microformats: new standards?

M. Jackson Wilkinson
Grassroots Enterprise

microFormats?

• Sets of standardized XHTML tags and classes
• Attach extra meaning to web-published information
• Extends semantic meaning to computers
• Allows for increased functionality for humans
• Easy to implement
• Few disadvantages

microFramework: The Semantic Web

• W3C-led effort (1999)
• Standardized way to allow computers to better understand various kinds of data
• Metadata
• RDF
• Widely integrated
• Requires additional effort to implement

microFantasy: the semantic web

• RDF is found everywhere
  • All things to all people approach
• microformats exploding in their one year
  • Yahoo! Local
  • Flickr
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Many more...
• Data becoming easier to find, search results more meaningful

microformats

• Calendars/Events (hCalendar)
• People/Companies (hCard)
• Opinions, Reviews (hReview)
• Social Connections (XFN)
• Resumes (hResume)
• Link relationships (rel-tag, rel-home, rel-payment)
• And more...

microFabrication: hCalendar

<div class="vevent">
  <a class="url" href="http://www.refresh-dc.com">
    <span class="summary">Refresh DC Meeting</span></a>
    <span class="location">Library of Congress, Washington, DC</span>
    <abbr class="dtstart" title="20060817T1900-0400">August 17th, 2006, 7pm</abbr>,
    <abbr class="dtend" title="20060817T2030-0400"> 8:30pm</abbr>
  <div class="description">
  	M. Jackson Wilkinson will be presenting a brief introduction to microformats.
  </div>
</div>
        	

microFabrication: hCard

<div class="vcard">
  <a class="url fn n" href="http://www.grassroots.com">
	<span class="given-name">M.</span>
	<span class="additional-name">Jackson</span>
	<span class="family-name">Wilkinson</span>
  </a>
  <div class="org">Grassroots Enterprise</div>
  <a class="email" href="mailto:jwilkinson@grassroots.com">jwilkinson@grassroots.com</a>
  <div class="adr">
	<div class="street-address">1101 17th St. NW, Suite 1350</div>
	<span class="locality">Washington</span>,
	<span class="region">DC</span>,
	<span class="postal-code">20036</span>
	<span class="country-name">USA</span>
 </div>
 <div class="tel">202.741.3703</div>
 <a class="url" href="aim:goim?screenname=Whafro">AIM</a>
</div>
        	

microFulfillment

• Passive Implementation
  • Search Results
  • End-user Handlers
• Active Implementation
  • Homegrown
  • Technorati
  • Other public web services

microFan Tools

• General:
  • Technorati microformat Search
• Firefox/Flock:
  • Tails & Smartzilla Extensions
  • Greasemonkey scripts
  • Bookmarklets
• Konqueror has built-in support
• IE7 Add-ons in development

microFun: Technorati- hCard

• Append URL of page with hCard to Technorati service:
  http://technorati.com/contacts/http://www.jounce.net/presentations/refreshMicroformats/

microFun: Technorati- hCalendar

• Shocking: Append URL of page with hCalendar to Technorati service:
  http://technorati.com/events/http://www.jounce.net/presentations/refreshMicroformats/

microFrets

• microformats not without criticism
• Kludge?
• Threaten the W3C?
• Drive the W3C?

microFuture

• Expansion of the semantic web
• Development of new ways to find data
• Keys to success:
  • Early and aggressive adoption
  • Browser integration

microFinale

• Questions?
• Comments?
• Discussion?
• Tomato Throwing?