As explained in the developer.* Blogs FAQ [1], the main developer.* Blogs page [2] and feed [3] is the primary stream of blog posts. Most of the posts that end up in the main flow meet a general criteria of being software related (and as such of interest to most developer.* readers) and being more than just a link or quick comment. The developer.* "Specialty Blogs" create an outlet for other kinds of posts that don't meet this general criteria.

For example, the developer.* Links Blog is for "link posts," which are simply blog posts the primary point of which is to link somewhere else; the author of a link post may choose to add some commentary along with the link, or might simply include the link with a brief explanation for why it's relevant. Many people like to read and follow link posts, and many bloggers like to post them--but not all readers like to read them, and if there were a lot of them, they could drown out the more "substantive" posts from the main developer.* Blogs flow. So our solution to this small quandry is to create a separate flow of link posts that people can follow if they choose.

Readers can follow the Specialty Blogs separately, either by reading them as they peruse the site, or subscribing to the respective feeds.

These are the Specialty Blogs we have so far:

• developer.* Links Blog [4] - This blog is reserved for "link posts," which are quick posts containing one or more links and a limited amount of additional commentary. (Home Page [5] - Feed [6])
• Software Development Books Blog [7] - This blog is for posts of all kinds relating to software development books, including reviews, announcements, author interviews, etc. Publishers, get in touch with the site's editor if you would like information about your titles included. (Home Page [8] - Feed [9])
• developer.* News [10] - This blog is generaly reserved for use by the site's editor. Follow this blog to keep up with what's going on with developer.*, including the articles, blogs, and books we publish. (Home Page [11] - Feed [12])

So how does one post to one of these Specialty Blogs? It's easy. When you add a post to your developer.* Blog (registration is free, and you will not be spammed, sold, or rented), there is a list of "categories" in which you can place your post. Scroll down to the end of this list and choose the item that corresponds to the Specialty Blog you think your post fits in. (Please don't use the developer.* News entry, though.) You can also multi-select in this list and choose other categories for your post.

As with everything at developer.*, we ask that you please not use this site primarily for the promotion of any products or services. Spam posts will be deleted.

Suggestions welcome [13].

Thanks for reading,
Dan