Connecting the Silos: MyBlogLog

As you can see on the right hand side of my blog (and in a screen-shot here), I installed and run MyBlogLog: a tool that allows me to keep track of who is visiting my site. MyBlogLog not only changes the way I browse the internet, but I also think it has the potential to finally connect the field of social silos that make up the social web.

Part of what's given me this inclination is the who of MyBlogLog user community. While at first a geek-blog-only tool, this screen shot shows that Real Users, such as my cousin (JenniferCousin) have joined MyBlogLog's ranks, and with their recent announcement that MyBlogLog will work on MySpace (where a wealth of Real Users socialize), I bet more and more users like my cousin will join the MyBlogLog community. So why is this so significant? Well, MyBlogLog goes beyond installing a "cookie" in your browser and reporting your movement throughout the web: It also allows its users to keep a profile online -- much like more popular sites like Facebook or MySpace -- and most importantly, it shows the world your "social browsing" history, or the trail of sites you've been to that also run the MyBlogLog software.

As Evan reported last week, many people have multiple accounts on social sites. I, for one, am on Facebook, MySpace, my own blog, other people's blogs, LinkedIn, and many others sites which are run by social forces. What MyBlogLog does is connect the "silos" of those individual communities and makes sense out of all my social browsing.

While there's a long way to go for MyBlogLog to dominate the social web, anecdotal evidence says they're on their way. Or, in other words, if JenniferCousin's doing it, it's probably true.