Unclogging Writer's Block

When I started this blog, I wanted it to be an outlet for my technology escapades, including coverage of the interesting topics that I encounter in and out of work. I can quite honestly say that this was not as easy as expected, but I'm determined to continue onwards and upwards. Next year I'll be making the resolution (again) to be more creative, and to generate more content. Part of that includes publishing more content to my blog, and possibly publishing through other outlets. More to come later on that particular subject.

Anyway, back to the original point. In my quest to provide fresh content in my blog, and not to become just a blog-of-links, I'm trying to make some persistent notes about that topics that I'll cover at some undetermined point in the future.

Here are my current areas of interest:

• Scalable transaction technologies, especially high-performance transaction-grade persistent mechanisms and their applicability to the realm of Enterprise connectivity (Web Services + more)
• Web Services: A term encapsulating an ever-growing range of standards and specifications. As I look to 2004, I wonder what level of convergence we will see amongst the different standards groups. Of particular interest are the standards focused on making Web Services enterprise-grade (specifically Reliable Messaging, Transaction Management and Security/Identity), but as a whole I'm intrigued to see how the marketplace will overcome Web Services' growing complexity. In addition, the whole idea of managing the contractual environment between the providers and consumers of Web Services is of interest (see this recent post by Nick Gall for an insight into this area).
• XML-driven database technologies and their potential for managing and querying semantic-rich data (Syncato is probably one of the first projects to realize the true value of this type of environment)
• Emerging VoIP technologies - the progress of SIP et. al. I recently tested SIPphone, and will shortly be publishing an entry about that particular experience.
• ... and, of course, the ongoing developments within the realm of content publication and syndication. There has recently been a lot of activity within the Atom camp. Will 2004 be its year of flourishment?

I'm sure more topics will come along as well. Everyday I'm reading about various interesting technologies, and I have to thank guys like Erik Thauvin for helping expedite my reading process. I hope to have to chance to drill-down into some additional technologies, but, as always, this activity is time-pending. I appreciate your comments and feedback, and if you happen to come across any interesting articles relevant to the aforementioned subject areas, I'd be very glad to receive a link.