i-sako.com

Moments after noting that Movable Type dominates the Tokyo blogscape, I noticed this article about Tangent at evolt.org. 

Tangent, as far as I can tell, is an open source project that functions in a way that is not too different from what Microsoft was trying to accomplish with its Smart Tags. Unlike Microsoft’s idea, Tangent doesn’t allow others to hijack your site with links that you did not authorize, but it does populate your entries with random links. I’m not sure if I want to use it on this site, but simply the fact that it is a standards-compliant, open source project with fun, rather than profit, as its chief aim, I feel less hostility to the idea than I did for Smart Tags.

The Tangent site claims that the effect is “like sex for Web sites.” That might be true, but it seems like an orgy--which may be fun for a while, but monogamy is more comfortable for the long-term, I think. (In terms of this linking-as-sex metaphor, this means that I’m inclined to believe that the reader will have a better experience if I choose the links, rather than just allow anything.)

Watch this space. It may soon be Tangent-ized. Or not. I guess I’ll know after I try the Tangent Preview.

Incidentally, the Tangent site runs on pMachine. Okay, now I feel better.