don’t think websites: think data
[ the surprising conclusions of someone
who prefers content to technology ]
www.slideshare.net/dmje

actually, the
real title is this:
>
ten reasons why you should pay attention to the geeks
because actually they have something quite important
to say which us non-geeky people should be listening to

(you wouldn’t have come along if I’d said that before)

first, the geek snigger test

hardcore geek
http://xkcd.com/327/

amateur geek
http://www.neologies.net/2007/03/html-tattoo.html

(awake?)
http://boingboing.net/2006/11/02/hilarious-piechartvi.html

what will you come away from this talk with?

I want to:
1. Convince you that good content is
content that has been set free
2. Demonstrate 10 reasons why
machine-readableness is a good thing
3. Give you 5 ideas about how do “do it”
4. Not be technical*
* depending on the outcome of the geek snigger test

...simple, really.

consider the value of locked-in content

http://www.ucas.com/instit/i/h60.html
locked in = single purpose
single purpose = waste
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/events.aspx
http://unicorn.lib.ic.ac.uk/uhtbin/opac/webcentral
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8727

why are we here?
“..[to decide] the next steps
that need to be taken to
ensure the sustained
integration of digitised
content into research and
education ”

Catherine Grout, jdcc09:
“content needs to
be made available
quickly, easily, and
in a way that suits
individual needs”

and the answer is...?

microformats
API RDF
OpenSearch
RSS
actually, it’s these: machine-readability
RDFa
REST
JSON iCal

(i.e. stuff that a computer can
get at when it comes to your site)

“machine readable” is a bit of a mouthful, so how about..
MRD:
“machine readable data”

purists might argue with this
but we're going to ignore them

browsers (therefore people) read html
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<div class="mxb">
<h1>John Simpson: Secret
voices of the new Iran</h1>
<p>John Simpson reporting
from Tehran before his visa
ran out on Sunday...
</div>
</td>
</tr>

non-browsers read non-html
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title> John Simpson: Secret
voices of the new Iran </title>
<link>http://bbc.co.uk/.../</link>
<description> John Simpson
reporting from Tehran before
his visa ran out on Sunday...

microformats
API RDF
OpenSearch
RSS
these things are the non-html bit
RDFa
REST
JSON iCal

geeks are signed up to MRD

the importance of this isn’t immediately clear
and certainly hasn’t been well communicated

now is the time to convince the non-geeks
that they should invest* in these approaches
* attention, not necessarily money

ten reasons to stop thinking websites
...and start thinking data

1: content is still king, and always will be

MRD is a content concern, not a technical one

2: re-use is not just good, it's essential

3: life is easier when you (everyone) can get at your data
"wouldn't it
be great if..."

archive?
...?
run a report?
make it pretty?
re-purpose? make it more searchable?
have a mobile version?
run a kiosk? build a widget?

4: content development is cheaper

launchball
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/launchball

5: things get more visual

http://visibletweets.com/

seattle public library: http://bit.ly/Bmc8N

6: taking content to users, not users to content

your content on other sites

7: it doesn’t have to be very hard

8: you can't hide your content

http://developer.yahoo.com/yql
http://hoard.it

Thanks to Tony Hirst: http://bit.ly/8zwEn

9: we really is bigger and better than me

positive externality
“
next up are the Network Effects.
here’s a classic example: the more
people who own telephones, the
more useful they become.
There is a *positive externality* - a
user doesn’t intend for their phone
to create value for others, but it
does
”
46

10: traffic

but how?
48

if you love it, set it free
(you lost control anyway)

don’t ever stop thinking users

microformats
API RDF
OpenSearch
RSS
start small
RDFa
REST
JSON iCal

always think: “what if...?”
52

never, ever procure technology again
without asking: “where is the [API]?”...

the takeaway thought
At some point in the future, you’ll
want to do “something else” with
your content. Right now, you have
no idea whatsoever what that thing
is.
These techniques allow you to make
a worthwhile investment in a future
no-one can know.

thanks for listening
mike.ellis@eduserv.org.uk
twitter.com/m1ke_ellis
electronicmuseum.org.uk
www.slideshare.net/dmje

thanks to these people, too
abstract http://www.flickr.com/photos/toxi/292509986/
empty room http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkmoose/2355080489/
answer http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrs_logic/3320303076/
components http://www.flickr.com/photos/storm-crypt/2078500698/
sea http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezioman/410307927/
destroy purists http://www.flickr.com/photos/apeology/2335392254/
print screen http://www.flickr.com/photos/p1r/1351558354/
bad communication http://www.flickr.com/photos/shelleygibb/3372412222/
pay attention http://www.flickr.com/photos/subliminal/511527000/
ten http://www.flickr.com/photos/spilt-milk/164145237/
content http://www.flickr.com/photos/p373/2537069802/
re-use http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcusq/3032678489/
just relax http://www.flickr.com/photos/victornuno/205239817/
cheap http://www.flickr.com/photos/project-404/142767581/
visual http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielaguilar/2967187605/
crowd http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalieye/3265551769/
simple http://www.flickr.com/photos/martynf65/3494532917/
hidden http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiggywinkle/54801422/
social network http://www.flickr.com/photos/gustavog/4557105/
traffic http://www.flickr.com/photos/djwudi/268382948/
free birds http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankloohuis/468320896/
freedom http://www.flickr.com/photos/josefgrunig/1732787905/
night fight http://www.flickr.com/photos/strocchi/295280599/