More on Trackbacks

The distributed conversation continues. CNET News.com has started collecting trackback information. As yet, the results appear to be hidden, or at least, difficult to find. Still, this is a fascinating trend.

For a quick explanation on Trackback, check out this article: What the heck is Trackback? by Jason Kottke.

It's exciting to see the connections in the web grow deeper and wider. Trackbacks encourage exploration through cross-references. The reader who is willing to do a little work might find some other valuable resources. Or he or she might just be wasting time, jumping from one inane blog to another. It's like a big party -- you have to sample a lot of conversations to find a good one. Or you can start one and see where it leads and who joins in.

I got the news from a blog I regularly read, Micropersuasion. From the header of the blog: "Steve Rubel on how blogs and participatory journalism are impacting the practice of public relations."

He, in turn, got the news from a blog he reads, Photo Matt. Matt is Matthew Mullenweg, who is the founding developer of Wordpress, which is a popular blogging software.

Both of these blogs have insightful posts on weblog trends and their impact.