Usually the rise and fall of commodity prices would be the last thing I'd be interested in. But the global drama unfolding over oil is riveting, particularly the broader historical context. Case in point is a piece in today's Financial Times looking at the demise of the 19th century Whaling industry, while the editorial in this week's Economist features an analysis of the 70s oil shock.

Look closely, and behind the recent rise of oil prices is a intricate opportunity/crisis ecosystem driven by the energy lust of developing Asian countries, the interplay of food prices and biofuel subsidies, the emerging bubble in Silicon Valley funded clean tech companies, and the waning geopolitical influence of the US in both China and the Middle East. Oil has become the ultimate example of a complex dynamic system. Not that it's just economics. Take shoene rukku for example - a Japanese style of short-sleeved business suit inspired by the last energy crisis. As Joi Ito pointed out in a post from 2002, back then even the Japanese prime minister enjoyed wearing them. Roll over Saville Row. It's time to turn off the AC.

Blogs are the new black. Whether you are a Fortune 500 CEO, an ambitious engineer working the late shift or a promiscuous Singaporean teen – you’ve got to have one. For the uninitiated, the prospect of adding yet more words to the ocean of information on the web may seem futile. But fame and power await those who manage to break out of the mass of hyperlinked opinion.
No wonder that media companies are also starting to get religion. Readers secretly want to be moguls too.

If you want to know where degree zero of the Web 2.0 world is - it is Gnomedex 2005 and you have just missed it.  The blogosphere is going crazy with speculation and comment, driven largely by Microsoft's announced plans to deeply integrate RSS technology into Longhorn. Exciting news, certainly. But also, a bit like getting a smile from a crocodile.

Here is an irony for you. There is a growing number of people who consume their news and information exclusively through aggregated headline readers, made possible by the magic of RSS feeds. If you are reading this in your mail client, you are clearly not one of them. Your reluctance is entirely reasonable. After all, push content is nothing new and for the most part, nothing spectacular. In the late nineties, Microsoft experimented with web channel subscriptions in Internet Explorer. And then there was push pioneer Pointcast, who we all remember for the $450 million deal that they didn't do. However this time round, the buzz around syndication has a different flavour and not one that may be as pleasant tasting to the media status quo.

You can bet that if people are reading it, companies will find a way to advertise on it. So no surprises, that weblogs have become the latest weapon in the war for consumer attention.