ArtistServer Begins Adding Support For Microformats
ArtistServer.com has started started adding support for Micorformats: http://microformats.org
ArtistServer is all about people and their media, so it makes sense
for us to embrace these extensions of the Web. Through microformats, we
are embeding descriptive intelligence
throughout the Web. The end result is a much more intelligent network
with more opportunities, faster and cleaner solutions and a step
towards what people call the 'semantic Web.'
One popular definition is "simple conventions for embedding semantics in HTML to enable decentralized development." More precisely, microformats can be defined as: Code: simple conventions for embedding semantic markup for a specific problem domain in human-readable (X)HTML/XML documents, Atom/RSS feeds, and "plain" XML that normalize existing content usage patterns using brief, descriptive class names often based on existing interoperable standards to enable decentralized development of resources, tools, and services How do people benefit from this?
There's little benefit in the use of this technology 'right now' because there has been so little developed to take advantage of the technology. Once there are more tools and solutions developed to integrate, read, parse, dispaly, and find information that is associated to microformats, the benefits will be all over the place.
What microformats are being used on ArtistServer?
The following are the currently used microformats on ArtistServer.com.
rel="license" - is now included on all music creative commons license links
rel="nofollow" - was added to the reveiws popup div - since the review tool doesn't have any content
rel="tag" - was added to all our tags in all places tags are used on the site
rel="enclosure" - was added to all song download links
Are there plans to integrate any other microformats?
The following are microformats that I'm looking at integrating in the next few months.
hCard - http://microformats.org/wiki/hcard A simple, open, distributed contact information format for people, companies, and organizations, which is suitable for embedding in (X)HTML, Atom, RSS, and arbitrary XML.
hReview - http://microformats.org/wiki/hreview A simple, open, distributed format, suitable for embedding reviews (of products, services, businesses, events, etc.) in (X)HTML, Atom, RSS, and arbitrary XML.
XFN - http://gmpg.org/xfn/ A simple way to represent human relationships using hyperlinks.
Then later in the year, when I add in the events calendar for artists and fans, I'll also provide support for hCalendar - which you can read about here: http://microformats.org/wiki/hcalendar
If you run a site, take a look at microformats and integrate where it makes sense.