Good profile/kudos article about Dave Winer,  widely known as the “Father of RSS”,  and one of the earliest – if not the original- blogger(s). Here’s a piece:

Dave Winer has a unique place in the history of blogging, as both a major contributor to the most fundamental technologies for online publication and as a major writer himself (with close to a thousand contributions since 1994). The transparent interaction between the mind of the technologist and of the writer creating technology as part of his communication process (which, according to me, started as early as his days at LivingVideoText with its concept of with its concept of idea processor) did shape the history of blogging, and made blogging the most pervasive literary genre in the history of the all means of expression. Dave Winer has accumulated all the possible kudos as “The father of modern-day content distribution,” blogging, podcasting and RSS. I would venture to say that he is also definitely a part of what is often called “experimental literature” in this country, i.e. when writers change given forms and invent a whole new style – think of Joyce, Borgès, Cortázar.

Dave Winer: “I’m a mystic about What It All Means.”

I have Dave on my TwitterList not only in the tech category,  but in SocioMediaologists,  because he writes often on the implications and effects and reactions to blogging and its uniqueness. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Dave once in Nashville at an early Podcamp,  and found him very approachable.  In fact,  I was wondering around at a kickoff mixer for that event when Dave stuck his hand out and said “Hi, I’m Dave Winer”,  and a couple of days later when I was carrying a plate of food by some tables,  he spoke up and said “Hey pull up a chair and join us”.

I also began my blogging on Radio Userland software,  and it was in that system that I discovered and became an RSS junkie.  I found Dave’s article this morning about Twitter and Coral Reefs very insightful as to the future of Twitter, it’s APIs,  and its carving out of an infrastructure upon which many things to come would depend.  It has been this way with RSS as well.   Thanks, Dave.  We owe you a lot.  You’re indispensable to the community.