If blogs are conversations, then aggregators like the excellent Bloglines should look for FOAF files and display a picture and the name of the writer(s) (if they can find it) with a feed. I’d like to see who’s talking, and a name+picture makes it easier to do that.
(Bloglines could then add a function to see who this blogger knows and let me subscribe to feeds those people produce.)
I updated my feed to be called “Peter Van Dijck’s Guide to Ease”. Now I just have to add a picture. I always resisted having pictures of me floating around on the web (try to find one), but I think maybe I should give in.
It may soon come to be that NetNewsWire integrates with the Address Book, allowing such features as “Chat with author” and showing author thumbnail pictures might be a feasible idea. I can’t say authoritatively if it’ll make the final cut of features someday (since I’m just an end user), but you might well see the option to link a given feed to a given person someday soon.
Comment by Richard Soderberg — 2/18/2004 @ 10:28 pm