There are a few people in the Web whose work I can't help but watch with significant interest, as I know they are among the more visible people, working in teams with lesser-known colleagues, focusing their effort on moving the Web forward. From DeWitt Clinton, Brett Slatkin, Brad Fitzpatrick, Chris Saad, Dave Winer and David Recordon, to people like Jason Shellen, Chris Wetherell, Kevin Marks, Leah Culver, Paul Buchheit, Bret Taylor and Chris Messina, to name two handfuls, I can believe that these folks are working on those projects that are shaping the way we communicate and take in information. Messina, in particular, has penned a few blog posts over the last month that have had us thinking quite a bit - and it is safe to say he is on a roll.

Chris, in November alone, has proposed a new microsyntax for Twitter, forecast the death of the URL, and talked about how "designing for the gut" takes advantage of how the new social Web pushes people to overcome phobias and connect with people.

A well known advocate for open source, and one of the voices behind OAuth, which we discussed on Thursday, Messina has a history of thinking beyond where we are today and proposing concrete ideas that can be acted upon immediately. Those hashtags you see everywhere on Twitter these days, in practically every tech event and many trending topics? Chris proposed the idea in August of 2007. So it makes sense that he might have given a ton of thought to more uses for microsyntax, as he describes in his proposals for Twitter, as he suggests new items, including "/by", "/via" and "/cc". These suggestions are very clear and concise, the work of someone who has done his homework.

Chris' thoughts on the reduced focus on the URL too are salient, as we become more used to navigating in our browsers with pre-determined buttons and workflows. For me, URLs are often simply one-time visits before they are thrown into my RSS reader for safe-keeping, or they become bookmarks for later clicking. But the act of typing in a URL character by character seems antiquated. As he says, that's a gut feeling, and not one backed by much science on my part.

As I see it, the social Web changes the entire process of content discovery. Instead of portals, we are relying on mortals. Our trusted friends and experts bring us the best content from around the Web to us directly, via Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, and even that old tool... e-mail. We are trusting human filters to select the best from our RSS repositories and hand it off downstream. We pick a handful of trusted favorites, and make them the equivalent of our Yahoo!, or even Google.

Chris' post on the death of URLs paints a not so pretty picture of how, if left uncontrolled, a few powerful companies could help funnel the majority of users to predetermined sites, hand selected by them - much like the fears we once had about dominant portals. This could be done as we graduate from the traditional browser and link model to something else, where Web-connected applications pass us the requested data. He says, "We all know that the internet has won as the transport medium for all data — but the universal interface for interacting with the web? — well, that battle is just now getting underway."

One thing about the Web is that it is ever evolving. The places we choose to communicate are changing. The information we think provides value is changing. Our requirements for how quickly we need the data are changing. Chris and the many folks I mentioned in the first paragraph are among the first line of defense we have, trying to set standards and promote change for a world that feels right from both the gut and from the mind. You can find Chris' writing over at http://factoryjoe.com/blog/ or on Twitter at @chrismessina. While I assume many of you read him religiously, it's time the rest of you did as well.

Seventeenth Edition Of a Monthly Series

As we wrap up July, it comes time again to highlight some enterprising bloggers who are practicing their craft with little attention - or at least a lot less than some of the brand names we frequently run up against. This month's edition, like the others, brings new voices into the sphere who you may want to start reading and follow. Each month, I try to find five new ones that you may not have heard, who are working hard in obscurity. Most are interested in a lot of the same things I am - including technology, information gathering, gadgetry and social networking.

To get on this list, bloggers need to post regularly, cover something resembling technology, and have less than 1,000 subscribers or so, with very rare exceptions. We are more than happy to take nominations as well, either here, by e-mail, FriendFeed or Twitter.

The July 2009 blogs are:

1) In the Mind of Damond Nollan (damondnollan.com)

Focus: IT Management, Education, Software, Internet Services
Three Recent Posts:

• First Look at Google Voice
• Small Discovery Makes Lazyfeed Exceedingly Cool
• How to Share Interesting Stuff from the Web Using Google Reader and Friendfeed

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Victus Spiritus by Mark Essel ( victusspiritus,com)

Focus: Investment, Technology, Social Networking
Three Recent Posts:

• Crowd Sourced Venture Capitalism
• Open Social Media of the People, by the People, for the People
• Motivation for Behavior Change, Cognitive Dissonance

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Adam Sherk (www.adamsherk.com)

Focus: Publishing, SEO, Public Relations
Three Recent Posts:

• Videos in Press Releases are Cool – If They Provide Meaningful Content
• Do People Search for “Breaking News”?
• Twitter Suggested Users – Today’s Studio 54 Velvet Ropes

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) TrendsSpotting (trendsspotting.com)
(This violates my rule of 1,000 or fewer subscribers, but I bet it's new to many of you)

Focus: Statistics, Trends, Social Media
Three Recent Posts:

• Facebook’s Naked Reality: Social Networks Research Insights
• Taking A Stock Of Real Time Search Hype
• Apple is Risking its Brand Image

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) Social Squared by Jess Sloss (socialsquared.com)

Focus: Social Media, Marketing, Lifestreaming
Three Recent Posts:

• The Everyday Evangelist
• Want 500,000 Clicks? Try Giving Away 10 Macbook Pros
  
• Find Twitter Followers and Build An Audience With These Helpful Applications

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

Want to be on this list? You can catch my eye by posting great information in the field of technology, social media, blogging and the Web. I'll be more likely to highlight you if you blog almost every day, and bring new stories to the table that don't repeat discussions launched elsewhere. And if you have more than 1,000 subscribers, you're usually too big for this.

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for next month's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

Sixteenth Edition Of a Monthly Series

Even as many people are debating the importance of blogging, the number of active bloggers is still growing. And even if we have grown comfortable with the number of people we are reading, there are voices we are no doubt missing. Each month, I try to find five new ones that you may not have heard, who are working hard in obscurity. Most are interested in a lot of the same things I am - including technology, information gathering, gadgetry and social networking,

To get on this list, bloggers need to post regularly, cover something resembling technology, and have less than 1,000 subscribers or so. We are more than happy to take nominations as well, either here, by e-mail, FriendFeed or Twitter.

The June 2009 blogs are:

1) Jungle G by Jorge Escobar (jungleg.com)

Focus: Social networks, Influence, Technology
Three Recent Posts:

• Social Media is a Personal Support System
• The Importance of a Blogger’s Voice
• Facebook’s (And Other Social Platform’s) Preferential Treatment Should Not Be Ignored

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Spatially Relevant by Jon Gatrell (spatiallyrelevant.org)

Focus: Product development, Social media
Three Recent Posts:

• I’ll trade you 3 lifestreams for 1 blog
• Really? Kinda has a social media revival feel to it
• Roadmapping: Implementing Strategy

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Sticky Figure by Steve Woodruff (brandimpact.wordpress.com)

Focus: Social Networking, iPhone, Marketing
Three Recent Posts:

• Good-bye, Social Media – Hello, Networked Communications
• Why I Won’t Stop Blogging
  
• Why it’s Stupid to Ignore Social Networks

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) OwenGreaves.com (owengreaves.net)

Focus: High Tech, Business, Social Media
Three Recent Posts:

• I.T. Decisions – Who Makes Them In Your Organization?
• Your Break Even Point
• Your Passion Is In Front Of You – You’re Just Not Paying Attention

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) Twittercism (twittercism.com)

Focus: Twitter, Microblogging
Three Recent Posts:

• Six Ways Twitter’s Direct Message System Could Be Radically Improved
• A Block On Twitter Isn’t A Block At All
• Three Ways Twitter Could (And Should) Improve The Suggested User List

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

Want to be on this list? You can catch my eye by posting great information in the field of technology, social media, blogging and the Web. I'll be more likely to highlight you if you blog almost every day, and bring new stories to the table that don't repeat discussions launched elsewhere. And if you have more than 1,000 subscribers, you're probably too big for this.

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for next month's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

Fifteenth Edition Of a Monthly Series

One of the more fun things I get to do on this blog is highlight other voices from around the world who crave tech or have insight into the Web we're all weaving. I recognize others made sure to give me airtime on their own sites, and the right thing to do is to return the favor. For the last year-plus, we have hand-selected five new blogs for you to review and, hopefully, subscribe. By following these new voices, you can get additional viewpoints outside the common echo chamber. And who knows, maybe some of these people will eventually become household names?

To get on this list, bloggers need to post regularly, cover something resembling technology, and have less than 1,000 subscribers or so. We are more than happy to take nominations as well, either here, by e-mail, FriendFeed or Twitter.

The May 2009 blogs are:

1) Almighty Link (almightylink.ksablan.com)

Focus: Social networks, hyperlinking, media, search
Three Recent Posts:

• Topsy finds Twitter users who share links related to your beat
• When a quake shakes a Sunday night newsroom
• Your content is social, even if you aren’t

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Advocate's Studio (advocatesstudio.wordpress.com)

Focus: Legal, Blogging, Technology
Three Recent Posts:

• Honor Among Bloggers
• Find a Search Engine to Match Your Visual Learning Style
• Focus on Outcome, Not Income

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Blind Five Year Old (blindfiveyearold.com)

Focus: Google, RSS, Technology
Three Recent Posts:

• Google Synonyms
• How To Deal With Email Mistakes
• Five Reasons Why Paid Search Is Down

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) Techgeist (techgeist.net)

Focus: Google, Web Browsers, Search
Three Recent Posts:

• Friendfeed Has Spoiled Me - I Demand Real Time Now
• Something Has To Give
• Chrome On Linux - Displays Google.com, Does Little Else

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) Deliberate Ambiguity (deliberateambiguity.typepad.com)

Focus: Search, Microsoft, Technology
Three Recent Posts:

• Bing: An Insider's Perspective
• Wolfram Alpha: A Marketer's 2 Cents
• How *not* to rate a search engine

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

It's amazing how more than a year after starting this process, I am still impressed by the high quality writing by some of these lesser-known blogs. Some of those highlighted this month are among the best I've seen in a long time. Want to be on this list? You can catch my eye by posting great information in the field of technology, social media, blogging and the Web. I'll be more likely to highlight you if you blog almost every day, and bring new stories to the table that don't repeat discussions launched elsewhere. And if you have more than 1,000 subscribers, you're probably too big for this.

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for next month's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

Fourteenth Edition Of a Monthly Series

The new tradition to our monthly highlighting of five less visible blogs appears to be delivering it at the very end of the month, rather than the beginning. Just because it's posted at the end of April doesn't make these selections any less relevant or important than any other month. This is a feature I look forward to every month, and it's always fun to make the selections.

If you are new to louisgray.com, we have been trying to extend the blogging ecosystem, finding what Tac Anderson calls "the good long tail blogs". We know many of you get tired of the the echochamber, so we are more than happy to bring you some new voices. To get on this list, bloggers need to post regularly, cover something resembling technology, and have less than 1,000 subscribers or so.

With that intro, here are this month's selections...

1) The AppsLab (theappslab.com)

Focus: Oracle, Web 2.0, Technology
Three Recent Posts:

• In Defense of Anonymous Commenting?
• Musings on Relationship Symmetry in the Enterprise
• When Are You Most Productive?

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Rick Klau's weblog (tins.rklau.com)

Focus: Blogger, Google, Twitter
Three Recent Posts:

• The Stand, Playing Out on Twitter
• Eight Lessons Learned as a Brand on Twitter
• Music Rights Are Killing Good TV Shows

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) The Programmer's Paradox (theprogrammersparadox.blogspot.com)

Focus: Software, Development
Three Recent Posts:

• The End of Coding as We Know It
• My PC Crashed Again
• About, Next and Garbage

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) New Comm Biz (newcombizz.com)

Focus: Technology, Blogging, Social Networking
Three Recent Posts:

• Where Are All the Good Long Tail Blogs?
• Do Social Media Professionals Work Harder Than Their Peers?
• The Only Thing You Should Be Doing

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) Guruvan (guruvan.gurus.net)

Focus: Social Networking, Marketing
Three Recent Posts:

• The Mine Is Caving In On Twitter's Gold
• Sphere of Influence Or Marketing Pool? How Do you use your Social Networks?
• FriendFeed vs. Twitter OR Remember the Tortoise and the Hare?

RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

Want to be on this list? You can catch my eye by posting great information in the field of technology, social media, blogging and the Web. I'll be more likely to highlight you if you blog almost every day, and bring new stories to the table that don't repeat discussions launched elsewhere. And if you have more than 1,000 subscribers, you're probably too big for this.

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for next month's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

FriendFeed made a big move yesterday, replacing their standard interface with a beta version which had been publicly incubating for a month. And while that announcement made headlines, what makes the site a must-visit for many active players in social media is the people who use the site, and the content they provide. For the past several months, my tag team partner, Mike Fruchter and I have been highlighting ten well-deserving FriendFeed users who bring consistently interesting items and discussion to the community.

Previous FriendFeed members to follow lists, largely driven by Mike, can be found for the 2008 months of, July, September, November and December. The 2009 lists can be found for January, February and March.

As always, the list is not 100% inclusive, which is why we do these regularly, so if you believe we are missing some key people, please do bring them to our attention!

1) Meryn Stol

Short Bio: A Netherlands-based software developer, currently coding on the Ushahidi platform, aimed to crowdsource crisis information, Meryn helped build the foundation for the Dutch Open Directory Project, and is a strong proponent of leveraging open source and open standards to promote positive environmental and social change.

What they find interesting: Software, social media, global causes

FriendFeed: Subscribe

2) Anna Billstrom

Short Bio: Anna Billstrom is a technical database marketing consultant, who has worked with top brands including Kodak EasyShare Gallery, American Express and the Walt Disney Internet Group, implementing enterprise customer relationship management systems. A graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Anna is an e-mail marketing guru, and a locally-renowned champion of the Scramble game on Facebok, where she is on her way to defeating me for the second straight time handily.

What they find interesting: Marketing, Technology

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

3) Rob Nelson

Short Bio: Rob Nelson is a network engineer and systems architecture guru located in New York. He is an active participant in the Linux and Open Source communities, and proclaims to have built several dialup providers and worked for Flycast Communications, an ad-serving network. In addition to his geek side, Rob is an expert dog trainer, helping to teach dog owners how to better communicate with their pets. He also is a devout musician

What they find interesting: Software, social networking

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

4) AJ Kohn

Short Bio: AJ is the vice president of online marketing at Caring.com, with a long career of managing direct marketing programs for both consumer and enterprise products. In parallel, he is a consultant at a self-owned company called Blind Five Year Old, where teaches clients about search engine marketing, search engine optimization and social media.

What they find interesting: Web analytics, SEO, marketing

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

5) Laura Norvig

Short Bio: Laura is a coordinator at the National Service Resource Center, managing content and metadata for the library's Web site. She is an expert on organizing information, mother to a three year old, and as she says, dabbles in social media.

What they find interesting: Information, Libraries, Non-Profits

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

6) Brian Daniel Eisenberg

Short Bio: Brian Eisenberg is a senior systems engineer at Software AG, helping to support sales reps and systems engineers with customized VMware demonstrations, business process management and human workflow applications. Formerly a senior product manager at webMethods and a program manager at Microsoft, you probably didn't know that Brian has a 250 gallon marine fish tank which requires him to step on his tiptoes just to feed the little creatures. (video here)

What they find interesting: Technology, Microsoft, Landscaping

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

7) Joni Moilanen

Short Bio: Joni, known as "Jemm" on FriendFeed, is an IT consultant at CodeBakers Oy in Finland, working as a software architect, specializing in .NET and SQL server. On his blog, he covers Web, Windows and distributed applications, including coding and architecture. He and his wife Nina live in Espoo, and have two cats.

What they find interesting: Software, Development, Humor

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

8) Johnny Worthington

Short Bio: Johnny Worthington, who lends his Australian accent to the popular "FFundercats" podcast, is the International Trade and Marketing Manager for Australian Agricultural Chemicals, a liquid fertiliser company specialising in turf, agricultural and horticultural nutrition. He has a young daughter and lives in Brisbane.

What they find interesting: Humor, Family, Technology

FriendFeed: Subscribe

9) Jesse Newhart

Short Bio: Jesse Newhart is a multimedia artist and freelance journalist, based in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He has two sons, and is one of the more influential people on Twitter, in terms of gaining attention from his followers. His blog frequently discusses the latest in social networking, discussing reTweets to a potential mass exodus of users from the microblogging service to FriendFeed.

What they find interesting: Social networking, Technology, Media

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

10) Jason Toney

Short Bio: Jason Toney is the senior producer of online creative services at Walt Disney's Internet Group. An Emmy-award winning Web site producer, project manager and content producer, Jason has worked with networks including MTV, NBC and Fox, and has a deep knowledge for Web media development. He is based in Los Angeles.

What they find interesting: Pop culture, Media, Music

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: Subscribe

Part Nine In a Monthly Series

November brings a bit of coolness in the air as the summer heat becomes a memory and most of us in the Northern Hemisphere turn to Winter. But while it might be getting colder outside, there's still a lot of hot writing going on, both from sites you have heard of and many you likely haven't. For the last nine months, I've highlighted five blogs each month that I think warrant your checking out.

Each of the bloggers highlighted over this time period has been added to my Google Reader list, via Toluu, and has, to date, been consistently informative, interesting or entertaining. Prior months' entries can be found for March, April, May, June, July, August, September and October.

This month's entries...

1) Rob Jensen / Microblink (www.microblink.com)

Focus: Microblogging, Twitter, Pownce, Plurk
Recent Highlight: Where to Find Election Coverage
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Cass / Media Geek Girl (mediageekery.blogspot.com)

Focus: Movies, Media and Life (from Singapore)
Recent Highlight: IM Just Got Interesting
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Thought Clusters (www.thoughtclusters.com)

Focus: Technology, Software
Recent Highlight:
Hindsight Experts
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) Jason K / TekPopuli (www.tekpopuli.com)

Focus: Technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft
Recent Highlight:
Voter Suppression 2.0 — GOP Turning to Robo-Tweets
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) Editechial (www.editechial.com)

Focus: Blogging, Funding, Media
Recent Highlight:
Hype Happens
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for November's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

Part Eight In a Monthly Series

Just because there is a slowdown in the economy, and quite possibly, a slowdown in innovation in some arenas doesn't mean there is a slowdown in new, interesting bloggers who write good quality pieces that make you think. With this month's installment, forty separate blogs will have been highlighted as having a high content to subscriber ratio. A good number of those people have catapulted to new jobs and gained visibility. Others, have fallen away. How will this month's fare?

Each of the bloggers highlighted in the last eight months has been added to my Google Reader list, via Toluu, and has, to date, been consistently informative, interesting or entertaining. Prior months' entries can be found for March, April, May, June, July, August and September.

1) Bwana McCall / Bwana.org (www.bwana.org)

Focus: Podcasting, Gaming, Social Media
Recent Highlight: Twitter 2008: Get Used To It (Goodbye IM/Track)
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Ken Stewart / ChangeForge (www.changeforge.com)

Focus: Technology, Business
Recent Highlight: The Heart Of A Technologist.
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Kipp Bodnar/ Digital Capitalism (www.digitalcapitalism.com)

Focus: Marketing, Internet, Social Media
Recent Highlight:
How to Be Successful in Social Media: Take Action and Hustle
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) Daniel Pritchett / Sharing At Work (www.sharingatwork.com)

Focus: Business, Technology, Human Factors
Recent Highlight: Getting Better All The Time
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) 14 sandwiches (www.14sandwiches.com)

Focus: Technology, Video, Media
Recent Highlight:
From Homing Pigeons to Micro-Blogging: Regional Media Strides Forward
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for November's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

Part Seven In a Monthly Series

Sometimes the best blogging is going on well away from the most visible places. Since March, I've taken the beginning of each month to showcase some bloggers that are writing some solid content in their corner of the blogosphere. They may not post as frequently as some of us do, and they certainly don't have the readership they deserve. Just maybe, with this little boost, it can give them the encouragement they need to keep going, and get more prolific.

Each of the bloggers highlighted in the last seven month has been added to my Google Reader list, via Toluu, and has, to date, been consistently informative, interesting or entertaining. Prior months' entries can be found for March, April, May, June, July and August.

1) Matt Rhodes / Fresh Networks Blog (blog.freshnetworks.com)

Focus: Web 2.0, Online Communities
Recent Highlight: Social Networking for Spies
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Cyndy Aleo-Carreira / Shakespeare I Ain't (www.fourlittlebees.net)

Focus: Technology, Parenting, Journalism
Recent Highlight: On Being a Feminist Parent
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Andy DeSoto/ AndyDesoto.com (www.andydesoto.com)

Focus: Social Media, Technology
Recent Highlight: Blogging Is a Big Game
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) Alex Payne / al3x.net (www.al3x.net)

Focus: Software Engineering, Software, Computing
Recent Highlight: al3x's Rules for Computing Happiness
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) Elliott Hughes / elliotth’s Blog (elliotth.blogspot.com/)

Focus: Apple, Linux, Software Engineering
Recent Highlight: Desktop Linux Suckage: Introduction
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for October's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

August marks the sixth month where I've tried to highlight five lesser-known bloggers who are quietly toiling in relative obscurity. Each of the bloggers highlighted each month has been added to my Google Reader list, via Toluu, and has, to date, been consistently informative, interesting or entertaining. Most are focused on Web applications and social media.

There's no simple rule for determining obscurity, aside from the fact their content consistently outproduces the number of comments they receive, or likely, traffic. They don't rank highly on common measures, such as Technorati, and have, to date, avoided controversy. As this is the sixth month producing this list, don't forget to check out the archives and find 25 other sites who have been featured. Prior editions can also be found for March, April, May, June and July.

1) Chris Baskind / ChrisBaskind.com (www.chrisbaskind.com)

Focus: Environment, Technology, Social Networking
Recent Highlight: Dear Twitter: It’s Over. And It’s for The Best
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Mona N / Pixel Bits (pixelbits.wordpress.com)

Focus: Wikipedia, Social Networking, Humor
Recent Highlight: Screw Facebook, I’m Learning How to Unclog Toilets from Knol (Google’s “Wikipedia”)
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Kyle Lacy / KyleLacy.com (www.kylelacy.com)

Focus: Social Media, Web Applications, Marketing
Recent Highlight: How to be Productive with Social Media!
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) David Griner / The Social Path (www. thesocialpath.com)

Focus: Social Media, Marketing
Recent Highlight: In a Free Online World, What Are You Willing to Pay For?
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) Justin Korn / Justin Korn’s Blog (blog.justinkorn.com)

Focus: Photography, Social Networking, Technology
Recent Highlight: The Online Participation Factor
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

To see even more new blogs I'm adding to my reader, or get a sneak peek for September's highlighted blogs, follow my activity on Toluu. If you don't have a login to Toluu, send me an e-mail to louisgray@mac.com and I'll get that set up right away.

Near the beginning of each month, I try to highlight five bloggers who have recently caught my eye, who I think you should take a look at, who are offering good insight, especially into the world of tech or social media.

While there's no specific criteria for naming what's well known or what's obscure, each of the blogs mentioned don't get mentioned often alongside so-called A-List bloggers, and rarely, if ever, have made the rarified air of Techmeme. Prior editions can also be found for March, April, May and June.

1) Bob Warfield / SmoothSpan Blog (smoothspan.wordpress.com)

Focus: Web 2.0, Cloud Computing, Enterprise
Recent Highlight: The Rule of 10’s Makes the Internet an Early Adopter Amplifier
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

2) Jesse Stay / Stay N' Alive (www.jessestay.com)

Focus: Social Applications, Twitter, Networking
Recent Highlight: Developers Bailing on Twitter
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

3) Franklin Pettit / FPettit.com (www.fpettit.com)

Focus: Microblogging, Firefox and Extensions, Web Applications
Recent Highlight: FriendFeed Temperature Taking
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

4) Nathaniel Payne / NerdFlood (www.nerdflood.com)

Focus: Video Games, Social Media
Recent Highlight: What the hell is Toluu? And does it require a prescription?
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

5) David Risley / DavidRisley.com (www.davidrisley.com)

Focus: Social Media, Early Adopters, RSS
Recent Highlight: Scoble is Wrong About Blog Comments Being Dead
RSS Feed: Subscribe Now

While some out there are looking to refresh their RSS feed subscriptions by starting from zero, I believe you can still get the benefit of new voices by selectively adding individual feeds, without getting overloaded.

In the vein of the last three months' offerings of new blogs you're likely not reading, (March | April | May), below are five more bloggers who I think are worth taking a chance on, whose writings have caught my eye of late, and who need a bigger stage.

1) Coding Experiments (http://codingexperiments.com/)

Focus: Technology, Development, Coding, Social Media
Recent Highlight:
How Many Features Can Be Cut from a Service without the Users Leaving?
RSS Feed: http://codingexperiments.com/feed

2) LiveCrunch (http://www.livecrunch.com/)

Focus: Social Networking, Plurk, Twitter
Recent Highlight: Things To Do Before WWDC 2008
RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/livecrunch/technology

3) Broadcasting Brain (http://broadcasting-brain.com/)

Focus: Social Media, Podcasting, FriendFeed
Recent Highlight: Punching above your weight with social media
RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BroadcastingBrain

4) Neoformix (http://www.neoformix.com/)

Focus: Statistics, Data, Twitter
Recent Highlight: Top Twitter Users StreamGraph
RSS Feed: http://www.neoformix.com/index.xml

5) Michael Fruchter (http://michaelfruchter.com)

Focus: RSS, FriendFeed, Social Media, Toluu
Recent Highlight:
Cleaning up my Google reader with the help of Toluu.
RSS Feed: http://michaelfruchter.com/blog/feed/

As mentioned last month, I'm always looking for more new bloggers and interesting voices to be added to my Google Reader feeds. You can get an early tip as to new bloggers I'm following and sharing by signing up for Toluu, following me on FriendFeed, or following my Google Reader shared links blog. If you think there are more I should check out, please leave them in the comments.