My latest puzzle is about wrapping my mind around what I call "the Radio Paradigm." What I mean by that is the idea of Radio as both a weblogging server/tool and a community of users with Radio weblogs.

I think it is the fact that Radio is currently both of these that gave me great confusion at first. I guess I'm simple-minded. I wanted Radio to be just one or other.

But now I mostly understand what is going on, I think.

Except now, with the full support of the Blogger API emerging in Radio, it will soon force the issue about the connection between the Radio-Weblogs.com community and the Radio software tool. They will, in essence, eventually become completely independent. It has to be that way. It's the way of the web--pieces that work together but don't depend on each other explicity.

It's seems like this disassociation is going to happen sooner rather than later. At that point, it begs the question: which the true "Radio," the one you "get" when you buy Radio.

Of course, it has to be the software tool. The weblogs.com community must become the adjunct, which you can sign up for if you want.

When I came to Radio, this is what I expected, to have the option to sign up for this very web site, the way you can sign up for Blogspot on Blogger if you don't want to use your own server.

I'll leave the details to Dave and the rest of the people at Userland to hash out what you pay for. My guess is that you when you buy Radio (the software), you will get a free Userland weblog if you desire, just like before. But on the other hand, you can forgo it.

Right now that was the most confusing part of the signup process for me, the automatic signing up for this weblog. I'm sure that will become more explicit as the "two Radios" dissassociate from each other over time.

The question then becomes: can you have Radio weblog without ever buying the Radio software. Why not, if supports the Blogger API fully? What would it cost? Would it become moot to call them "Radio" weblogs at that point?

  2:38:38 PM