TheFeature Goes Offline

Smart Mobs reports that TheFeature, an emerging technology essay blog that's been a source of both news and inspiration for this site, is shutting down. A modest farewell message to its readers stated: "With the dramatic changes in the Internet publishing landscape since [its founding in 2000], and the rise of blogs in particular, TheFeature's role as a leader in the community perhaps isn't as necessary as it once was, with many quality sites discussing relevant topics and providing outlets for the vibrant community that's sprouted up around the mobile industry." That's debatable, though, as TheFeature offered a quality of both writing and insight that set it apart from many other like-minded resources. TheFeature will be truly missed by the futurist and technology communities.

As of this afternoon (7/1), neither TheFeature's website nor its RSS feed was available.