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Google, Facebook and Plaxo join DataPortability.org

Published January 8, 2008 by Ben

(Ben Metcalfe is a founding member of the DataPortability Workgroup – which promotes and encourages the implementation of open-standards and open-access to data using technologies such a OpenID, OAuth, Microformats, APML and more)

DataPortability.org logo

Over at DataPortability.org, we’ve been sitting on some BIG news for the passed few days that I can finally blog about…

Google, Facebook and Plaxo have joined the Data Portability Workgroup.

It’s a massive and exciting breakthrough that we’re thrilled about. Data Portability is about true interoperability and data exchange (both between social networks and other apps we use). It’s breathtaking to see these companies sign up and align themselves with that ideal.

I’m also stoked to have some amazing people represent each of these companies on the group. Joseph Smarr will represent Plaxo (who I also work with on the OpenSocial committee), Brad Fitzpatrick will represent Google (a major coup seeing as he helped create OpenID ) and Benjamin Ling will represent Facebook (Benjamin is also ex-Google).

I’m on-site at MySpace today so can’t blog further reaction right now, but reaction can be found from Marshall Kirkpatrick at Read/WriteWeb and Duncan Riley at TechCrunch.

You can also join the public Google Group for Data Portability.

Published in APML DataPortability.org Media2.0 News

18 Comments

  2. Baher Baher

    Turns out that Scoble’s incident has been good for the whole social networking industry.

    January 8, 2008
  3. Barry Flaherty Barry Flaherty

    Good ol’ Scoble knew what he was upto! Good job Ben!

    January 8, 2008
  4. Luke Razzell Luke Razzell

    Congratulations, Ben. We’re certainly happy here at Blog Friends.

    January 8, 2008
  8. Thomas Otter Thomas Otter

    Ben,
    I personally think this is long overdue. Portability, though can’t be addressed in isolation, it needs to be balanced with other demands, both legal and commercial.

    It is great to see the firms getting together to do this, I would love to learn more, and also to see the involvement of some of the leading thinking on Identity and Privacy, such as Kim Cameron and Casper Boden from Microsoft. I also believe you should involve some representation from the working party 29, or a similar group.

    There are also a number of EU sponsored projects that may also be able to add expertise here.

    I’ve just applied to join the group in my personal capacity, I hope you will have me on board.

    Drop me a mail, and I’d be happy to talk more offline.
    Thomas

    January 9, 2008
  9. More on the Privacy-Portability conundrum « Vendorprisey More on the Privacy-Portability conundrum « Vendorprisey

    […] I’d not paid much attention the dataportability.org announcement, so after reading about it over at Dennis’s and Mike’s  and at techcrunch HQ I had a little browse through the website and Ben’s blog.  […]

    January 9, 2008
  10. Emporter ses amis avec soi « Moustier-City Emporter ses amis avec soi « Moustier-City

    […] entreprises suivre cet idéal d’interopérabilité et d’échange de données », s’enflamme Ben Meltcalfe, l’un des fondateurs de DataPortability. « Si tout se passe bien, aujourd’hui pourrait être […]

    January 10, 2008
  11. Cookiemouse Cookiemouse

    That is indeed good news. It will be interesting to see how this goes down in the EU.

    January 12, 2008
  16. william william

    It is interesting to read all of the news concerning data portability; and to notice that there is not an organization involved that represents the members and users.

    It all seems to be about companies deciding what to do with user content and profile information. Kind of like asking the fox to make up the rules on how chickens can best be made safe from hungry foxes

    Correct me if I am wrong

    January 31, 2008

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