Expanding the Scope of Digital Backcountry

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I feel a little silly posting this but after seeing this post I felt like I should at least say something about the posts that will start popping up. Digital Backcountry has always been, for the most part, a Flash Platform blog. I love Flash, I think it’s a fantastic Rich Internet Application solution and Adobe has ensured that it’s going to have a bright future. People have told me that I’m one of their favorite Flash bloggers. When I look at guys like Aral and Jesse I find that hard to believe and I’m flattered that you guys keep reading.

For a long time Flash was the only game in town when it came to Rich Internet Applications. Now that’s starting to change. Microsoft is putting a lot of energy into “WPF/E” and OpenLaszlo keeps innovating whether it be in the Ajax world or mobile devices. RIAs are popping up in the living room and on the desktop. Frankly it has never been a better time to be interested in Flash and Rich Internet Applications. There is a ton of growth in the space.

Which brings me to the point. ZDNet has given me a great platform for more in-depth, analytical articles about RIAs. But there is some informality here that I enjoy and lets me cut loose a bit more. Up to now, that fun informality has been directed at Flash. But I want to expand it to cover the entire spectrum of Rich Internet Applications. As I said, we’re in the middle of a fun time. Flash has never been stronger and that’s probably one of the reasons Microsoft has decided to compete. Competition is a great thing for everyone and I think that dynamic is going to make for some good quality blog posts.

I hope this doesn’t alienate my audience. You guys have been great readers and I hope that covering RIAs more broadly will be valuable to you. Xiaolei, I still expect you to come here and tell me when I’m completely off base. I hope the Flash crowd keeps coming to stay abreast of RIA technologies.

This isn’t about a visit with Bill Gates or a free Zune. It’s just a result of the world of Rich Internet Applications growing by leaps and bounds over the past few months. There are a lot more players now and my list of RSS feeds keeps increasing. Hopefully I can filter through the noise and help you guys find the best information regardless of the company behind it. I’m looking forward to this year.

[tags]Adobe, Flash, Microsoft, WPF/E, OpenLaszlo[/tags]

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  • http://www.arpit.net/blog AJ

    Hi Ryan,

    I dont think there is any harm in expanding the scope of what is published. Anything which is written about WPF, Laszlo or any other RIA platform will indirectly touch Flash audience and developers anyway…

    You have been writing about OpenLaszlo without any guilt, why is it happening now :)

  • http://www.bit-101.com Keith Peters

    Hey Ryan. It’s your blog, write what you want and don’t apologize.

  • http://blog.xsive.co.nz Campbell

    Bro if I ever got offered free stuff from a big corp I would take it and smile and I would expect you to do no less (Apple I am free to bribery). I enjoy the more informal and personably blogs such as yours, and hey if I dont like it I dont read it. simple as that.

    Keep it up!

  • http://www.brandonellis.org/ Brandon Ellis

    Hey Ryan,
    Keep up the great work!

  • Matt Voerman

    Ryan your opinions (no matter what the topic/subject) are always educated, topical, informed and (for the most part) unbiased. Thats what makes reading your blogs such a pleasure.

    Your decision to add WFP/E to the mix is not only a great move, given the changing RIA-Scape, but further consolidates your unbiased view.

    Keep up the good work mate. I for one look forward to learning/reading more about WFP/E and what impact it is will have on the Flash Platform (if any) and RIAs in general.
    :-)

  • http://weblogs.macromedia.com/jd John Dowdell

    Ditto the above… write about what you find useful and interesting, and others will read on the same basis.

    Just one caveat, and that’s to keep transparency, disclose appropriately. You’ve already been doing this, but not everyone out there has done so.

    (And the term “Rich Internet Applications” still does include platform-neutrality in its originating definition. Network-aware, platform-specific applications have been around since the SuperCard, Toolbook and Macromedia Director days. I disagree with calling Vista-specific or Leopard-specific apps “RIA”.)

  • http://techfeed.net/blog/ Jacob Munson

    Since you pointed to my post as a catalyst for this post, I feel obligated to respond. That whole mess over there (on my blog) started because I decided to point out that you were one of the 14 bloggers invited to meet Bill Gates. While I still stand by my opinions about Microsoft’s motivations for that well publicized event, I don’t think my comments about people being swayed by it necessarily apply to you, Ryan.

    One thing I’ve noticed that is different about you compared to me is that you are extraordinarily optimistic and cheerful about technology and the companies involved. This is a good thing. I am very cynical and pessimistic, which leads me to a lot of negative opinions, and thus a lot of posts like the one you referenced. Given our differing natures, I think it’s natural that we will disagree on a lot of topics related to certain companies. But keep up the good work here and at ZDNet, and don’t let my annoying gripes get you down. :)

  • http://polyGeek.com Oz

    Ryan: you were worried that we would bail on you? For shame. I’m delighted that you’ll be covering the spectrum of RIA. You have displayed transparency and open mindedness in the past. No reason to believe that will change. And since I’m pretty much a Flash only dev I don’t read much about the Ajax crowd. Hopefully your posts will help me keep track of enemy movements. :-)

  • http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com Ryan Stewart

    Thanks for the comments folks. I try never to take myself too seriously, but I also didn’t want to be accused of switching because of any kind of gift. And as Jacob noted, I tend to be a big optimist. Hopefully that’s a good thing, and I think it’s something that will carry through to anything I cover. That’s why I need all of you to let me know when I’m being a bit TOO optimistic :)

  • http://www.iambright.com Rey Bango

    You didn’t mention Ajax so I’m bailing for sure!! ;)

    Keep up the good work man.

  • http://www.kyleward.co.za kyleward

    keep it coming Ryan!

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