What I like about Songkick, as previously mentioned, is that its creators aren’t interested in parsing the ins and outs of the technology. They instead want to spread their love of music through enabling technologies. I called it “music semantics” and, though the pundits in the semantic realm may take issue with that label, it’s time we embraced apps that are less wonky in their approach and focus. While Twine, Hakia, and MetaWeb are laboring in the code mines, working to build what will be the framework for the semantic Web, companies like Songkick are out in the market, showing consumers real-world applications of semantics. It’s vitally important all such players are represented, in order for semantics to develop fully and organically.

The Guidewire is a relative newcomer to the blogosphere. Not counting personal blogs and the weekly posts on DEMO.com, Chris and I haven’t contributed much to the blog conversation. To be honest, our initial stab at a Guidewire Group blog collapsed under its own weight. We approached it with too heavy an editing hand, too complicated an interface, too… much thought, if that’s possible. We’re industry analysts by nature and trade, a profession that doesn’t lend itself to off-the-cuff musings and breaking news. We spend weeks, sometimes months, weighing market trends and startup viability and only then do we craft our analysis aimed toward Guidewire Group’s primary audience of VCs and C-level execs in technology firms. As we delve deeper into directing some of those thoughts into a blog, though, I increasingly struggle with how to build and maintain an online presence by producing interesting, mindful content that people want to read without turning into a ranting egomaniac. It’s right there in About The Guidewire:

Our goal… is to add to the conversation, not echo it. We hope that when we do wade in on an issue, we can offer a different perspective, one that’s missing from the discussion.

Easier said than done. All the well-intentioned, reasoned thought in the world isn’t worth much when people don’t see it. I think Chris best summed up our abrupt education in blogosphere politics when she said recently, “I’ve become a link whore.”

Chris and I have no interest in becoming another TechCrunch. Arrington has built a hell of a business but his philosophy of “leave no lingering emotional stone unturned” isn’t our style. Engaging in blog arguments “as bloody as possible” seems to me a good way to drive oneself completely mental, but if it works for him, so be it. Personally, I want The Guidewire to engage deeper in tech punditry by contributing both a voice of reason and cutting-edge thought. A perfect storm of Chris’ seasoned industry experience – she’s forgotten more about emerging tech in her 25 years than most of us possess in our pinkies – and my position at the forefront of new technologies.

I parsed over some of this with a blog-savvy friend yesterday, who said something I can’t get out of my head. He believes that when you write a blog post with a beginning, middle and end, – as Chris and I often do – there’s nothing for readers to contribute. Take the pretty little bow off The Guidewire, in other words, and expose a bit of the skeleton of our analysis. Does he have a point? Are we presenting our blog readers with flat content? Is that even a negative? If we focus on being thought leaders, must we sacrifice visibility?

The pre-blogosphere way of thinking would hold that I shouldn’t even post this. Publicly questioning The Guidewire’s direction, some may posit, shows a certain weakness. But my immersion in communities like FriendFeed, Twine, Twitter, and Seesmic is making me question a lot about effective interaction and engagement online. So let’s hear it, bloggers, pundits, and just-plain readers (do those exist anymore?) – what do you want from The Guidewire? Is traditional analysis dead?

A Web that learns from its users and manages the infinite amount of knowledge available, in a unified Web-based environment, is without question where technology must head in the next few years….Convincing set-in-their ways consumers that a new form of communication, collaboration and information management is needed is perhaps the biggest challenge. Educating users on the semantic Web and why it should matter to them may require more effort than is reasonable.

It’s surprising that not much has changed in a year. The landscape in which Twine launches is just as undefined, if not more so. The chatter is rising to louder levels, as I mentioned in a recent post on semantics, making it that much harder to clearly define this important but hazy sector. Even worse, any application tied to the semantics label these days carries a heavy weight. So many are touting the life-changing aspects of semantics that disappointment is all but inevitable. By the time you’ve read dozens of articles on the brilliance of semantic apps, you half expect these programs to answer your email and write your blog posts.

It’s into this environment that Twine is finally opening up more – to the press, as of this writing – with 30,000 people on its waitlist and arguably an entire market sector watching. So…. what’s the verdict? Twine is an entirely new attitude toward the online community and content in general. It is an incredibly deep, incredibly smart app that hasn’t yet found its ultimate form. The involvement and input of a larger number of users will dictate somewhat where Twine is headed, though no one should forget that the mind of Nova Spivack is behind this endeavor. Spivack is an incredibly sharp tech veteran with a wealth of AI experience under his belt. Perhaps most impressive, though, is his willingness to listen to and learn from users. He has reacted openly and positively to feedback during the beta period and Twine is a better experience because of it.

Twine is too complex to receive a quick thumbs-up or thumbs-down product rating, though some will no doubt attempt that. In order to “get” Twine, you need to jump into it with both feet and play around. Make connections and subscribe to multiple Twines. Save items to your Twines and others’ and make comments all around. Perhaps most importantly, forget the word “semantic” entirely. Educating users on the semantic Web is a pursuit we should all abandon, focusing instead on the creation of engaging, immersive products that will bring semantic technology to the masses.

Out of all the communities I’m involved in, I consistently find the most interesting and engaging people, articles and conversations on Twine. It’s a thriving community built around content that has made me and my work smarter. One of my favorite contacts on Twine, Twain Luu, made a spot-on observation about the site:

I like the thought that on Twine – unlike facebook et al — friendships and associations I’m making are based on shared intelligence, similarities, differences and challenging and advancing concepts…

If I have a complaint about Twine, it is that it can be too much sometimes – an information overload from a solution that aims to solve just that problem. But I have no doubt that Spivack and his team will work to resolve this and look forward to the ongoing adjustments and upgrades to the Twine engine. It will be interesting to see how this community and technology evolves with the addition of thousands more users but one thing is for sure: Twine is a huge first step toward bringing semantic technology to the mass consumer market.

Until a couple of months ago, I had admittedly only dipped a toe into the morass of social innovations now available. Screening companies for DEMO and providing analysis to The Guidewire Report monopolizes my time and I tended to try out a service for a week or two, only to leave my profile languishing afterward. But as I wade deeper into emerging tech and blogging – and present myself as an expert on startups – I’d be remiss not to immerse myself fully into key services. So I’ve dove headfirst into FriendFeed and Twitter, Twine and PlaxoPulse, Persai and YouNoodle, Facebook and LinkedIn, and some 10-15 others I won’t assault you with. The problem isn’t that these services are faulty. It’s the exact opposite – I’m loving them. They’re delivering so well on their promises that I continually add them as must-visit sites. The fabulous little Firefox add-on Morning Coffee now opens up 10 tabs every morning, each with links to read, comments to make and interesting tidbits to submit to my network. To keep things as simple as possible, I’ve struck my banking and financial sites from the Morning Coffee list and now wonder from afar if my e-bills are up to date. (On second thought, this could come in handy should my money start tanking; I’ll just blame my social graph.)

Everyone’s been raving about FriendFeed in recent weeks and I couldn’t agree more. I only just joined Persai and am hugely impressed with its learning capabilities. Plaxo Pulse may lose the war to FriendFeed but they’ve designed a great interface. And Twine – well, I can’t talk about Twine until next week but it’s good stuff. It now appears though that we need a bigger umbrella technology, something to scale the firehose back down to a drip but still retain the sophistication of the current innovations.

The opposing side of the Economist debate was John Maeda, president-elect of the Rhode Island School of Design. His view is that, seeing as how all of these technologies – especially the ones I mention above – are in their infancy, it would be foolish to write them off as complicating life until they’ve reached maturity. It’s a strong point and one of which I must continually remind myself. True early adopters must be willing to endure complication in order to one day reach simplification. So maybe my question shouldn’t be, “where does the social graph end?” but “where is it going to take me?”