Earlier this week I was reading Ted's introduction to Wired magazine's iPad re-issue of its very first issue (January 1993). To have that kind of experience and industry knowledge at ReadWriteWeb is a real thrill and prepares us for the exciting times ahead!

We have a redesign in the works and a new name too, reflecting our 2012 mission to chronicle the consumerization of IT. More on that soon, but in the meantime here is the press release from SAY Media about our new hires:

SAY Media Announces New Hires for ReadWriteWeb

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 6 2012 - SAY Media today announced the hires of Ted Greenwald and Fredric Paul, senior editor and business editor respectively, are joining the editorial team of ReadWriteWeb. Both distinguished veterans in the technology publishing space, Greenwald and Paul will contribute thoughtful insight and analysis on tech news and trends as well as drive the editorial direction of the publication.

“ReadWriteWeb is on top of the most important story unfolding in technology today: the massive disruption and opportunity wrought by pervasive networking,” Greenwald says. “As an editor at Wired during the dotcom boom and its aftermath, I covered the digital revolution's impact worldwide. Now the revolution has entered a new phase, and the established giants are under attack from a profusion of social, mobile, and cloud-based competitors. ReadWriteWeb's emphasis on timely, smart analysis is just what tech-savvy readers need to prosper in this emerging ecosystem.”

Ted Greenwald’s editing and writing experience includes the MIT Technology Review, Forbes and Fast Company. He served as an editor at Wired for nearly ten years.

“I’ve long admired ReadWriteWeb for its thoughtful discourse on technology,” says Paul. “In the current technological and economic climate, I can think of no better place to help translate the fast-evolving tech landscape into analysis and insight that everyone can understand and act upon.”

Having covered business and technology for more than 20 years, Paul comes to ReadWriteWeb after holding leadership positions at CNET, Information Week, PC World and AllBusiness. He was also a contributing editor to the MIT Sloan Management Review.

“In terms of the tech industry, there are trillions of dollars of market cap at stake. We are talking about one of the greatest industry upheavals in recent memory, and someone needs to sit down and figure out what it means to the rest of the world,” says Richard MacManus, founder and editor-in-chief of ReadWriteWeb. “These hires are crucial, as these stories go beyond the social Web. This is about predicting the next great movement in the future of tech, and Ted and Fredric are the ones to help us do it.”

Joining managing editor Abraham Hyatt, Greenwald and Paul will add to the editorial team based in San Francisco.

About ReadWriteWeb

ReadWriteWeb is one of the most popular technology blogs in the world, known for offering insightful analysis about each day's Internet industry news. ReadWriteWeb was founded in April 2003 by Richard MacManus and is now one of the most widely read and respected blogs in the world. Its readers are smart and influential decision makers. For more information visit www.readwriteweb.com.

About SAY Media

SAY Media is a digital publishing company that creates amazing media brands. Through its technology platform and media services, SAY enables its portfolio of independent content creators to build passionate communities around key consumer interest areas such as Style, Living, Food and Tech. The company provides simple and accountable ways for the world’s top brands to engage with these passionate audiences at scale, with a reach of more than 500 million people around the world. SAY Media is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices across North America, in the UK and Australia. For more information visit www.saymedia.com.

Pro bono as in free. EvoNexus (which does sound kind of like a U2 album), is a project of San Diego tech industry association CommNexus, which launched the incubator in 2009 to stimulate the growth of new high-tech companies in the area.

Like most other high-tech incubators, EvoNexus provides entrepreneurs with office space, mentoring and VC networking. But unlike other incubators, those entrepreneurs pay no fees and give up no equity.

“We believe we’re the nation’s only pro-bono high-tech incubator, no strings attached,” says EvoNexus operations director Bailey Cunning. “Our sole goal is to grow the tech sector in San Diego. And we want to do it without making companies give something up.”

It’s an attractive proposition. And it’s drawing a lot of interest from entrepreneurs. EvoNexus has had more than 300 applicants since it started - a third of them in the past eight months. About one in 18 is accepted, and there are currently 23 entrepreneurs in residence at the program’s two office spaces in downtown and suburban San Diego. Startups stay for an average of a year and a half, a lot longer than the three-month tenure at a typical for-profit incubator.

EvoNexus participants get facilities, utilities, broadband and all the business services they need. They get help with their pitches and free lunches with VCs. They get to choose their own mentors based on industry fit. And they get San Diego beaches, sunshine and the Gaslamp Quarter to unwind after a hard week of development.

“Applicants are usually pretty shocked that we offer all this pro bono,” Cunning says. “Usually they want to apply immediately.”

Twenty-nine startups have been incubated to date, and six have “graduated,” which means they’ve gotten a VC or strategic investment and left the nest. Graduates include EcoATM (recycling kiosks for consumer electronics), IO Semiconductor (fabless semiconductors), TretraVue (3D measurement and imaging), Pixon Imaging (advanced real-time video image processing), MicroPower Technologies (wireless surveillance) and Perminova (Web-based cardiology software).

EvoNexus is supported by local corporations including Qualcomm, LG, Nokia and Verizon. In return for their assistance, they get a more vibrant tech sector in their neighborhood - and they get a pipeline to new technology and talent.

A sponsorship costs $25,000 a year, which is a lot less than some companies pay to onboard a new app and a handful of programmers. (Hello, Facebook.)

I know, because my company, GrowBiz Media, tried this not once, but twice, during our early years. Let me share what I learned (the hard way) about the pros and cons of sharing space.

Consider these factors before you move in:

1. Clarify expectations. Be crystal clear about what both you and your landlord expect from the situation. Will you pay for space, or will you work rent-free in return for bartering your services?

Having tried it both ways, I highly recommend paying if you can swing it. Barter arrangements tend to suffering from "mission creep," and when the person who owns the room you're sitting in asks you to do one more extra thing... and one more... and one more... it's hard to say no. Paying, on the other hand, keeps the relationship professional.

2. Consider the culture. Assess how your way of working will mesh with the company you're considering sharing space with. If your team likes to blow off steam with impromptu Nerf football games or yell ideas to each other across the room, will that clash with a more formal landlord's need for a quiet atmosphere or serious client meetings?

3. Could you be competitive? Think carefully about whether you and your potential landlord are at all competitive. It's great if you've got synergy and can work on projects together, but that can also backfire. If you and your landlord are competing for the same clients, you could end up in that awkward place of not being able to discuss your plans out loud in your own office.

4. Check the details. In your excitement, don't forget to ask the standard questions you'd ask any landlord. What will be included in your rent? Is there enough parking for your team and visiting clients? Can you use the conference room when you need to? Will your landlord provide office furniture? What kind of Internet connection and phone service is available? Will you have access to the building at night and on weekends? If you do, will the heating or A/C be turned on? (Take it from me, there's nothing like working a January weekend in a building without heat to get you looking for your own office space.)

5. Draw up a lease. No matter how close you are with your landlord, you need a written lease to protect both of you if the relationship should go south. And believe me, it can. There's also a more mundane reason you need a lease: When you look for business insurance, the insurance company will want a copy of your lease before issuing a policy.

6. Be respectful. When you share an office, you're in someone else's space, and people often have weird territorial issues that won't raise their ugly heads until you've settled in. You could find out that the landlord wants all the window shades drawn to exactly 10 inches above the windowsill level, or monitors toilet paper consumption and threatens you when your staff is using too much, or is a thermostat Nazi (all true stories).

Unless these issues are truly disrupting your business, try to go with the flow. Draw the shades, BYO TP, put on a sweater - and let your landlord's quirks motivate you to be so successful that you can afford your very own offices.

After our experiences, we realized, given the nature of our business, we didn't need to be in an office at all. We went virtual, and now we meet once a week at a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi and soda refills, and no longer worry about how much toilet paper we're using.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Usually we're all about exploring the new and trying to explain the future, but in this post I'll allow myself some nostalgia. Here's a look back at ReadWriteWeb's history.

Like a self-titled debut album, the first post on April 20, 2003 was simply titled The Read/Write Web. The first words I wrote were: "The World Wide Web in 2003 is beginning to fulfil the hopes that Tim Berners-Lee had for it over 10 years ago when he created it."

When I started in April 2003, ReadWriteWeb sported the default template of Dave Winer's blogging software Radio Userland.

Like many enthusiast bloggers, then and now, I started out doing everything myself - including the design work. The first proper design I did was in September 2003 and it was, believe it or not, green.

Even greener! The version below is circa May, 2004. Not my best tagline work...

This version is an iteration from January, 2005 and featured giant pencils. Those were from one of my favorite artists, John Baldessari and his exhibition READ/WRITE/THINK/DREAM (not where I got the name of the blog btw, that is explained in the debut RWW post).

RWW went red sometime around November 2005 - and that's been our color ever since. The image below is a later iteration of this:

The foundation of our current design went live over Christmas 2007:

For posterity, here is today's homepage design. And yes we will be doing a re-design this year, thanks to the amazing designers at SAY Media.

Thank you to all our readers, sponsors and supporters over the years. It continues to amaze me how many great people I meet through blogging, all over the world!

"Part of the thinking is that there's more innovation around payments, transaction-based revenue models and startups, so we think it's an interesting focus area," Ammirati tells ReadWriteWeb. He likens Birchmere Labs to Betaworks in New York. The venture is brand new and as such Ammirati does not have any companies lined up. "We are being anti-stealth, and we want to be transparent about the things we are working on," says Ammirati. "There's too much we try to keep secret in technology. We're actually talking to people. Being transparent is a better way to get your business going."

As a software entrepreneur, Sean focuses on venture backed startups. He was the co-founder and CEO of mSpoke, LinkedIn's first acquisition. He is an Adjunct of Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and also served as a research fellow at Carnegie Mellon's Software Industry Center.

His new work with Birchmere Labs brings together his interest in the growing commerce space. Sean penned this ReadWriteStart story about the growing commerce space last year. He suggests that consumer technology will be commercialized by enabling purchases and taking a percentage of the transactions over the next few years. The combination of commerce and mobile is where he sees the future.

"There'a ton of pop in the mobile space, and I feel like, in one way, shape or form, mobile payments are going to happen," he says. "Like the Square stuff, maybe the NFC stuff. And there's also the ability to to do things on top of existing platforms." For this he points to CardSpring (not related to Birchmere Labs), a platform that makes it possible for developers to create applications for payment cards and terminals.

"In the same way people built SMS on top of Twilio, we'll hopefully be one to build things on top of the CardSpring platform," says Ammirati. "It's taking something very complicated, of interacting with credit card, processing, all these payments, and being able to do something similar to Square or NFC technology."

We here at ReadWriteWeb wish Sean all the best on his new endeavor. Thank you for helping make ReadWriteWeb what it is today.

Image courtesy of Sean Ammirati's LinkedIn profile.

ReadWriteWeb is going to get bigger and even better. Our plans include widening ReadWriteWeb's editorial scope and expanding our team. That starts from today, with the addition of SplatF's Dan Frommer to our team as an editor-at-large. We will also be doing a re-design, utilizing the sophisticated designers at SAY Media. With SAY's technology and services, we'll be able to scale ReadWriteWeb in ways previously unavailable to us. So I'm very excited about our team joining SAY Media. We're going to take ReadWriteWeb to the next level!

SAY Media is based in San Francisco and has offices across North America, the UK and Australia. It has many independent blogs and websites in its network, with a combined reach of more than 500 million people worldwide. ReadWriteWeb is the third blog to be acquired by SAY. The first two were Dogster in April 2011 and Remodelista in August.

It's been an eventful and fun journey since I founded ReadWriteWeb back in April, 2003. Over that time, ReadWriteWeb has grown to be one of the biggest blogs in the world. More importantly, we've stuck to the site's core goal from Day 1: provide thoughtful analysis of the latest Web technology products and trends. Along the way, we've had many talented people contribute to ReadWriteWeb's growth. Chief among those is our team today, led on the business side by our COO Sean Ammirati and on the editorial side by Managing Editor Abraham Hyatt and Channels Editor David Strom.

I want to make special mention of our two longest-serving people: senior writer Marshall Kirkpatrick and webmaster Jared Smith. Marshall has been a key part of ReadWriteWeb for over 4 years now. More than anyone, he has helped me shape the editorial voice of ReadWriteWeb. Jared is a star inside ReadWriteWeb and frankly doesn't get the external recognition he deserves.

So as you can see, ReadWriteWeb is and always will be a team effort. It's not only our writers who are passionate about Web technology, all of our extended team lives and breathes the Web every day. So we'll fit right in with the SAY Media team and its growing portfolio of passion-based media properties.

Here is a short video announcement, featuring myself and SAY Media CEO Matt Sanchez:

Here's the official press release from SAY Media:

SAY Media Acquires ReadWriteWeb

SAN FRANCISCO - Dec. 14, 2011 - SAY Media today announced it has acquired ReadWriteWeb, one of the most popular and influential technology publications in the world, to anchor its growing Technology channel that reaches more than 75 million global consumers each month. Founder and editor-in-chief Richard MacManus will continue to lead ReadWriteWeb as part of SAY Media's rapidly expanding editorial team. In addition to ReadWriteWeb's current staff, new star writers will contribute to the renowned technology publication, starting with Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief of SplatF, who will serve as editor-at-large.

"ReadWriteWeb has established itself as a leading news and analysis source for the tech community, reaching high-level business influencers and decision makers. Its editorial team is frequently sourced and considered to be one of the best in the business," said Matt Sanchez, CEO, SAY Media. "As we looked to acquire a property that would further strengthen our technology channel, ReadWriteWeb naturally rose to the top of the list. Richard and his team are extremely passionate about the content they create and have worked very hard to develop a deeply engaged and informed community of tech enthusiasts."

As part of SAY Media's portfolio of owned and operated media properties, ReadWriteWeb will take advantage of the company's proprietary technology platform, experienced ad sales team, and world-class design expertise to scale its business to reach more technology enthusiasts and decision-makers. Under SAY's guidance, the site will continue to evolve through design and user experience innovations that align with SAY's Clean Campaign vision, and also expand its editorial scope to appeal to a wider array of technology consumers.

"We're incredibly excited to be joining SAY Media and believe this partnership will help us better serve our community of readers," said Richard MacManus, founder and editor-in-chief, ReadWriteWeb. "With SAY's technology and services we'll be able to scale ReadWriteWeb in ways previously unavailable to us. We'll now be able to expand our editorial scope into relevant areas of interest and redesign the site to create a more premium experience for both our readers and advertisers."

This acquisition will strengthen SAY's Tech channel offering by giving brands an assortment of custom advertising opportunities that leverage the influence and authority of voices like Richard MacManus and Dan Frommer and the reach of SAY's broader network of technology properties to connect brands with engaged audiences. Current sites in SAY Media's Tech channel include: Android and Me, Gear Patrol, gdgt, SplatF, TechDirt and more.

"ReadWriteWeb covers the tech industry with a high level of integrity and intellectual curiosity. I can't wait to add my voice to the site, as I report on technology trends around the world," said Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief, SplatF and editor-at-large, ReadWriteWeb.

As SAY continues on its path to become the undisputed home of passion-based, vertical media properties, the company will continue to partner with, build and acquire sites that create quality content with a point-of-view and maintainvibrant, engaged communities.

About ReadWriteWeb

ReadWriteWeb is one of the most popular technology blogs in the world, known for offering insightful analysis about each day's Internet industry news. ReadWriteWeb was founded in April 2003 by Richard MacManus and is now one of the most widely read and respected blogs in the world. Its readers are smart and influential decision makers. For more information visit www.readwriteweb.com.

About SAY Media

SAY Media is a digital publishing company that turns strong, culturally relevant voices into premium digital media experiences. Through its technology platform and media services, SAY enables its portfolio of independent content creators to build passionate communities around key consumer interest areas such as Style, Living, Food and Tech. The company provides simple and accountable ways for the world's top brands to engage with these passionate audiences, at scale, with a reach of more than 500 million people around the world. SAY Media is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices across North America, in the UK and Australia. For more information visit: www.saymedia.com.

We've dived right in and created a Google+ Page for ReadWriteWeb. Our brand is for engaged technologists to discover and discuss ?what's next on the Web, so we hope to get to know our community better in Google+. Circle RWW to explore the future with us!

We also want to know your suggestions on how we should use our G+ Page, so let us know either in the comments here or over on G+.

Also, how will G+ Pages differ from Facebook Pages? We have a presence on both social networks (here is our Facebook Page), so it will be interesting to see over time how different communities use the two. Let us know your thoughts on that as well.

If you have a brand, you can create your Google+ Page here: plus.google.com/pages/create.

Click here to circle ReadWriteWeb on Google+

So Robyn has a wealth of experience in this role! She is also a wonderful personal fit for our brand of smart, passionate, forward-thinking tech news coverage. You'll see Robyn involved in the RWW comments, on Twitter, Facebook and many other social communities - including of course Google Plus!

In addition to her recent work at Current TV and Yahoo, Robyn has worked with other Fortune 500 companies: Intel, MTV, ATT, Fleishman Hillard, Behr Paints.

A big thank you to Tikva Morowati for pointing Robyn in our direction! Also thank you Katy Zack for her help in filling this role. There's nothing like the Social Web, ay! :)

Read more about Robyn on her personal blog. She's on Twitter of course - and don't forget there is a Team RWW list on Twitter, where you will find all of our team.

We're looking for someone to join us. We're looking for a smart, competitive journalist to cover Web tech news and to synthesize that news into the analytical and conceptual articles that we're known for.

The ideal candidate possesses a knowledge of - and definite interest in - emerging Web technologies. We want a self-directed candidate who is the perfect mix of ambitious reporter, critical thinker and smart writer. This position is full-time and is one of the top news blogging jobs on the Web. Not only will your work be read by the millions of visitors who come to ReadWriteWeb each month, it will be syndicated on nytimes.com and will shape how tech news is covered online.

Qualifications

• You must have three to five years of journalism experience, with a solid knowledge of basic HTML and an ability to utilize social media and other online tools as a reporter. An understanding of Web-based journalism and digital media trends is a given.
• You must be a versatile writer, someone who can cover spot news at a moment's notice and then turn around and write thought-provoking news analysis. Experience working in a fast-paced editorial environment with tight deadlines is desirable.
• Sharp news judgment and high journalistic standards are mandatory, as are excellent writing and self-editing skills and an entrepreneurial attitude.
• Geographic location is not important but dependable access to high-speed Internet is. ReadWriteWeb works entirely in a real-time virtual environment and your ability to stay connected is paramount.

Today, David Strom starts as our new Business Channels Editor. David will be responsible for leading and managing the business-focused channels, which currently are ReadWriteEnterprise, ReadWriteCloud, ReadWriteHack and ReadWriteBiz. David is a vastly experienced editorial manager. For example he was Executive Editor at PC Week magazine in the late 1980s, while I was still at school! So we're thrilled to have David join ReadWriteWeb. Here's more about David's career so far:

He has had several editorial management positions for both print and online properties in the enthusiast, gaming, IT, network, channel and electronics industries, including the editor-in-chief of Network Computing print, Digital Landing.com, and Tom's Hardware.com.

Over the course of his editorial career, he has helped launch dozens of Web sites, including the DesignLine series (such as automotivedesignline.com for CMP's Electronics Group) and several sites for Tom's Hardware. As the founding editor-in-chief for Network Computing magazine, he hired a staff of 20, established the magazine's six networked laboratories, designed a network-based publishing and production system and wrote many articles on networking topics.

He has written over two thousand different articles covering a wide variety of opinion columns, reviews, feature stories and analyses for dozens of publications and web sites, including ITworld.com, TechTarget.com, Internet.com, Network World, Infoworld, Computerworld, Small Business Computing, c|net and news.com, eWeek, Baseline Magazine, PC World, and PC Magazine. For many years, he wrote weekly opinion columns on eCommerce for IDGWorld's email subscription service, and networking columns in Infoworld and PC Week.

In addition to managing the four channels mentioned above, David will be a senior writer in ReadWriteEnterprise and ReadWriteCloud. I for one look forward to reading his daily insights into Web-based business. Welcome David!

Ever wondered what RWW looked like 8 years ago? In this post I nostalgically look back on 8 years of homepage designs for ReadWriteWeb.

In 2003, it was just me, blogging in my proverbial pajamas after the day job (I was a Web Manager at the time). In 2011, ReadWriteWeb is a much different thing. It now has 17 people working for it, 13 of whom are full-time. And we're looking for more. Yet it's still based on the same principles: exploring new web technology with a passion. ReadWriteWeb was, and still is, focused on discovering and discussing what's next on the Web.

There are so many things different about the blogging environment in 2011, compared to 2003, that it would take an 8-part content series to list them all. Instead I'll just note that ReadWriteWeb has always been a two-way experience. A big part of why I started RWW in 2003 was to network with people building and writing the new Web. In 2011, it's two-way in a lot more ways. RWW readers can now tweet at or about us, have a conversation on our Facebook Page, comment on our site using a service that connects to other social media, and so much more.

Not to be too pitchy, but we're extending the two-way concept to ReadWriteWeb's 4th event: the two-day long 2WAY Summit in New York City on 13-14 June. I'm very excited about this event, because it's another way that RWW has extended itself since those humble beginnings in 2003. I'm also proud of the 6 channels that RWW now has under our umbrella, from ReadWriteEnterprise to ReadWriteMobile.

Here's a look back at some of the RWW designs over the years, starting from my own DIY efforts in 2003 to the much more professional touches of our tech stars Jared Smith and Tyler Gillies in 2011.

When I started in April 2003, ReadWriteWeb sported the default template of Dave Winer's blogging software Radio Userland.

Like many enthusiast bloggers, then and now, I started out doing everything myself - including the design work. The first proper design I did was in September 2003 and it was, believe it or not, green (well before the Other Green Tech Blog arrived on the scene).

Even greener! The version below is circa May, 2004. Not my best tagline work...

This version is an iteration from January, 2005 and featured giant pencils. Those were from one of my favorite artists, John Baldessari and his exhibition READ/WRITE/THINK/DREAM (not where I got the name of the blog btw, that is explained in the debut RWW post).

RWW went red sometime around November 2005 - and that's been our color ever since! The image below is a later iteration of this:

The foundation of our current design went live over Christmas 2007:

For posterity, here is today's homepage design. And yes we will be doing a re-design this year, although I am rather fond of this design :)

I wrote most of the following words 3 years ago, on our fifth birthday. But it's as relevant today: thank you to all our readers, sponsors and supporters over the years. It continues to amaze me how many great people I meet through blogging, all over the world!

It is starting to appear as organically as any technology does when people need it to get the work done. There may be any variety of virtualization technologies on the desktop, the server and even mobile devices.

Our series will explore how virtualization is being used across the IT landscape, in big companies and small. We could list any industry and you'd find any number of examples for how it's being adopted. What we will do is illustrate how virtualization is being applied and how you can find new ways to use the technology within your organization.

Topics we will explore as part of the series:

• Desktop virtualization: How is the new app landscape affecting desktop virtualization? How is it viewed within the context of larger efforts across the enterprise?
• Business critical apps: How business apps are deployed in a virtualized environment is a question that's faced by any enterprise. We'll look at some of the latest trends we are seeing in the marketplace.

Virtualization is a big topic. We hope you will find new opportunities and more context for the issues that are still evolving on the desktop, in the network and the all important applications that sit on top.

Let's get started!

Day one of the summit will feature many great talks from some of the smartest folks in technology and media. Joining us so far are Fred Wilson, Gawker CEO Nick Denton, Jason Calacanis, danah boyd, Flipboard CEO Mike McCue and Chris Dixon - with many more names to be announced in the coming weeks.

Day two is all about learning and interaction. Our previous summits have allowed RWW's smart and influential community to contribute to the programming, which has been a huge success. That's not changing. Early registrants will have the opportunity to suggest topics that will serve as inspiration for breakout discussions and enriching workshops, catering to all levels of Web knowledge.

All that, and a few surprises as well!

Ready to sign up? Head over to the teaser site and purchase our Early Adopter ticket. In addition to getting the best general admission price of $595 for the full two day event, you'll also be able to suggest topics for day two's interactive sessions. Once all of the Early Adopter tickets are sold, the regular price for the summit will be $795.

We'll be launching our full 2WAY Summit site soon and will announce even more great speakers and programming.

Is there something or someone you'd love to see at the 2WAY summit? Let us know in the comments, or you can email our Community Manager Seamus Condron.

If you'd like to propose your own session for our day two programming, fill out this form.

Interested in becoming a sponsor or partner? Email our COO Sean Ammirati.

One more thing...

We hope to see you this summer in NYC!

Interested in being a ReadWriteWeb sponsor? Our readers are smart, tech-savvy decision makers; 40% have a graduate degree or PhD, and over 45% play a key role in information technology purchasing decisions. More than 1 million people on Twitter follow us to stay abreast of the latest Web technology trends from around the globe. To find out more about our sponsor packages, visit our advertising page or email our COO.

Skip to info about: Medill School of Journalism: Digital journalism programs | Skytap: Cloud solutions for enterprises and ISVs | BTBuckets: Free personalization and on-site behavioral targeting tool | Mashery: API management services | Rovi: Entertainment Data Solutions | SES London Conference & Expo: Search and social marketing conference | Columbia University's Journalism and Computer Science Masters Program: A new dual-degree Masters of Science program | Site24x7: Online website monitoring service | Conduit: Customized components | Lead411: Company and people information provider | Alcatel-Lucent: Application developer platform | WatchMouse: Monitor Website Performance and Functionality | SendGrid: Cloud-based email delivery service | Toopia: Our iPhone app developer

Medill School of Journalism

The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University offers programs that combine the enduring skills and values of journalism with new techniques and knowledge that are essential to thrive in a digital world. You might have a passion for creating finely crafted prose, or for telling stories using visual tools. Maybe you are invigorated by the possibilities of interactive publishing, or by videography for the small screen. Maybe you are an experienced professional looking to renew and retool your multimedia skills. You can find your niche in Medill's graduate journalism program.

Thank the Medill School of Journalism on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Skytap

Skytap provides cloud automation solutions for enterprises and software vendors to develop, test, migrate, evaluate, demo, and train on new and existing applications in the cloud. Skytap Cloud is ideal for distributed Dev/Test, Training and Sales Demo teams. Teams are empowered to:

• Create multiple cloud environments in seconds
• Run existing applications without any code changes
• Deploy virtual data centers, take snapshots and collaborate
• Accelerate bug resolution cycles by 75%
• Reduce operating costs by 70% annually

Customers of all sizes can deploy Skytap in a day. Try Skytap for free.

Thank Skytap on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

BTBuckets

BTBuckets is a free personalization and on-site behavioral targeting tool that allows websites to increase engagement and ultimately maximize conversion rate optimization (CRO) by clustering and targeting specific user groups. With a simple installation process (a single tag implemented on your site's webpages just like Google Analytics), BTBuckets can update and adapt your website in real-time to create the best experience for that specific user segment without the need to change any HTML code on your website.

BTBuckets segmentation capabilities include behavioral, demographic, customer life-cycle, technographic and firmograhic. Install the BTBuckets browser extension to create segments from within the Google Analytics interface and target these users immediately.

Thank BTBuckets on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Mashery

Mashery is a platform for Web services, allowing companies to manage their APIs using Mashery's expertise. At the "Business of APIs" conference, Mashery CEO Oren Michels explained to the audience that while APIs are a technology, their use is a business decision. He went on to say that Mashery has helped customers such as WhitePages.com, Thumbplay, Compete.com, and Calais. Check out the white paper "Five steps to scaling your business development using Web services" to discover how you can use APIs for your business.

You can find out more about APIs and their business use at www.mashery.com.

Thank Mashery on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Rovi

Rovi's entertainment data solutions allow online stores, portals, social networking sites, service providers, and application developers to differentiate their offerings, drive usage, and increase sales. By becoming a Rovi Data subscriber you gain access to our descriptive metadata on music, movies, TV shows, books, and video games, which you can deploy across multiple platforms.

Thank Rovi on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

SES London Conference & Expo: 21-25 February 2011

As search continues to evolve in new directions and marketing is becoming more like conversations, marketers are being challenged to learn how to leverage all the new forms of media and technologies. SES London is taking the lead in dissecting the new search landscape and figuring out what it means for you. We're leaving conventional thinking behind and will bring together the brightest minds in digital marketing and the veterans of search to deliver you an entirely new perspective. Providing digital marketers with the foundational know-how and the latest industry techniques - commitments we are devoted to build upon.

Session highlights:

• Key Points in Launching a Global Website
• Content Marketing Optimisation
• Marketing to the European Union
• Augmented Reality Revisited
• Is Search Remarketing/Retartgeting Right for You?
• Local 2.0: The Evolution of Local Search

Thank SES London Conference & Expo on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Columbia University's Journalism and Computer Science Masters Program

Apply now to Columbia University's new dual-degree Master of Science program in Journalism and Computer Science.  Students will receive highly specialized training in the digital environment, enabling them to develop technical and editorial skills in all aspects of computer-supported news gathering and digital media production.  This program will offer the highest caliber of computer science and journalism training at Columbia University. The inaugural class will enroll in fall 2011 for a total of five semesters at the Journalism and Engineering schools, learning the fundamentals of reporting and writing while developing a working background in computer science and software design.   Application deadline is January 15, 2011.

Thank Columbia Journalism School on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Site24x7

Site24x7, an online website monitoring service which allows users to monitor their website, web application and online web transactions. Users can get instant alerts when their website goes down. Site24x7 allows monitoring from across 25+ global locations.

Site24x7 pricing starts from $1/Month/URL. Sign-up for a 15-day Free Trial!

Thank Site24x7 on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Conduit

Conduit enables Web publishers to distribute their offerings both directly and through its global network of 250,000 publishers and their 170 million users. The Conduit platform is a powerful marketing tool that allows you to offer the best of your site through apps or a Community Toolbar, sending desktop alerts to your users, and much more.

The Conduit platform opens a new world of content sharing. Your site visitors can add your content right to their browser by clicking on a branded 2go button that you place on your site. You can also share your content in the Conduit App Marketplace where all the publishers and users in the Conduit network can grab it.

The platform has been adopted by major brands such as Fox News, iWin, Major League Baseball, TechCrunch, and Travelocity, as well as thousands of small and medium organizations in 120 countries.

If you would like to Conduit your website, go to www.conduit.com.

Thank Conduit on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Lead411

Lead411 is a company and people information provider which includes sales triggers derived from news, sales leads, business addresses, people search, sales intelligence, executive lists, etc. Our technology coupled with our manual research staff enable us to deliver the highest quality data and information. In addition to their subscriptions, they also provide awards like the Technology 500 and a marketing blog focused on news/tips for sales & marketing professionals. More could be found at http://www.lead411.com.

Thank Lead411 on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry, is turning the network into a powerful platform for developers.

With the launch of the Alcatel-Lucent Developer Platform, the company provides service providers and enterprises with tools that enable third-party developers to build, test, manage and distribute applications across networks, including television, broadband Internet and mobile. Alcatel-Lucent's introduction of a radical new business model combines network APIs with other third-party APIs, and opens revenue sharing opportunities to support developers in their pre-revenue wallets and provides an additional revenue channel for service providers.

The developer platform is part of a larger push by the company to combine the trusted capabilities of service providers with the speed and innovation of the Web.

Thank Alcatel-Lucent on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

WatchMouse

WatchMouse monitors website performance and functionality 24x7 from over 50 locations worldwide. Monitors for your website, server or API can be set up in minutes and provide valuable insight into how your users experience your site. Features include Multi-step Transactions, Real Browser Monitoring (including Javascript front-end), and Public Status Pages as used by ReadWriteWeb, Twitter, WordPress, bit.ly and more.

Thank WatchMouse on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

SendGrid

SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery service that delivers email on behalf of other companies to increase deliverability. With SendGrid, you can rest assured that your email will reach your customers' inbox. Integration takes just minutes via SMTP or can be done through a simple REST API. SendGrid can take the hassle of sending email completely out of your hands, and allow you to focus on being awesome at your core business.

Thank SendGrid on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Toopia

Nicolas Koenig is the developer who made our beautiful iPhone app a reality. He runs an iPhone development shop from the Netherlands called Toopia. Toopia also created the Thermometer iPhone app, which enables your iPhone or iPod touch to get the current temperature based on your location. The RWW app lets you read us on the go, follow us on Twitter, share stories on Facebook and Twitter, and browse at your leasure using Read it Later and Instapaper. Download the ReadWriteWeb iPhone application here.

Thank Toopia on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

The companies above pay our rents or mortgages and we appreciate it. We hope you'll stop by their sites and see what they've got to offer.

Have you got a smart company that could use some more visits by the sophisticated readers of a blog like ReadWriteWeb's? Drop us a line and let's talk.

Thanks to all our sponsors and our readers for your support!

Interested in being a ReadWriteWeb sponsor? Our readers are smart, tech-savvy decision makers; 40% have a graduate degree or PhD, and over 45% play a key role in information technology purchasing decisions. More than 1 million people on Twitter follow us to stay abreast of the latest Web technology trends from around the globe. To find out more about our sponsor packages, visit our advertising page or email our COO.

Skip to info about: Medill School of Journalism: Digital journalism programs | BTBuckets: Free personalization and on-site behavioral targeting tool | Free The TV Challenge: $500,000 in cash and prizes for the best Samsung App | Open Mobile Summit: Where Internet and wireless world-leaders meet | Mashery: API management services | Columbia University's Journalism and Computer Science Masters Program: A new dual-degree Masters of Science program | Site24x7: Online website monitoring service | Conduit: Customized components | Alcatel-Lucent: Application developer platform | WatchMouse: Monitor Website Performance and Functionality | SendGrid: Cloud-based email delivery service | PayPal X Innovate 2010 Developer Conference: Developer conference dedicated to payments | Toopia: Our iPhone app developer

Medill School of Journalism

The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University offers programs that combine the enduring skills and values of journalism with new techniques and knowledge that are essential to thrive in a digital world. You might have a passion for creating finely crafted prose, or for telling stories using visual tools. Maybe you are invigorated by the possibilities of interactive publishing, or by videography for the small screen. Maybe you are an experienced professional looking to renew and retool your multimedia skills. You can find your niche in Medill's graduate journalism program.

Thank the Medill School of Journalism on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

BTBuckets

BTBuckets is a free personalization and on-site behavioral targeting tool that allows websites to increase engagement and ultimately maximize conversion rate optimization (CRO) by clustering and targeting specific user groups. With a simple installation process (a single tag implemented on your site's webpages just like Google Analytics), BTBuckets can update and adapt your website in real-time to create the best experience for that specific user segment without the need to change any HTML code on your website.

BTBuckets segmentation capabilities include behavioral, demographic, customer life-cycle, technographic and firmograhic. Install the BTBuckets browser extension to create segments from within the Google Analytics interface and target these users immediately.

Thank BTBuckets on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Free The TV Challenge

Until recently, TVs have needed help from other devices in order to run software applications. But finally, Samsung is freeing the TV, with its Samsung Apps line of televisions and Blu-ray devices, which can download, install, and run apps natively. To celebrate the release of the Samsung TV Application SDK for this industry-leading line of TVs and Blu-Ray devices, Samsung is offering $500,000 in cash and prizes for the individuals or teams that develop the best looking, most brilliantly conceived, and most functional apps. Developers will retain all intellectual property ownership for their submissions, while having the opportunity to reach millions of people through their television sets.

Thank the Free The TV Challenge on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Open Mobile Summit

The Open Mobile Summit. San Francisco November 8-10: Where Internet and wireless world-leaders meet, to explore how to build and monetize the Internet anywhere. Featuring 100-plus speakers including:

• Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint
• Dennis Crowley, CEO, Foursquare
• Tony Melone, CTO, Verizon Wireless
• Raymie Stata, CTO, Yahoo!
• Sanjiv Ahuja, CEO, LightSquared
• Jason McKenzie, President Americas, HTC
• Bob Bowman, CEO, MLB.com
• Alain Mutricy SVP, Motorola
• John Loughlin, GM, Hearst Magazines

Plus Android, Microsoft, Disney, Huff Post, NPR, Smule, Playdom, Zynga, Weather.com and many more.

"This is THE conference in mobile right now" - Brandon Lucas, VP and GM Mobile, Black Entertainment Television

Take part in the conversation shaping the future of mobile. Places are limited. Register now.

Thank Open Mobile Summit on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Mashery

Mashery is a platform for Web services, allowing companies to manage their APIs using Mashery's expertise. At the "Business of APIs" conference, Mashery CEO Oren Michels explained to the audience that while APIs are a technology, their use is a business decision. He went on to say that Mashery has helped customers such as WhitePages.com, Thumbplay, Compete.com, and Calais. Check out the white paper "Five steps to scaling your business development using Web services" to discover how you can use APIs for your business.

You can find out more about APIs and their business use at www.mashery.com.

Thank Mashery on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Columbia University's Journalism and Computer Science Masters Program

Apply now to Columbia University's new dual-degree Master of Science program in Journalism and Computer Science.  Students will receive highly specialized training in the digital environment, enabling them to develop technical and editorial skills in all aspects of computer-supported news gathering and digital media production.  This program will offer the highest caliber of computer science and journalism training at Columbia University. The inaugural class will enroll in fall 2011 for a total of five semesters at the Journalism and Engineering schools, learning the fundamentals of reporting and writing while developing a working background in computer science and software design.   Application deadline is January 15, 2011.

Thank Columbia Journalism School on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Site24x7

Site24x7, an online website monitoring service which allows users to monitor their website, web application and online web transactions. Users can get instant alerts when their website goes down. Site24x7 allows monitoring from across 25+ global locations.

Site24x7 pricing starts from $1/Month/URL. Sign-up for a 15-day Free Trial!

Thank Site24x7 on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Conduit

Conduit enables Web publishers to distribute their offerings both directly and through its global network of 250,000 publishers and their 170 million users. The Conduit platform is a powerful marketing tool that allows you to offer the best of your site through apps or a Community Toolbar, sending desktop alerts to your users, and much more.

The Conduit platform opens a new world of content sharing. Your site visitors can add your content right to their browser by clicking on a branded 2go button that you place on your site. You can also share your content in the Conduit App Marketplace where all the publishers and users in the Conduit network can grab it.

The platform has been adopted by major brands such as Fox News, iWin, Major League Baseball, TechCrunch, and Travelocity, as well as thousands of small and medium organizations in 120 countries.

If you would like to Conduit your website, go to www.conduit.com.

Thank Conduit on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry, is turning the network into a powerful platform for developers.

With the launch of the Alcatel-Lucent Developer Platform, the company provides service providers and enterprises with tools that enable third-party developers to build, test, manage and distribute applications across networks, including television, broadband Internet and mobile. Alcatel-Lucent's introduction of a radical new business model combines network APIs with other third-party APIs, and opens revenue sharing opportunities to support developers in their pre-revenue wallets and provides an additional revenue channel for service providers.

The developer platform is part of a larger push by the company to combine the trusted capabilities of service providers with the speed and innovation of the Web.

Thank Alcatel-Lucent on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

WatchMouse

WatchMouse monitors website performance and functionality 24x7 from over 50 locations worldwide. Monitors for your website, server or API can be set up in minutes and provide valuable insight into how your users experience your site. Features include Multi-step Transactions, Real Browser Monitoring (including Javascript front-end), and Public Status Pages as used by ReadWriteWeb, Twitter, WordPress, bit.ly and more.

Thank WatchMouse on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

SendGrid

SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery service that delivers email on behalf of other companies to increase deliverability. With SendGrid, you can rest assured that your email will reach your customers' inbox. Integration takes just minutes via SMTP or can be done through a simple REST API. SendGrid can take the hassle of sending email completely out of your hands, and allow you to focus on being awesome at your core business.

Thank SendGrid on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

PayPal X Innovate 2010 Developer Conference

The only developer conference dedicated to payments, the PayPal X Innovate 2010 Developer Conference invites developers to explore new ways to integrate payments into web pages, applications, and products using PayPal's open, global APIs. Developers get the chance to code live with PayPal engineers; attend hands-on technical sessions; and network with 2000 peers. Register now.

Thank PayPal X Innovate 2010 Developer Conference on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

Toopia

Nicolas Koenig is the developer who made our beautiful iPhone app a reality. He runs an iPhone development shop from the Netherlands called Toopia. Toopia also created the Thermometer iPhone app, which enables your iPhone or iPod touch to get the current temperature based on your location. The RWW app lets you read us on the go, follow us on Twitter, share stories on Facebook and Twitter, and browse at your leasure using Read it Later and Instapaper. Download the ReadWriteWeb iPhone application here.

Thank Toopia on Twitter for making ReadWriteWeb possible.

The companies above pay our rents or mortgages and we appreciate it. We hope you'll stop by their sites and see what they've got to offer.

Have you got a smart company that could use some more visits by the sophisticated readers of a blog like ReadWriteWeb's? Drop us a line and let's talk.

Thanks to all our sponsors and our readers for your support!

This version adds features that improve monitoring, performance, and maintenance tasks.

Instances in the Admin Console

The release includes a new page in the Admin Console that allows you to view information about all server instances currently in use by your app, including info about Average QPS, latency, and memory. This feature requires no configuration.

Task Queue Improvements

Maximum bucket size that you can specify during task queue configuration is up from 50 to 100. And there's a new "Run Now" button in the task queue as well.

Delete All (or Part) of Your App's Data

Calling this an "experimental addition" to the admin console, there's a new simple UI for "delete all entities" - or all entities of a given kind - in your datastore. You can enable this functionality in your app.yaml file with:
builtins:
- datastore_admin: on

With this, you'll be able to see all the entity types in your Admin Console that you can delete.

But two caveats: first, this is only available by default for Python (although Java will come in a future release, says Google). And these deletes will use resources that count towards your daily budget.

Python Pre-compilation On By Default

Google announced a python pre-compilation feature in 1.3.5 of the SDK and it's now turned on for all new python app uploads. You can disable this by adding the flag --no-precompilation on theappcfg.py command line when uploading your app.

There are some additional bug fixes in this SDK. The full release notes are available in Python and Java.

ReadWriteMobile will be authored by Sarah Perez, who you all know as a feature writer for ReadWriteWeb. Sarah admits in her Twitter profile that she's "obsessed with mobile," so I think you'll agree that she's the ideal writer for this new channel. I'm also thrilled to announce that Sarah is now a full-time member of our team! Sarah is the ninth full-time person at ReadWriteWeb.

If you're interested in exploring mobile applications from either a business or technical perspective, we invite you to subscribe to the ReadWriteMobile channel. There will be one to two posts per day.

ReadWriteMobile joins our five other channels: ReadWriteStart, ReadWriteBiz, ReadWriteEnterprise, ReadWriteCloud and ReadWriteHack. The aim with all of our channels is to provide guidance and resources to a specific audience, or on a particular topic. In this case, it's all about mobile - and there's a lot to explore and explain in that world!

ReadWriteHack will be authored by two talented developers, Jay Cuthrell and Ben Barden. Jay is a strategic technology consultant from North Carolina and Ben is a Web developer from the U.K.

If you're a developer, you'll want to subscribe to this channel - keep an eye out for the Hack of the Day series in particular!

ReadWriteHack joins our four other channels: ReadWriteStart, ReadWriteBiz, ReadWriteEnterprise and ReadWriteCloud. The aim with our channels is to provide technology guidance and resources to a specific audience. In the case of ReadWriteHack, we're all about serving developers. Check it out if you're of the hacking persuasion.

ReadWriteWeb is privileged to have an engaged community of decision makers and thought-leaders. The community manager's job is to engage with our community, to provide support and help develop it. Read on for more details...

We may not have written the book on online community management, but we wrote a report on it! And as we noted in that report, The ReadWriteWeb Guide to Online Community Management, "the job is part customer service, part marketing, part public relations, and part Web savvy."

We are looking for someone who is an active user of social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Digg and StumbleUpon to name just some of the ones important to our site). We're also looking for someone with experience managing online communities, strong writing skills and an analytical mind set. This may suit someone with an online marketing or PR background. But we're open-minded about that, as we're mostly interested in your current use of social media.

This job is a great opportunity to work at the cutting edge of social media. So if you'd like to be a part of one of the leading technology blogs on the Internet, email richard AT readwriteweb.com with the words "Community Manager" in your subject line. If you know someone who may be a good fit for this position, please send them our way.

Yesterday we ran a contest giving away 5 tickets to the event, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors: CallFire, WorldMate, Alcatel-Lucent, Ipevo and MyCityWay. Here are the winners:

@garrettdodge
@tedm1
@marcuswandell
@mattstaggs
@alanxing

For those of you who missed out on a free ticket to the Mobile Summit, we encourage you to register now. The event is on tomorrow in Mountain View.

Here's further information about the RWW Mobile Summit:

As with our first event, the Real-Time Web Summit last October, the Mobile Summit will be in the "unconference" format. Laura Fittion, founder of oneforty.com, had these thoughts about ReadWriteWeb's last summit:

"There were a lot of investors there and it was a great dialogue between startups and investors. The unconference format was great because it got away from the bogus who-is in the real-time Web, and made it who-wants-to-be. You didn't have to be big and influential to get your ideas across - if it was a good idea then it got heard. It wasn't just Twitter, it was many things real time, defined pretty expansively."

The Mobile Summit will be facilitated by Kaliya Hamlin, who in our opinion is the best in the business at this style of event.

Mobile was one of our top five trends last year and continues to undergo explosive growth, so our aim with this event is to help you navigate the opportunities. Get ready to explore, think and create the future of mobile! Because it will be you - the attendees - who ultimately set the agenda.

We will have two main tracks at this Summit, Development and Business. Here's a sample of some of the topics we'll explore in both of these tracks:

• Geo-location services - what can you do using location as a platform?
• Commerce & Marketing - as more and more consumers use smartphones, how can businesses utilize this channel?
• Content, Publishing & Recommendations - the technologies and best practices.
• Mobile Social Networking - how to tap into communities on mobile devices.
• Internet of Things - the emerging opportunities from sensor and RFID data.
• Augmented Reality - the technology and business applications of AR.
• Native App vs. Browser Based - Including iPhone, Android, RIM, Palm, Windows Mobile and Symbian.

A big thank-you to our sponsors CallFire, WorldMate, Alcatel-Lucent, plus our two newest sponsors:

IPEVO: Tools for the connected world

IPEVO is the online source for smart and well-designed products that works with your computers, smart-phones and the Internet. We make new experiences for today's connected lifestyle accessible and affordable by designing and selecting products that best reflect the most current Internet behaviors and emergent technologies.

MyCityWay

My City Way is a One-Stop mobile apps platform for everything needed to live, work, play and visit in any city. Real-time, user-profile driven and experience-oriented, My City Way would be available in over 40 cities across the world on iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and the web.

If you're a company in the mobile Internet market, you may be interested in becoming a sponsor for this event. Please contact our COO Sean Ammirati for more information about sponsor packages.

We hope to see you tomorrow, May 7!