the iCite net > news / blog > a permalink

news and thoughts on and around the development of the iCite net
by Jay Fienberg

TrackBack lacking the venacular

posted: Jun 12, 2003 10:25:16 PM

I was going to post a question on my blog here along the lines of: is anyone actually using TrackBack enjoyably?

Then, I thought I should put some more effort into it myself. At this very moment, I am both working on cleaning up the trackback page for this blog and writing some kind of JavaScript helper for me to trackback ping other sites that I link to.

I just saw that Dave Winer posted a link and "right on" comment to a critical review of trackback on the Daring Fireball blog, called Take Your TrackBacks and Dangle.

So, I am going to try to use trackBack more, but my general sense is that it ain't quite right. The Daring Fireball review spells it all out.

That being said, I do find things about trackback attractive, and in fact, one major feature of iCites is an automated trackback-like interaction. The idea is that reciprical cross-references, should they be desired, should be automated and should itself function as a new medium of useful information.

So, functionally, I just mean more powerful links with more metadata. These happen at the iCite application level: this isn't about trying to implement XLink (though maybe iCites will be able to express their links as XLinks if someone wants them that way). iCites just make sure other iCites know when they link to each other.

The other issue brought up in the Daring Fireball review is that static websites and many blogs do not support trackback. This will also be an issue with iCites, though part of the idea with iCites is that they can be add-ons to websites and blogs, and, as such, they don't have to live on the same server as your site or blog.

That being said, anything that isn't totally "built-in" to website or blog software is going to be generally less adopted unless it becomes its own thing (I mean, blogs editing tools weren't built-in to website editing tools, but blogs became its own thing in this sense). I hope the iCite net will become its own thing in this sense too.

If all the blog tools supported trackback, that would be good and help adoption. But, I don't think trackback is clean and smooth and interesting enough to really compete against the features of blog comments, referer logs, Technorati and Google.

I do imagine the iCite net and iCites being clean and smooth and interesting enough to have some value along side those other services. This is because I see the iCite net as functioning (should it succeed) as a pervasive service rather than as an application feature like trackback. I think trackback is too application specific (i.e., too specific to blog posts, even more than being specific to just Moveable Type).

permalink | comments {0} · trackbacks {11}

also available as: rss · rss2 · rdf · atom

Comments and Tracbacks

trackback from: the iCite net development blog
posted: Jun 14, 2003 7:14:55 PM
title: Created a trackback form for blojsom

I created an HTML form that, for any one of my blog posts, reformats the post so that I can easily send a trackback ping to another site.

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Feb 21, 2006 7:21:17 AM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Feb 24, 2006 11:12:26 AM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Feb 25, 2006 5:23:49 AM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Mar 13, 2006 5:42:15 PM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Mar 19, 2006 12:47:47 PM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Mar 21, 2006 8:40:30 AM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Mar 22, 2006 10:26:57 PM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Apr 9, 2006 3:02:57 PM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Apr 13, 2006 3:29:13 AM

Trackback awaiting approval
posted: Apr 13, 2006 3:06:33 PM

Note: All comments and trackbacks are moderated. Spam is deleted. Other comments are approved as promptly as possible.

Note: Older posts no longer accept new comments or trackbacks.

« prev post
Would a blog by any other name still smell like a blog by any other name?

» next post
Icon Wars: best Flash business application ever

blog newsfeeds

brief content:

 XML  ·  RSS  ·  RDF  ·  Atom 


full content:

 XML  ·  RSS  ·  RDF  ·  Atom 


blog archive

2006:
jan · feb · mar · apr
may · jun · jul · aug 
sep · oct · nov · dec
		
2005:
jan · feb · mar · apr
may · jun · jul · aug
sep · oct · nov · dec

2004:
jan · feb · mar · apr
may · jun · jul · aug
sep · oct · nov · dec

2003:
may · jun · jul · aug
sep · oct · nov · dec

first post: 
April 30, 2003

highlight views:
Spammers' Choice
		

Jay elsewhere online
Jay Fienberg - the official home page

Wrong Notes - the music blog of the Ear Reverends

Fine & Full, aka, a fine and full burger

Sociomobilepoetextologia (moblog, currently inactive due to lack of proper mobile)

to enjoy roll
sites I like to read when I start from here

· Anastasia Fuller
· Andy Baio
· Biz Stone
· Boris Mann
· Bre Pettis
· Chris Dent
· Danny Ayers
· Dare Obasanjo
· David Czarnecki
· David Weinberger
· Don Park
· Evan Williams
· Greg Narain
· Jason Kottke
· Jim Benson
· Lucas Gonze
· Marc Canter
· Matt May
· Matt Mullenweg
· Michal Migurski
· Nancy White
· Rebecca Blood
· Reg Cheramy
· Richard MacManus
· Sam Ruby
· Shelley Powers
· Tim Bray
· danah boyd


powered by blojsom


Entries by blojsim