A large survey of web professionals has found that many are planning to use podcasting, blogs and wikis in the next 12 months to help build communities.

Highlights:

• 38 percent of developers intend to use blogs in their development projects
• 25 percent aim to use podcasting
• 20 percent mean to use wikis
• Syndication will also jump by 36 percent.

The report, The State of Web Development 2006/2007, analyzes the responses of 5,000 web developers. The survey consisted of 15 questions, including queries about web developers’ current and intended use of specific web technologies, ranging from established technologies, such as Flash, to emerging technologies, such as AJAX and microformats. AJAX was by far the biggest gainer with 46 percent of web developers planning to adopt the technology in the next 12 month.

The survey, by Ektron and SitePoint, suggests that technologies aimed at improving the client-side interface and building communities are gaining momentum among web developers.