Standards Revolutionising Information Sharing

The web has evolved much over the past 10 years. Todays web is made up of much more 'rich content' than ever before. The presentation of information has evolved to make many websites as sophisticated as Magazines and TV. With the evolution of easy edit systems like Duo CMS , content too has evolved to become much more current than ever before. Out of date websites are slowly becoming a thing of the past.

This content rich environment is evolving in another way too, content is being shared. Sites like Google News rely totally on news sources provided by other sites on the web.

When creating sharable content on the web it is important people share content in a predictable format. In the same way software packages have specified file formats, ie word .doc files, or excel xls files the web has evolved various formats for sharing various information.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication)

By far the most dominants sharing format to date is RSS (Really Simple Syndication). This file format is one Google News uses to grab news content from sites which have opted to provide content. Here at Duo we have realised the usefulness of this system and now provide an RSS system which allows you to provide any content on your Duo CMS site in this format. Obviously this is being currently used for news sections, but there is no reason why events, work portfolios or even project plans couldn't be shared in this way. RSS has become such a dominant format that Internet Explorer 7 includes an RSS reader as part of its setup. With this tool you can have all your news in one place (no need to visit the websites to see what's new).

Sharing Calendars

Obviously RSS is useful but is designed around the sharing of news like information. Other formats which are becoming more prominent are ICal and VCal. These formats deal mainly with the sharing of calendar information. We are currently working on a website which helps owners of Villas rent them. As part of an on-line booking system it would be really useful if Villa owners could download all their bookings into a local calendar system (ie MS Outlook). ICal and VCal make this possible. The information held on the website can be converted into these file formats and with the click on an icon can populate the calendar of your choice.

Virtual Business Card

Business Cards are really useful things. They enable us to quickly pass our details on to other people. Vcard is the Internet equivalent. With Vcard it is possible to take standard contact information and publish them in a format which allows with a single click for this information to be added to an address book system (ie outlook). We currently have on-line feedback forms, but wouldn't it be much easier just to  upload your virtual business card along with a message. This way the website owner could receive an email, and within a click have your details added to their address book.

The Future of Sharing

Sharing formats will no doubt evolve to encompass the varying on-line business requirements which are constantly arising as companies attempt to do more on-line. New ways of using existing formats are also appearing. Understanding what is possible may enable your company to produce an on-line service which is truly indispensable.