Web 2.0

The litmus test for thinking about how portable your data is might be defined by your answers to the following questions:

• Can you share (or embed) your data with other applications?

• Can you take it with you, quickly and easily, when you go?

Image courtesy of dbostrom.

Thinking about formats:

HTML, an initialism of HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant markup language for web pages. It provides a means to describe the structure of text-based information in a document — by denoting certain text as links, headings, paragraphs, lists, and so on — and to supplement that text with interactive forms, embedded images, and other objects.

XML The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a general-purpose markup language.^[1] It is classified as an extensible language because it allows its users to define their own elements. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of structured data across different information systems, particularly via the Internet,^[2] and it is used both to encode documents and to serialize data.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a “feed,” “web feed,” or “channel,” contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that’s easier than checking them manually.

RSS in Plain English, a video by Common Craft