I was thrilled to have one thousand people visit my website in one day last week. When I set up my website/blog last May, I anticipated a small community of visitors, but the idea of peering into the near future seems to have struck a chord.

I’m an avid reader and writer of ideas dealing with the next few decades. Although I love science fiction --- I grew up with the original Star Trek --- it’s the near future that really captures my attention. Things are evolving so quickly, just trying to imagine our little planet in twenty or thirty years stretches the intellect and imagination. Although a few visionaries have looked into the near future (Orwell, Kurzweil, Dick, etc), it remains almost virgin territory for hard science fiction and techno thrillers.

Initially, my website was focused on my two near future thrillers, PeaceMaker and Unholy Domain. Although these novels illustrate a possible future dominated by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and genetic engineering, this represent just one possible outcome. I gradually realized my website had to be much more encompassing.

First, I added book reviews of both fiction and non-fiction dealing with the near future. Heck, I’m reading these books anyway, so why not add a brief review? If you read the recommended non-fiction, you’ll gain a solid understanding of advanced technologies and their likely impact over the next few decades. Also read the recommended tech thrillers and hard science fiction. In addition to being thrilling and entertaining, the authors of these novels stick to the possible in crafting their stories. After reading these novels, it’s not difficult to image a compelling variety of different futures.

These days, people communicate with video clips as well as the written word, so I decided to periodically search the Internet for the best videos dealing with advanced technologies. Short clips are a great way to illustrate the more visual aspects of technologies, especially when being introduced to a new concept. And these clips are compelling; I find myself going back and watching them over and over.

Guest authors were another new concept. There is great writing about advanced technology on the net, and a few authors encourage wide distribution of their work at no charge. Whenever I come across this type of article, I post it on my website.

However, there are far more articles and videos on the net than I can read, so I decided to include a news service focused on technology. Forbes provides a terrific news service, constantly updated with hi-tech articles and videos, so I posted their widget on my website.

Last but not least is my blog. It’s a place where I can expose all the ideas and observations that come to mind regarding the near future. Over time, I’ve broadened the scope to include my weird sense of humor, current events and just plain rants. A bit eclectic, but hopefully enjoyable.

So that’s my website. Come and visit me at www.danronco.com and see for yourself.