Automated Open-Source Life-stream Blogging Software

You have a rich Web 2 life and complicated online presence. Would not it be great if all your Internet activities (you choose) are reflected on your blog automatically? Uploaded a photo to Flickr? Bookmarked a new site? In a few minutes, it will show up on your blog!

There have been a lot of "life-stream" services popping up lately that aim to collect all of your Web 2.0 newly created posts, uploaded materials, or certain performed actions, and assemble all this in one place that is central to your online life. It sounds as a great idea, but the downside is that most of the offered solutions are closed source and externally hosted applications, so you are essentially directing all your data into yet another system that you have no control over.

Sweetcron

Sweetcron application, created by Tokyo-based web developer Yongfook, represents a completely open-source solution, self-hosted take on the life stream idea. Like most of the similar services, it is essentially a blog that also pulls your real-time participation data from sites like Twitter, Flickr, Digg, and Youtube. Unlike most of other competitive service models, however, you can download the software, skin it, and modify it to suit your needs. You will definitely need a server to run it on, of course; therefore this solution is not for everyone.

Developers website: http://sweetcron.com/

Direct Downloading links: http://code.google.com/p/sweetcron/downloads/list

Additional Information, Detailed Features and Installation Procedures:

http://www.mytestbox.com/new-web-software-releases/sweetcron-friendfeed-automated-lifestream-blog-software/
http://lifestreamblog.com/interview-with-yongfook-on-sweetcron-automated-lifestream-blog-software/
http://socialwebtools.info/2008/08/29/sweetcron-best-automated-lifestreaming-blogging-software/

Comments moderation with TypePad AntiSpam

Six Apart has launched a new free open source product into beta called TypePad AntiSpam. The basic spam filtering technology has been already used by the company since May 2007 as built-in feature of TypePad blogs. Now it is offered as a plug-in for other blogging platforms, such as Movable Type and WordPress, and any other platform which supports spam plugins.

TypePad AntiSpam beta is free for any type of use, personal and commercial, regardless of how large your site is and of how many comments you receive daily. In comparison, Akismet, the similar service for WordPress and other platforms, is free for personal use but starts at $5 a month for anyone making more than $500 a month off their blog.

The developed software adapts to the changing spam tactics. You can report any comment that is not welcome to your blog, and the TypePad AntiSpam engine learns from your spam definition, retaining quality comments and enhancing the automatic unwanted entries detection and filtering with every step.

Download the plug-in from the authors Web Site: http://antispam.typepad.com/info/get-started.html

Additional Reading:

http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2008/05/typepad-antispam-whats-good-fo.html

http://everything.typepad.com/blog/2008/05/a-better-way-to.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052902175.html