Web 2.0: The Potential Of RSS And Location Based Services

1
Web 2.0 The Potential Of RSS And Location Based
Services
http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/meetings/e
dinburgh-2006-09/

• Aims
• Build on recent Scottish-web-people and JISC
  meetings
• Explore options for enhancing use of RSS
• Advice to JISC JISC Services
• Discuss institutional perspective
• Start discussions on simple location-based
  services

• Brian Kelly
• UKOLN
• University of Bath
• Bath

Email B.Kelly_at_ukoln.ac.uk
Resources bookmarked using 'edinburgh-2006-09'
tag
UKOLN is supported by
This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonComme
rcial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (but note caveat)
2
Contents

• This brief talk (14 slides) will cover
• RSS
• News feeds ? Syndication
• Navigation ? Maximising impact
• Location-Based Services
• Google Maps mashups
• Location-based metadata (and microformats)
• Deployment Challenges
• Should we do it?
• What are the barriers?
• Where to from here?

Generaldiscussion
3
RSS
RSS

• RSS
• Killer lightweight format
• Initially used to allow news to be embedded in
  others Web sites
• Now used for general syndication of content
• Use in Blogs helped in take-up
• Lots of ways of using RSS, creating RSS, RSS
  tools, etc.

See An Introduction To RSS And News Feeds QA
Focus briefing document no. 78
4
JISC Services RSS Aggregator
RSS
http//www.eevl.ac.uk/jiscnews/

• JISC Services RSS Aggregator
• Example of a Web-based RSS reader
• Feeds determined by service provider

5
RSS As A Navigational Aid
RSS
http//www.cultivate-int.org/

• RSS feeds for structure of Cultivate Interactive
  created recently

RSS files created in Aug 2006, usingRSSxl (see
later)
6
RSS OPML As A Navigational Aid
RSS

• OPML provides an import/export function for
  groups of RSS files
• Can also be used for navigation

7
Searching RSS Space
RSS

• Technorati provides a searching service for Blog
  space/RSS space

http//www.technorati.com/search/edina
8
Creating The RSS
RSS
http//www.wotzwot.com/

• Lots of ways, but a simple technique for
  existing resources is to make use of an HTML-RSS
  converter.
• Can process
• Microformats e.g. ltspan class rssitemgt
• Arbitrary text such as ltligt

9
Mapping Services The Web

• Web 2.0 provides valuable opportunity to provide
  mapping location services
• Embedding Google maps on your Web sites
• Developing rich services using this
• Providing location metadata / microformats which
  can be processed by simple browser tools

Location Services
10
Google Maps Mashups
http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops
/webmaster-2006/maps/

• Google Map mashup used for IWMW 2006 event
• 20 lines of JavaScript.
• Code taken from Google Maps Web site and
  coordinates added

Location Services
11
Location Metadata (1)
http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/meetings/
edinburgh-2006-09/

• Embedded location metadata can now by exploited
  by various 3rd party tools

Location Services
Note I shouldnt do this, the organisation should
be responsible for its own metadata (Ive
probably got the wrong building!)
How? Install Greasemap script add ltmeta
name"geo.position" content"55.944, -3.187" /gt
ltmeta name"geo.placename" content"Edinburgh
University" /gt
12
Location Metadata (2)

• Same location metadata can be used by other
  applications.

Location Services
Note also Geo microformats embed location
inline in HTML text, which can be exploited by
various tools
13
Challenges Opportunities
What Next?

• Challenges
• Accessibility (can be addressed)
• Resourcing
• Reliability, robustness, quality, trust, etc.
• Will users use it? Do they want it?
• Opportunities
• Significant benefits at low cost
• Being (slightly) at the leading edge
• Discussing sharing best practices, coordination
• Software development (EDINA, UK, scripts, etc)

Key points Much of this stuff can be easy to do,
so lets do it! Remember the benefits of scale
(Metcalfes Law) that we (developers our users)
gain as more of us do this.
14
Discussion
What Next?

• Opportunity for general discussion

Note resources cited in the talk are bookmarked
in del.icio.us using tag 'edinburgh-2006-09" Also
note that briefing documents on various Web 2.0
issues (and other areas) are available on QA
Focus Web site