Blogging has wrought many changes on the media landscape in the few short years that it has become mainstream. One of the major changes is that a person with a laptop, an internet connection and an opinion can quickly build up an audience that rivals that of mainstream media.
One such individual is Richard MacManus, a New Zealander who started blogging part-time about new web technologies in April 2003.
Read/WriteWeb takes its name from the new generation that are not just about passively surfing the web, reading the content. These users are just as likely to be creating or writing content now, whether that's on Facebook, Flickr or their own blog.
In 2005, MacManus started generating enough money from Read/Write Web to be able to give up his day job as a web manager (although, as he discloses on his site, he is a paid adviser to Irish web start-up Nooked). In common with other one-person blogs that have built up a large readership, Read/WriteWeb has now expanded into a network of publications which now includes digital lifestyle blog last100, search publication AltSearchEngines and Read/WriteTalk, a podcast about people behind the web.
In common with Techcrunch, Read/WriteWeb is one of the pivotal blogs that can make or break a new web service with a review. As well as profiling the latest apps to hit the web, MacManus and his team provide a steady flow of news and views on the world of technology. Read/Write's take on Facebook Beacon, a new e-commerce tracking system, by Josh Catone is the kind of straight-talking analysis the site is renowned for and rightly attracted lots of "link love" this week. Some may lament the blog's loss of personality as the team has expanded, but his new additions have proven they have plenty to offer readers.
Read/WriteWeb: http://www.readwriteweb.com
