Sandhill Trek

OPML 2.0 Draft Spec

"This document describes a format for storing outlines in XML 1.0 called Outline Processor Markup Language or OPML."

Dave Winer released the draft OPML spec today.  He expects a comment period to last up to two months.  Several months ago I tried to jump on-board the community effort that was developing this muthah, and I was quickly left behind by the brighter lights who had a sense of where they were going (and - to be fair to myself - they had the time to get there!)

Lisa Williams has been a most active member of this group, writing end user documentation and generally providing feedback every step of the way.

As an observer I'm impressed with the steady progress this group made, the considerate mentoring that Dave provided through feedback on the OPML mail lists, and the fact that they stuck together to bring this tool to the public.

Like RSS 2.0, OPML isn't magic.  It's a thoughtful application of the foundational toolset that is XML.  XML users exist in communities.  It was fun watching this one develop.

Like RSS 2.0, "Version 2.0 will be the last version of OPML. Any further development will take place in namespaces, new outline types, per the Extending OPML section of this specification; or in formats derived from OPML with different names."

[Caveat:  the quotations above are from the draft that Dave offered for review.  Things aren't carved in stone, well... maybe they are carved in SOAPstone.  :-) ]

Interop Fantasy Bubble...

I saw the news last week, oh boy... the RSS army wants to fight some wars.
There were some rss-dogs standing there,
But I didn't really care...
I only paused to stare...
But having read the book...
It didn't turn me on.

Now here's some news:  Syndication is free.  Syndication is easy.  Interoperability in a semantic context is neither.  Interop doesn't have a whole hell of a lot to do with RSS unless you want it too.  Bloggers are largely representative of the consumer market in the vanity publishing industry.  Most of us aren't worth a bucket of warm piss, content wise.  That's why we deserve RSS.  Because it sucks, it's free, and the cockroaches whose dreams are informed by the 17th century tulip industry have emerged from the rocks overturned by their fascist war in southwest asia to proclaim that a new market bubble is rising, like swamp gas in the ruined wetlands where your city has sited its sewage disposal plant.

One doesn't want to sound too negative.  There's important work going on. In real life there are semantic web technologies under development to support cross-community bioinformatic data integration and professional collaboration.  In the blogosphere we have Ookles.  In the real world we have ongoing efforts to secure XML for RDF applications in the financial services industry.  In the blogosphere we have Kaboodlers.

Disclosure and apologia:  I have no clue what Ookles is or what Kaboodle does.  Some of my best friends work with companies that are trying to rip off the Google karma phonologically.  I particularly want to apologize to Scott and Betsy and anybody else who might take personally this little rant regarding RSS and a bucket of warm piss.  Syndication is cool.  RSS is an adequate syndication tool for free content with no security requirements, especially if the content really doesn't have to get from here to there.  Harvard University's Berkman Center enjoys a "special" place in the tulip fields of the RSS world.  In the real world, MIT, ERCIM, and Keio are doing special work too.

URL hurl... blogorexia

I lack the gift of spontaneity, so I mostly stay away from IRC.  While others are sharing their bon mots in a chat room, I am usually typing furiously to catch up with something that has long since scrolled off the top of the page.  I was reminded of this a few minutes ago while fooling around with Google chat in the company of Mr. Bon Mot himself (or Boner as I sometimes call him):  Chris Locke. 

Tiring quickly of my descent into phonological nonsense spewage he shared this link as he was logging off...  quintessential IRCage, complete with large trout(s).

Death by 1000 tolls...

Good to hear Suw Charman on the RSA Economist debate today. She speaks powerfully about technology and the limits of technology. She spoke of government involvement, a reasonable regulatory framework that will protect our interests, protection from the fate of "death by 1000 tolls." The debate/discussion is in process now.

Dave's offer...

Dave Winer is willing to sit in the audience at Mix06 and listen politely to Bill Gates and Tim O'Reilly as they debate.  Following a discussion of speaker fees Dave suggests there should be audience fees.  He says,

... they asked me to come to this conference, but I resisted...

If they want me to come, the price is $100,000 plus expenses. And I'll sit there with my hands folded and be a good boy and applaud in all the right places and smile when they say that RSS is nice.

I'm guessing that if they took him up on it, he would have to return the $100,000.  No way could he listen to those two without putting in his two cents $100,000 worth.

Auds-blogkins

Jeneane discovered a stash of unused Aud Blog posts... and she posted four right off.

1) george, re. the Project of Bitterness.
2) george...  "accessible" music
3) george... "not-orginal" music
4)  what happint to four?  The blog ate it...  (Sorry, the blog ate my aud work).

Then again this morning... two more... her tooth?  Then after the dental angst (skippable) she gets all textual about the analyst takedown project.  TMA... you gotta listen to the audcast to find out what TMA stands for.

Scary.  She has 65,000 unused audblog posts available...

Freedom to Connect

This is the second of two blog posts, posted here first so it will appear consecutive to the first of the two which I must post second in a bloglike manner.  (i.e.  see above)...

David Isenberg thanks me for writing about F2C:Freedom to Connect and offers this opportunity:

"...here's the deal: Friends of Frank Paynter's Blog are entitled to a special deep discount $295 (vs regular early bird $595) if they register by February 28."

[Disclosure:  While there isn't a dime in it for me and I am paying my own way to this event, I do my best to cultivate cordial, indeed friendly, relationships with David and a number of other people whose work overlaps my interests.  This is also called sucking up.  And, while the phrase "my interests" might be inferred to mean something financial, you shouldn't interpret it that way because that is so mundane, really...] 

To get the special deep discount for Freedom to Connect, register at http://pulver.com/f2c with Priority Code FOBDL

The current speakers list includes
     * Jonathan Askin, General Counsel, pulver.com
     * Jim Baller, Founder, Baller Herbst Law Group
     * Rick Boucher, Congressman, Democrat, Virginia
     * Drew Clark, Senior Writer, National Journal
     * Mark Cooper, Research Director, Consumer Federation of America
     * Cynthia De Lorenzi, CEO, Patriot.net
     * Ed Felten, Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs, Princeton University
     * Dewayne Hendricks, CEO, Dandin Group
     * Dave Hughes, CEO, OldColo.com
     * Reed Hundt, Principal, Charles Ross Partners
     * David Isenberg, Principal, Isen.com
     * Jeff Jarvis, Creative Director, Advance.net
     * Jim Kohlenberger, Executive Director, The VON Coalition
     * Bruce Kushnick, Chairman, Teletruth
     * Om Malik, Editor, GIGAOM.com
     * Rick Ringel, Dir. of Engineering, Media Applications Grp., Inter-Tel
     * Doc Searls, Senior Editor, Linux Journal
     * Ron Sege, CEO, Tropos
     * Clay Shirky, Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program
     * Gigi Sohn, President, Public Knowledge
     * Esme Vos, Founder, Muniwireless.com
     * David Weinberger, Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
     * Frannie Wellings, spokesperson, Free Press
     * Tim Wu, Professor, Coumbia Law School

DEMO 2006

The Head Lemur is blogging DEMO.  He snuck in under the tent.  He's put together a small collection of his finds.  they're worth reading.

Slavish Imitation...

Follower that I am, I've hooked up with the coComment people by entering my email address in the form there and waiting a bit for the beta-beta-beta (Suh-winggg, beta!) invitation to arrive.  Next I guess I have to modify my template or something.  Meanwhile, I've discovered the beautifully designed Shelley Powers site, and by extension others that are hand-crafted, to be not (yet) supported.

How did I discover that?  By reading McD's comment there...

Fine, fine... but what's next?

Zelenka stepped off toward Web 3.0 this morning, and RDF raised it's pretty head.