Its curently in alpha right now, but CloudShout is what looks to be a widget network distributed amongst the SocialSpark users (if not, then it will be very easy for them to implement).  In short, CloudShout looks like a platform that is looking for developers to create widgets — like an IM widget, or a MyBlogLog widget that we saw — so that people will bring back conversations back to blogs.

RATHER — not just conversations, but *attention* back to blogs as a location for things to happen.

I spoke to Dan Rua (who, I should add is much larger in person than on his blog — much like John Chow, actually) after the talk, and I “get” where the intention of this is.  They want to create an easy platform for people to develop stuff, so that the attention is focused back on blogs and blogging, and away from the splinterization of conversations — and therefore attention.

There weren’t any specific ideas around monetization, but one could see a scenario where Izea could get secondary gain from more traffic to blogs — leading to more attention to paid posts or advertising purchased on blogs.  Or, the benefits of “owning” the platform if it gets hot.

Perhaps one analogy is “an iphone apps for blogs”.

As with a great many things, I think the details are in the execution, and the proof is in the tasting (of said pudding).  I will give a large kudos to Ted and co for having some pretty ambitious dreams, and wanting to bring attention back to blogging.  Being a blogger myself, I love the medium and as I said previously, it needs as many friends as it can get.

The biggest challenge — as I said to Dan — was that in all the thinking done around the splinterization of conversations, that I did wonder if something like this, as admirable as it is to want to bring blogs as a place to BE again, that if it was an attempt at something that’s against the grain.

That is, with the evolution of things like Twitter and Friendfeed, if conversations — and therefore attention — will *naturally* splinter across different media *within* media.  That as good an effort as CloudShout is — is it therefore *un-natural* in its efforts to move people back from where they came from?

I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think in order for that proposition to occur, they’re going to have to do something really really right.  It is going to be slick and sexy, and its have to take the best out of MyblogLog and capitalize on all of its lost opportunities, AND get its champions and evangelists on all sides lined up … *if* they’re fighting something that I suspect is a natural phenomena that we’re all witnessing in the social media scene:

The splinterization of attention.

PS. If you’re interested I have an extra invite … leave a comment and I’ll pick one at random in another day or so.

So why am I here on Ted Murpy’s dime? A couple reasons.  First of all, I think Ted has made some strides in trying to bring bloggers and advertisers together in a win-win fashion.  Blogging is a tough business, no matter what language you speak, or where you find yourself in life.  It needs more friends, and that’s the sense I get from where Ted is coming from.

With PPP, his intentions weren’t bad, but they may have been executed in a way that wasn’t completely kosher, particularly with whole transparency thing and what Google may see as gaming the link system.  Ted’s got something new brewing with Social Spark, as a new means of bringing bloggers and advertisers together.  It seems above board on a lot of issues I had ranted about before (no-follow links, in-post disclosure amongst other things) and one day soon, I may just try it out.

Second reason is that I’m getting the chance to meet a lot of people. I’ve got to say I love meeting other bloggers / new media folk, and so this is really no exception.  This evening, for example, I got to meet Brian Clark and Tamar Weinberg.  Neil Patel and John Chow as well.  Yes, I even shook hands with John Reese and Jeremy “Shoemoney” Schoemaker (the latter of whom was gentlemanly of enough to feign recognizing me).  I also got to meet some panelists that I’ll be moderating including Lea Alcantara, as well as Steve Spalding, both of who, I might add (along with Rob, Lea’s husband), are excellent company. ;)  In the upcoming days, I’m also hoping to run into Loren Feldman (again), and Merlin Mann, who is delivering the keynote for Saturday.

I don’t anticipate the whole conference to be a pitch-a-thon for Izea.  If it is, of course, you’ll hear from me on that.  But it really seems to be more about bloggers and how to make them better at it.  And if that’s the case, I’ll be glad I came, not only as someone who is helping moderate a panel, but someone who can always learn a thing or three about the craft.