It became a happening, which is why it makes sense for Twitter to ask us a throw back yet born anew question.

Here’s what Biz had to say about it on the Twitter blog:

The fundamentally open model of Twitter created a new kind of information network and it has long outgrown the concept of personal status updates. Twitter helps you share and discover what’s happening now among all the things, people, and events you care about. “What are you doing?” isn’t the right question anymore—starting today, we’ve shortened it by two characters. Twitter now asks, “What’s happening?”

And onward to other bloggy reactions:

• Mashable: On the surface it’s a minor change, and yet it’s significant in reflecting the shifting focus and user behavior of the service over time. As most users know, the official question is largely ignored by those who have found myriad ways to share pretty much anything they wanted, be it information, relationships, entertainment, citizen journalism, and beyond.

• John Battelle’s Searchblog: For starters, it’s a rather subtle leapfrog of Facebook, which has recently mimicked Twitter with its status updates. Facebook is stuck (but there are upsides to this stuck-ness) in a personal framework. Twitter, by moving past the YOU, is declaring Facebook’s imitation moot.

• TechCrunch: It’s a wise move because “What are you doing” seemed too narrow for the platform. Broadening the question to match all the things people use twitter for was necessary.

• Technologizer: Twitter is catching up to its users, who in large part abandoned the literal description of their activities long ago. My feed might not be an indication of everyone else’s, but looking at the last 40 tweets in my timeline, only six are descriptions of what the person is up to.

(this piece originally appeared on Technorati)

Jason was kind enough to provide his take via e-mail on a wide range of topics, including his involvement with Open Angel Forum, the latest doings at Mahalo and in the blogosphere, and the future of the New York Knicks.

What is Open Angel Forum, and what’s your involvement with it?
Open Angel Forum is a movement to create a *free* forum for angel investors and startup companies. It is a for profit effort that will not profit from charging startups access to angel investors.

The format will be like any other angel forum: a handful of startups will pitch a room filled with angel investors. If there is a match the investors will follow-up with the startups and make an investment. We’re going to start in Los Angeles, where I know two dozen high-profile angel investors, then we will move on from there.

You’ve always been something of an iconoclast. Do you see your current campaign to end the practice of angel investors charging entrepreneurs to hear pitches as part of some larger “quest”?

When I was coming up as an entrepreneur I had to fight for everything I got and there was no clear roadmap of how to be successful. I’ve been more successful than I probably deserve, so I’ve been spending 10% of my time trying to give back to “the game.” That’s why I started the TechCrunch50 conference with Mike [Arrington], that’s why I angel invest and it’s why I started This Week in Startups. I like to share what I, and others, have learned. I think entrepreneurship is a beautiful thing.

Is the practice of charging entrepreneurs to pitch similar to agents charging aspiring writers/actors to review their work/resume?

Exactly!

They are just as predatory and slimy as “model agents” who charge aspiring models for head-shots and modeling lessons. It’s repulsive, and no real angel investor charges.

What stage should startups be in when they approach OAF and what range of funding will be invested to successful entrepreneurs?

We’re going to target the OAF at pre-Series A obviously, but it will be open to entrepreneurs with or without a track record.

What kinds of startups will OAF be looking for?

Ones that want to change the world in the technology space I suppose, but we’ll see where we take it. If folks want to pitch restaurants and sports drinks, well, I guess we would consider it!

Can you describe the first time you pitched angel or VC investors – what was it like?

I think one of the first times I pitched someone it was Jerry Colonna of Flatiron Partners. He took the time to explain to me how venture capital worked and what pitching was, and that’s why he was a great VC.

Your lengthy essays that you send to your e-mail group (and repost at times to your blog) are always interesting, opinionated, and fun. Any additional plans for these?

Yes, I’ve got about five that are between 60-95% done. I just like to sit with them for a while. I’ve got one on “creating a corporate culture document” and another on building community that I’m almost ready to hit the send key on.

You famously “retired” from blogging some time back, but now use your blog presence as something closer to a microblog (posting pictures, content snippets, links, and video, etc.). What are your thoughts on this, and what’s your take on the state of the blogosphere?

Blogging is great and I read blogs all day long. However, my goal is really to have a deep meaningful discussion with people. For some reason I’m able to accomplish this best via email. I’ve gotten 2-3k word responses from CEOs of other companies to my essays! These same folks would NEVER have responded in a blog post, so I’m sticking with photos of my dogs for my blog and email for long essays.

What is the goal of Mahalo 3.0 ?

We’re trying to merge content, q&a and search on one page. It’s a really hard thing to do visually, and the truth is no one has ever done it.

Essentially we’re making Wikipedia-style pages with Yahoo Answers and Google search bolted on. The trick is to try and make it not feel bolted on.

How has the mission of Mahalo fundamentally changed, if at all, since you founded the company?

The mission remains the same: To help people find information they can trust.

How we accomplish the mission has changed. At the start I thought we would be 80% search and 20% content. Today we’re 50% content, 30% search and 20% Q&A. So, we will keep playing with the dials until we get it perfect. We’ve got two or three more years of work and I think we will solve the puzzle. If we do, we will have a site that is bigger than the Wikipedia.

Is your goal for people to think of products such as Google, Wikipedia, and Mahalo when looking for information and resources on the Internet, or do see it from a different perspective?

When people think of Mahalo I’d like them to think “the best page on the internet for any topic.”

Additionally, I’d like some percentage of folks to think Mahalo is “the best place to start” their Internet journey. That’s a really hard thing to do, but I think we will take 10% share of the search space in the next couple of years.

I’ve long thought that the changes that Netscape (now Propeller) went through while you were the GM there would greatly influence the future of web content; that is, a combination of user submitted content, original content, and editor-curated content would become the norm. What’s your take on this?

I still believe in that mission, and I think even Kevin Rose does to a certain extent–but on a different percentage. In fact, their Digg Dialoggs are a great example of laying produced content on top of community content. Gawker, GDGT and the New York Times are all doing similar things by promoting consumer content to the top level.

Curation is the future of the internet.

The Knicks… any hope?

Absolutely! The Knicks are going to trade [Eddy] Curry right after Christmas freeing up a lot of cap space.

LeBron [James] will lose to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and then sign with the Knicks. He will then convince Chris Bosh to join him and the Knicks will win three championships in a row.

A boy can dream right?

(this post originally appeared on Technorati)

Now, here comes the dilemma: you already have your hands on your Xbox controller, so it’s a huge inconvenience to move over to your laptop, Blackberry, or iPhone so that you can tweet and Facebook Connect and social network at the same time, right?

Well, now you’re all set! Marc Whitten, Xbox Live’s General Manager, has announced that Xbox Live will support Twitter and Facebook beginning on Tuesday.

In all seriousness, this is a significant development that further brings the big time gaming, broadcast media, and social media worlds together… and you don’t even need to leave your couch to absorb its impact.

And here’s what the bloggers have to say:

* Mashable: According to Major Nelson, the new Dashboard Update will be going live to everyone next Tuesday, November 17. The update also includes a new Zune video area that picks up where the Xbox Video Marketplace left off, adding the ability to stream a number of purchases instantly instead of having to wait for them to download.

* NewTeeVee: But the key will be the ability to share Facebook photos through the television, Whitten said. Facebook integration will enable users to easily flip through those pictures, without having to worry about how to connect their PCs to their TVs.

* CrunchGear: The idea, I guess, is that you’ll be able let your friends know just how much fun you’re having while playing the latest game, or streaming the latest Netflix release, without having to go through the trouble of whipping out your phone or walking over to your computer. I see it as a convenience and nothing more. It may also mean that there’s nothing you can to do stop Twitter’s worldwide dominance.

* VG247: The date is pretty fitting since it’s a MASSIVE day in game releases: Assassin’s Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, God War War Collection, AssCreed DS & PSP Bundle, LBP PSP, The Sims 3 expansion World Adventures, RE: Darkside Chronicles, Toy Hawk: RIDE, Lego Indy 2, etc.

* Destructoid: As you’ve seen in our video preview of the update (or yourself if you’re one of the lucky ones in the beta) the update doesn’t allow Tweets or FB messages on the fly; rather, users have to jump into an application which makes this the second most pointless thing ever. The first most pointless thing, by the way, is my autographed portrait of Dennis Rodman.

(this piece originally appeared on Technorati)

Meanwhile, prolific and respected blogger Steven Hodson laments just today that “indie bloggers” do not have a bright future due to the saturated blogospheric marketplace, writing that, “As nice as it might be to dream of making a living as an independent blogger the chances of actually being able to pull it off are negligible.” Hodson notes that whereas at one time there were opportunities to dominate niches and sub-niches, those days are now over due in part to large group blogs that churn out posts day and night.

Does the next generation of blogging stars need to look to video blogging and technology such as skippable ads in order to scratch out a living? Or is it still possible to become a big time blogger the “old fashioned” way by writing high quality posts every day, linking out and networking, and building reputation and influence in one’s field?

(this piece originally appeared on Technorati)

All of this social media tom foolery is enough to dilute creative powers and potency from the artistic genius. At least that’s what John Taylor, Duran Duran bassist (and ’80s hair master) would have us believe. “When artists today are asked to Twitter their every thought, their every action, to record on video their every breath, their every performance, I believe they’re diluting their creative powers, their creative potency and the durability of their work,” Taylor writes.

I’m reminded of a statement that Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler made during the ’90s, complaining bitterly about how artists were expected to produce exciting music videos along with their music, to paint a picture to go along with the song.

Is it true that artists would be better off simply being allowed to concentrate on their art form if they didn’t have to be bothered with self-promotion and other ancillary activities? Or is opportunity more wide open than ever to create and distribute creative content because of the awesome power of the rocking Internet?

John Ditzel, Twitter user, is one who is not having it, tweeting: “So who diluted Duran Duran’s creative powers years ago before twitter?”

(this post originally appeared on Technorati)

Case in point is CoTweet’s new Enterprise Innovators Program, which charges a currently invite-only list of companies $1,500 a month to obtain tools such as reach analytics, engagement and influence analytics, and extended customer conversation history, which tracks “a lifetime archive of customer interactions.”

And thus the bloggers spoke:

• Mashable: Previously a free tool for beta users, the new enterprise option tacks on additional analytics and tweet history and starts at $1,500/mo (according to The Wall Street Journal). The company is boasting that McDonald’s, Microsoft, SunTrust, Coca-Cola, and Ford have already upgraded.

• Twitterrati: If there’s a market ripe to consume fee-based Twitter services, it’s businesses looking – and will to pay for – more bells and whistles than Twitter offers. Why Twitter hasn’t already entered this market is a mystery but, then again, everything Twitter does when it comes to revenue seems to be an enigma wrapped inside a riddle.

• WebProNews: Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonald’s, Microsoft, SunTrust, and Whole Foods are among the early adopters, which is quite impressive. Another interesting detail is that CoTweet isn’t exactly begging for clients; the program’s existence was discovered by Wall Street Journal reporterAndrew LaVallee, and businesses in fact have to request an invitation to scope out the new offering.

• Digits: CoTweet is working on additional features, such as the ability for users to assign customer-service tickets, as well as a mobile application that it will release in coming weeks, Mr. Engle said. The company plans to add support for other social-networking sites, starting with Facebook, in the future as well.

• programming blog: Also, although the launch of the CoTweet Enterprise Innovators Program might seem like yet another missed revenue opportunity (Twitter’s indicated before that it might try to make money by selling premium accounts and analytics services),Twitter could still presumably join the game at any point in time.

(this post originally appeared on Technorati)

Twelve people have been killed and 31 wounded in a shooting spree at a Texas military post in a murderous rampage that officials believe was carried out by an Army psychiatrist.

The suspected gunman was identified by ABC News as Major Nadal Malik Hasan. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, told Fox News that military sources informed her that the gunman was about to be deployed to Iraq. Sources tell ABC News that this would have been his first deployment.

Twitter has become a central focus for communication, link sharing, information dissemination, and on the ground reporting during breaking news stories, so tech bloggers are looking at how Twitter is being used tonight. MG Siegler at TechCrunch speculates about how Twitter is influencing its Trending Topics feature to bring breaking news stories to the forefront immediately. “And that it may even in some way rank tweets to show more relevant ones for the topic at hand,” Siegler writes.

And Adam Ostrow at Mashable discusses how Twitter’s new Lists feature is already getting high profile use focused on this story by such outlets as The New York Times, The Today Show, and The Huffington Post.

Meanwhile, on the political and current events side of the blogosphere, updates are being discussed and hashed over as new information arises. Talking Points Memo titles a post very succinctly: This is Going to Get Very Dark.

(this piece originally appeared on Technorati)

The Twitter status blog has announced that when “one of the folks you follow has tweeted since you loaded your homepage, you’ll get a little notice saying “1 new tweet” that, when clicked, will display the new content.”

That’s the “small” kind of feature add that really pleases a longtime user such as myself. Twitter search uses this kind of functionality to alert users when new search results are available. And the nice thing is that it allows you to refresh the page whenever you’re ready, instead of simply auto-loading new updates, which can be annoying to some. MG Siegler at TechCrunch notes that Twitter used to do the auto-update thing, until the explosion in the microblogging platform’s popularity forced them to kill it off.

And credit Mashable for grabbing a screenshot of the new feature seen in the “wild.”

(this piece was first published on Technorati)

Here’s the link to the interview on Technorati, which is part of the continuing State of the Blogosphere series.

And as an aside, Wetoku is a hot video conferencing product that makes interviewing people via webcam a snap.

The last few months have seen a lot of exciting developments, not least of which is that I’m the blogging channel editor at Technorati these days. So not only am I reunited with my old crew at Blogcritics (I joined Blogcritics in ‘04, became Executive Producer and co-owner until I left in the fall of ‘07, and Blogcritics was acquired by Technorati the following year, making this an achingly long and perhaps award-winning in-parentheses addendum!), I’m also amped to be working with the Technorati crew, who are all very very cool as well.

The timing was lucky in that I got to participate in the annual State of the Blogosphere report by doing a bunch of interviews with bloggy experts and influencers, and have been writing a good bit, editing, and strategizing on social media promotion. It’s been a fun time, and am very excited to see how far we can take our new original content effort.

I was going to link to a bunch of the pieces I’ve written over there but instead I’ll just highlight interviews with Steve Rubel and Penelope Trunk for SOTB, and a few “blog focus” columns that I’ve run, such as on the Twitter Lists widget, malware scam that scammed Gawker Media, and the Cheezburger Network Empire.

Here’s my profile page if you’d like to check out more. I’ll try to repost things over here as time allows, and fire up my Posterous operation again, which has gone into the weeds of late I’m afraid.

If you’d like to write for Technorati, check this out.