will continue supporting HD DVD until May 2008. However, after that time, the studio will be exclusively Blu. To read the full article, please click here.

Incidentally, whilst on the subject of Blu-ray and Reuters. Reuters has republished a post of mine, via BlogBurst, here.

If the Blu-ray Macworld rumours are correct, this will be a great month to go Blu!

Published by USA Today

I'm most flattered to learn that my post, Vanquishing Vista, has been republished by USATODAY.com (direct link).

This wouldn't have been made possible without being a BlogBurst member, and I implore readers, who also blog, to at least consider, if they haven't already done so, the opportunities open to them via social networking, at local, national and international level.

Reading Maury McCown's announcement that RailHEAD Design is no more, reminded me that I've neglected my portfolio site (founded June 15th 2001) since February!

The site was originally conceived to promote my skills and support job applications (don't assume that every prospective employer will bother to look at your site, no matter how easy it is to click a hyper link). However, it soon developed its own identity and became a springboard for affiliate marketing, graphic design, editorial, social networking and so on...

Whilst my portfolio site could never hope to garner the, deserved, success of RailHEAD Design, I've been proud to maintain it, exchange links with best-of-class Mac-related sites such as The Iconfactory, and humbled to read every e-mail inquiry. Like Maury, I've now taken the decision to no longer update the site. It won't be deleted.

The saga of Generation Star Wars has only just begun...

Nothing Compares 2 U

On May 11th this blog will be celebrating its second anniversary and the party will be held in Times Square (joking)! It only seems like yesterday that Tom, a friend, suggested that I start a blog. Ironically, to date he has yet to start his own!

Since the blog's inception, the organic nature of the web has evolved exponentially. Web 2.0 anyone?

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) have become, arguably, the de facto multimedia content distribution channel.

Google has launched a raft of enabling services; from AdSense and Analytics to Page Creator and Sitemaps. The latter should be on the top of every web authors to-do list since Bigdaddy sent 'shock waves' through the web community! Google's competitors, such as Yahoo! and MSN, are responding. Content authors and consumers can only reap the benefits of this dynamic competition.

Bloggers are increasingly becoming the source for new journalistic talent - their voices cannot be ignored and the audience is, literally, listening (subscribe to the text-to-speech podcast)! Mainstream media has taken note and is now making inroads into joining the 'conversation' and leveraging these valuable assets to mutual advantage.

Further to the above. Pluck has now launched BlogBurst (beta), which is an opt-in syndication service that provides editorially approved bloggers the opportunity to reach a large audience via top-tier publishers such as the Washington Post.

My blogs are now part of the BlogBurst network and I'll be monitoring this exciting development moving forward.

In summary. Not only has the blog afforded me the luxury of an extensible writing medium. The network of new friends and acquaintances has far transcended my very, very modest hopes. A big shout-out to Matt Shobe, FeedBurner co-founder, for all his incomparable help and advice with both FeedBurner and template chores. Imp for her most helpful hints. All the bloggers whom have shared link exchanges and their experiences. And, you dear reader, without whom, well you know...

Thanks for reading and please tell your friends, family, pets, neighbors...