The democratization of the web continues. Here's an interesting article about what seems to be a quick and easy way to get you own web site address without using a commercial hosting service.

How much easier can this all get?

The article talks about how to have a full-featured website with e-mail accounts, blog or static web page hosting, and other services for free.

There is a difference between getting a web address and a domain name, and there are good arguments made for going the route of getting a domain name established.

Ever wonder who else might be reading this blog? Who are the hundreds of thousands of readers who routinely follow us as we try to inform, entertain, and engage by chiming in on webby issues of the day to keep you from being bored and/or bewildered by the issues we face today as online communicators and marketers.

Well, here is a highly scientific completely objective look at this blog and its so-called readability. It strives to anwer the question of what education level you need to understand what's being said here. Really. Try it. I'll even give you the URL to plug in: http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/

And, just so know, in the future I'm going to try to use numerous multi-syllable words plucked from the pages of Roget's Thesaurus to try to boost our rankings!

While one CEO recently told me that the Internet is “fantasy land”, the reality and surging success of social networking driving big business. My company, Prescient Digital Media, landed its first client from our activity on Facebook. Yes, that means a company contacted us through Facebook and we signed them as a new client.

While social media is not yet as well used as say news sites, 37% of the US adult Internet population used online social networking at least once a month this year. That figure will rise to 49% in 2011, according to eMarketer. Frankly, I think they’re vastly underestimating the potential growth.

”The continued growth of social networking seems assured,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, Social Network Marketing: Ad Spending and Usage, “unless teens stop social networking as they become adults.”

“By 2011, one-half of all online adults and 84% of online teens in the US will use social networking each month,” says Ms. Williamson.

Additional predictions from eMarketer:

• Worldwide online social network ad spending will grow from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2008, 82%.
• Worldwide spending will top $4 billion in 2011.
• In the US, spending is projected to rise to $1.6 billion in 2008, from $920 million in 2007.

Most companies are now using social media now in some form. Those that aren’t risk falling far behind the competition and being differentiated to the scrap heap.

Greetings, everyone. Here in Hamilton, N.Y., there is a freshly fallen six inches of snow on the ground, courtesy of an overnight visit by Mother Nature. The snow won't affect any New Year's Eve revelry, I'm sure, as we expect just flurries the rest of the day.

Not that I have huge plans. A nice dinner out with just the family at a local restaurant and then some friends over for a cocktail or two until the ball drops.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays. I know I have. I've been out of the office since Dec. 21. I'm sure I'll struggle to remember the 19 different passwords I use for my day-to-day work and, in a rare move for me, I've not gone near my work e-mail. I'm sure that alone will take a good part of Wednesday to clear up.

I wanted to take this time to wish everyone all the very best in '08. It's looking like a very interesting year ahead and I hope we can have some good conversations about new projects and new adaptations of technology that continue to shape the ways we communicate.

ath bhliain faoi mhaise!
(Happy New Year, in Gaelic)

Tim