Drupal and Wordpress were among the winners in C|NET's Webware 100 awards for 2008, announced on Monday by Webware.com editor Rafe Needleman. 300 web applications and interactive sites were chosen as finalists by Webware.com editors, and the winners were voted on by the web users who actually use them. Over 1.9 million votes were counted (and no campaign chairmen were defense contractor or telecom industry lobbyists, either!).

In the Publishing category, WordPress and Drupal shared the Top 10 award with Apple's .Mac service, Blogger, flickr, fotoflexer, photobucket, Picasa, twitter and Worth 1000.

Congratulations to the Drupal and WordPress communities for this recognition of their hard work on two outstanding social publishing products!

It's long been efficient coding practice to reuse proven blocks of program code. After all, if you've already written something that works, why reinvent the wheel the next time you need the same function or operation? With open source coding, the resources for good, proven code are even greater. Thousands of solid scripts and code blocks are available for use in a new project, just by searching online. This not only improves reliability, since the code you borrow has already been battle-tested, but it also reduces development time and costs.

So why are there are so many social media sites apparently being developed from scratch?

I've discussed the positives of building a business site around a blog, or adding a blog to an existing site before. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger also listed the pros and cons of converting a website to a blog format in a recent post. I believe that the interaction between you and your customers that a blog-style site can create is essential in today's business communications.

The number of businesses and organizations looking to develop seems to be growing every week. Jeff Whatcott of Acquia took a look at the number of job postings related to social applications and found a large disparity between those just looking for PHP programmers (which he assumes means they're planning to write their own code from the ground up) and those mentioning Drupal (which assumes they understand the advantage of starting with an established, robust content management platform). Jeff notes:

There are currently 816 social app building jobs mentioning PHP skills and only 89 mentioning Drupal skills. As you page through the actual job postings, you see evidence of lots of social publishing application development going on out there, but a lot of it appears to be heading down a path of custom PHP development.

So what's up with this? Drupal is the killer social publishing system. It's built on PHP. It saves a ton of time over building a custom system from scratch. Why are so many people who are friendly to LAMP and PHP in particular decide to reinventing the wheel? Which of the following do you think it is?

1. They've never heard of Drupal
2. They're vaguely aware, but not sure why it might be relevant to their projects
3. They've actively evaluated it in the past, but rejected it.
4. They know Drupal and like it in general, but it's just a poor fit for the current project for some reason

Companies that are looking to develop a next generation web site need to understand that content management systems have matured to a level where, at a basic administrative level, it's not a requirement to be a PHP expert to implement a CMS-based site. It's nice, but it's not absolutely essential unless you're looking to completely customize every element of the site. Requiring multiple years of experience in PHP and MySQL in order to qualify an applicant to create and maintain a WordPress, Drupal or Joomla-based site is like asking someone who'll be using Microsoft Word to be fluent in C++. It'd be nice, but hardly required for the task at hand.

From an evangelism point of view, those of us who are marketing these new technologies to clients need to emphasize the time and cost advantages of starting from a solid, proven base instead of building a web application from the ground up.

UPDATE: Nick Lewis weighs in with "Top 5 Reasons Developers Don't Use Drupal."

WordPress' Matt Mullenweg talks about the future of the popular blogging and content management platform in this presentation to the recent WordCamp Dallas event.

Some stories from around the blogosphere about people's experiences (so far) with WordPress 2.5:

• 5 things we love about WordPress 2.5 - by Josh Lowensohn from Webware - "The new system cross checks your plug-ins with the database at Wordpress.org, and if there's an update it will  both let you know, as well as give you a one click option to update it to the latest version."
• My brain dump after upgrading to Wordpress 2.5 - by Colin Devroe from cdevroe.com - "As with all Wordpress upgrades, it is as easy as advertised. I was able to click Upgrade and in a matter of milliseconds my database was updated. Since I hadn’t upgraded since prior to 2.2 I had a few plugins that were now rendered obsolete, so I deactivated them, edited only a few template tags, and deleted a few template files - and I was done."
• Upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 - by Michael Kimsal from michaelkimsal.com - "There are some slick aspects to it, and it’s been cleaned up some. However, it’s still Wordpress, for better or for worse. I guess it’s mostly “for better” (I’m still using it!) but there are some things that still bug me which I was hoping were addressed. I’ll list those in a moment, but I will say the ‘multiple media’ file upload (done in Flash) is a nice feature."
• Wordpress 2.5: don’t be scared - by Cellobella from Redsultana - "But do your homework. Maybe you’d like to wait a little longer. Make sure all the bugs are discovered. Fair enough. You don’t have to upgrade. If you do want to - the instructions on Wordpress worked really well for me."
• Goodbye Movable Type, Hello WordPress - by Mike Davidson from Mike Industries - "I didn’t even plan to change platforms, but after more than a week of trying unsuccessfully to move from Movable Type 3.0 to Movable Type 4.0, this blog was in such a state of disarray under the covers that I began to wonder if switching to WordPress would be quicker altogether."

I asked Raivyn of Idiot's Guide to Blogging to put together an overview of blogging platforms for those just getting started, and she's done a great job of introducing the topic in today's guest post:

by Raivyn

Before I begin my post, I'd like to thank Tom for allowing me to write for New Tech Heroes. It's not often that I get the chance (or time) to write for another blog, so this is a nice break from the norm.

Now on with the show....

There are a number of things to think about when starting a new blog, especially now, when there are countless web hosting companies and blog platforms to choose from. It's easy to get lost amid all the chaos, even more if you're new to blogging.

I wish I could say there is one ideal blog platform, but the truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all software, and the same goes for hosting packages. Some solutions are geared toward professional bloggers, and others toward those who only blog as a hobby. The decision should ultimately be based on the blogger's needs and tastes.

This article is geared toward the less experienced bloggers, or those who don't want to invest much money into their blogs. Contrary to popular belief (among the problogging crowd, that is), you don't necessarily have to pay for a domain and hosting to have a successful blog. It depends on the service and how you use the features you are given.

Here is a rundown on two of the most popular free blog hosts:

Blogger

This is a free service that I highly recommend for those who have little to no blogging experience, and/or have yet to decide whether or not they want to keep doing it.

It is quick and easy to set up, and you can have several blogs on a single account. Posting is simple, too, and photo blogging is a snap with this service. Like most blog software, Blogger supports comments, trackbacks, archives, tags, etc., and you can also monetize your free blog with AdSense (which can be added with a few simple clicks) or any other ad program you wish.

Also, because the blogs are hosted for you on an established domain with good page rankings, there is more of a chance that your blog will be ranked by search engines quicker than if you had gotten your own domain and hosting.

Another advantage to using a free blog hosting service like Blogger is the fact that new software updates are installed automatically. You don't have to go through the hassle of uploading new software to the server.

Like most free services, Blogger does have its drawbacks. The forced bar at the top of each page is one of them (but this can be hidden with a simple template hack), and you will be given a long sub-domain. There are ways around this, like if you wanted to invest in your own domain, but if money is involved, there are plenty of other worthy choices to pick from.

WordPress.com

Just like Blogger, WordPress.com freely hosts your blog for you on their servers and is a good choice for a new bloggers, especially those with few tech skills. You're given all the blogging basics (comments, archives, categories, ect.), and all the maintenance is taken care of for you, too- the setup, security, software updates, etc.

The design options are limited, however. Bloggers using the free service are bound to the themes provided and have no access to the code. Plugins are not supported, either. New templates are added regularly, but it is still an inconvenience for those who want something more unique.

Overall, services like these are meant for the more casual blogger, or those who are just learning.

But as we grow in experience, many of us begin to feel that the free service is too limited and we can never reach our goals with what is provided. We then decide it would be better to upload blogging software to a paid host. Among the mess of domain registrars and hosting services, there are plenty of low-cost options available- some of the most popular being 1and1, GoDaddy, and HostGator.

There is plenty of open source blog software available, the most common being:

WordPress.org

This is the software used on WordPress.com, but much more flexible and you choose the hosting service. And because there is such a large WordPress following, there are lots of free templates and plugins available for download, and the software is constantly being improved.

WordPress would be my first recommendation to someone looking for a free blog platform due to my experiences with it, but Joomla and Drupal are two other worthy candidates to consider.

A good blog is not necessarily defined by how much money is invested in it, but rather what it provides to the internet community. There's nothing wrong with trying to save some cash, and maybe one of these free or cheap options is right for you. It never hurts to try out free blog software. Even if you find it doesn't fit your needs, you just might learn a thing or two in the process.

Thanks, Raivyn! If you're just getting interested in starting a blog, Raivyn has plenty of advice at her site, Idiot's Guide to Blogging. I've found her advice to be solid and friendly, and I recommend visiting her blog whether you're a new or seasoned blogger.

Newspapers' New Owners Turn Grim - by David Carr from The New York Times - "Critics of newspapers say that part of the problem is that the industry has lost its ability to surprise. Tell that to the guys who have just bought in.... These are all smart businesspeople, with significant success in other endeavors, who took a hard look at the wave-tossed publishing sector and appointed themselves as life savers. And very soon after jumping in, they too began foundering in the tall waves."

Moving from WordPress.com to Self-Hosted WordPress in Plain English - by Michael Martine from Remarkablogger - "Sooner or later, you find out that out of all five billion themes available, you don’t really like any of them, but you have little to no say (or skill) in customizing all but a very few of them. Sooner or later, you discover that all the cool functionality other blogs have from something called plugins is verboten to you on WordPress.com."

Mozilla CEO says Apple's Safari auto-update 'wrong' - by Martin LaMonica from CNET News.com - "A lot of people appear to be bent out of shape about Apple using its auto-update service to distribute the Safari Web browser on Windows. The CEO of Mozilla, which makes the rival Firefox browser, calls it bad business."

Early adopters, rejoice! WordPress 2.5RC1 is available for you to download and play with.

Matt Mullenweg posted that the "sneak peek" was ready this morning, there were quickly over 40 pingbacks on the story, in several languages. It seems WordPress users have been waiting for this day like kids on Christmas Eve. If there was any doubt what personal publishing platform is the hottest right now, that kind of reaction would seem to have settled it.

Matt's post includes screenshots of several of the updated components including the dashboard, and describes other changes they've made to simplify navigation of the administration functions. It looks great, and I'm going to have to try it out myself. I used WordPress for a short-lived test blog I was writing last fall, and while I found the setup very simple when compared to other CMS offerings, I decided that Drupal was more suited to the type of additional content I was planning to add.

You can download WordPress 2.5RC1 here. The link is near the bottom of Matt's post.

A few weeks ago I highlighted an article by Acquia's VP of Marketing Jeff Whatcott. In it, Jeff came up with a definition of something he calls "social publishing." He described it as a blend of what we currently expect from a web content management system, aspects of online networking such as blogs, wikis and sites like Facebook and YouTube, plus the ability to create web applications using a common framework.

I liked Jeff's terminology then; I like it even better today. For the purposes of this discussion, I include Joomla, Drupal, Plone and other similar software as content management systems and WordPress, Moveable Type and Blogger and their kin as personal publishing, or blogging, platforms. But as open source developers have extended the capabilities of these packages, they are coming closer to each other's niche markets.

Plenty of bloggers are using CMS software to run their blogs; New Tech Heroes is just one of many sites that are primarily blog-driven using Drupal in that way. With the modules and extensions available for WordPress today, and more expected when version 2.5 is introduced, it's more than just a blog platform now. Is it a CMS yet? Does it matter?

Bryan Ruby examined the "social publishing" terminology on his CMSReport blog last Thursday. Noting that we're now dealing with "something more than a CMS," Bryan writes:

What do you call a Web application capable of publishing and managing not only content, but is an application that also manages wikis, social networking, documents, forums, photos, and blogs? Some people will tell you these diverse features are best described under such terms as social software, Web 2.0, social networking, and Enterprise 2.0. While these terms may help create a lot of buzz, I have some difficulty in using these terms to describe the information system model being used by the applications. If you think the definition of a CMS can be a fuzzy or limiting term, wait until you start using the term "social software" in a business setting. Personally, I don't think my boss is in the mood to deal with such vague terms.

The imprecision of terms does make selling this technology difficult to our employers and clients. Not only is "content management" difficult to define for them, the whole idea that there's any "content" to "manage" is baffling to many decision makers. Don't we just want a web page? Haven't we progressed enough if we get that far? Now we're supposed to be "social," too?

It reminds me of the rise of "desktop publishing" twenty years ago. Large print shops hated the term - and the technology - because it implied anyone could do what they'd been doing with their big Linotype machines and composition tables for years. (The fact that not anyone could actually do good layout work became apparent soon enough. I still see brochures laid out using Microsoft Publisher that feature eight or more fonts.) Yet we needed some term back then to describe what PageMaker could do, and desktop publishing did the trick. Interestingly, you rarely hear the term "desktop publishing" anymore, because now everyone - including the big print shops - does layout work on computers now.

So maybe in the long run it won't matter with social publishing, either. For now, though, it seems like we need to have a term that describes this evolving type of software that's driving how individuals, businesses and organizations are communicating in 2008. "Social publishing" works for me. What do you think?