General
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How To
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Why are we doing this?
Please read the
DataPortability Charter.
Why do we need this group - what about the existing standards?
DataPortability
is not inventing any new standards. In fact many of the participants in DataPortability project are very active in the existing standard communities (in some cases
helping to start them!). DataPortability simply puts the standards in
context of each other so that consumers, vendors and developers can more easily understand and
implement then as an end-to-end data portability solution. Please visit the
Supporting Standards Page for more information.
What are the expectations for the
DataPortability Workgroup, as a whole?
We realize that Data Portability
is immensely important to many people, but there are also people with
justifiable concerns.
In order to find a simple, agreed solution we’re going to
need smart, passionate and committed people involved. These people will be from all walks of life including engineers, vendors and marketers/media.
Together we will...
Learn more about Our Roadmap...
In a nutshell, what is the
main Data Portability problem?
Trust is the main issue, all parties considered.
- Vendors: Vendors have spent years and millions
of dollars to build networks that people like and use, what do they get out of
sharing their data with potentially competing businesses? The challenge before us is to explain the economic and business benefits of being open.
- Consumers: Many consumers have privacy concerns. A key challenge for the DataPortability group will be to explain how proper implementation of the DataPortability Blueprints will actually improve user privacy and control.
- Standards and Technology: While many have been working on the standards and technologies that make data portable, there has, until now, not been a complete, cohesive and simple story for vendors, consumers and developers to follow.
Watch the video from Michael Pick.
If we succeed, what could we, as end users, be able to do that we can't do
today or do more efficiently?
(Following is just one scenario of many.
Please feel free to contribute any other important information.)
- I upload my photos to Flickr.
- I log into AcmeWeb-basedPhotoEditing.com
- It asks permission to retrieve my photos from my favorite websites
- Flickr asks permission to give my photos to
AcmeWeb-BasedPhotoEditing.com
- I say yes
- AcmeWeb-basedPhotoEditing.com
now shows my photos from Flickr - I can edit them with the wonderful
new tools provided by them. And when I save them, the changes are
automatically reflected back in my Flickr gallery.
- Neither Flickr or AcmeWeb-basedPhotoEditing.com knew about
each other before that transaction and had no special relationship
other than a common understanding of the DataPortability Blueprint that
we are developing.
- Safe, secure, painless.
For more use cases, refer to the Use Cases document.
Are there any disadvantages to Data Portability?
It would be foolish to say ‘no’. But very tempting. People are going to
voice concerns about privacy, but soon enough the actuaries will insure our
personal privacy much like they do every other aspect of our lives.
In the end, however, a sort of data banking system will emerge where truster 3rd parties will earn credibility and trust with data - and others will not.
Is this realistic?
How feasible is it for true Data Portability to be accomplished, given all the different players, interests,
technologies, laws, etc … involved?
To address the feasibility issue, let’s use the railroad analogy:
Initially there were a plethora of companies in the railroad space laying
tracks of different gauges, making engines and cars to run on specific tracks,
etc. The big problem was lack of interoperability. Eventually people realized
how much more they had to gain by creating standards to permit the free-flow of
cargo over all railroads’ tracks.
Now apply this to Data Portability. Imagine how much we have to gain by enabling a
free-flow of data (under user control)… This is why we
believe Data Portability is not just feasible, but imminent and imperative to the future of the internet.
NB: Parenthetically, TimBL let it be known that he wanted the WWW open from its inception so that no body could impose a standard or otherwise stiffle it.
Do normal uses care about this? Should they?
Do regular end users (as opposed to tech
savvy ones) want this or is this a solution in search of a problem? In other
words, do regular users really want to manage their data across multiple
sites/services or do they want to simply have one social net service/app?
DP is definitely a solution to a major problem. Countless people suffer from
information overload, ADD, are stressed, too busy, and in general are in need
of a way to achieve greater simplicity within their lives. DP is going to
provide a solution for many of these people.
But since it seems like a fairly technical issue there are going to be
plenty of people who don’t understand the necessity of DP until the message is
spread in a user-friendly way. When our leaders create a shared vision that is
disseminated through their various channels, however, DP will be widely, and well
understood.
Why choose one standard over another?
If you notice all the standards are put into context/application. For each
context/application we have chosen the most popular/simple standard to
achieve the desired result.
For example why RSS over Atom? For simple syndication of content RSS is
the clear winner in terms of mindshare and simplicity. Atom,
however, may still be useful for another context/application - for
example there is talk about using it as part of the WRFS solution
(treating the web as a big relational file system).
Where do I find definitions for all these terms being used?
The Project definition page lists definitions for terms used throughout the DataPortability project, specifically as they are unique or have a special meaning related to the project.
How do I get involved?
What is the difference between the Public Group and the Workgroup?
The DataPortability (DP) initiative
started as the DP Project on November 10th, 2007 and a couple days later a
DataPortability Workgroup Google Group was set up for members and a
Public Google Group was created for public discussion.
The current state (Jan 27th 2008) is that there's the DataPortability.org Workgroup (DPWG), and the Public community forums, lists, pages, etc. (i.e. the DP Google Groups).
There's currently is no need to be an "official" member of DPWG to be an active contributor to the mission. All are welcomed and you are encouraged to simply participate in the discussion as well as sign yourself up for DP
Action Group (DPAG) in which you'd like to participate. Your active participation will effect the direction and shape of the output by the DP community.
As it stands right now, though, the DPWG is working hard on a charter and process for bringing people more officially in as members of the DPWG. In fact, that's near the top of the priorities list for the current members. As soon as the process is solidified, it'll be published.
If I join an Action Group, what are the Contribution Guidelines?
DataPortability Action Groups are groups that 'own' part of the DataPortability story. These groups are the lifeblood of the initiative. They make things happen so we look forward to your participation!
Each Action Group has specific objectives and members, signing up means that you are making a commitment to make sure those objectives are met. Each Action Group includes a Skype chat room as well as domain specific discussions and pages within the Public Forums.
The group Skype chat is about basically getting to know each other, supporting each other, and covering very quickly emerging ideas and issues - basically things that would be very difficult within the action group discussions.
The Action Group discussions themselves are about continuing anything coming from these discussions that proves interesting enough or relevant enough to warrant further discussion - as well as obviously continuing discussions initiated within the action group discussions themselves.
Pages within the public group basically document any progress within individual Action Group initiatives or tasks. Pages are created within
the public group in order to widen visibility and allow for more open discussion etc.
So, we end up with a natural progression of
discussion chat ->
discussion -> page.
Both the Skype chat and the group discussions are for creation of knowledge.
Pages are for capturing that knowledge for future reference.
I would like to attend a local event or host a local event around the topic of DataPortability, how can I?
We encourage local groups to get together and discuss Dataportability issues whether in person or through virtual points. Currently there is a DataPortability upcoming.org account and we are trying to use that as a central place to link to events that DataPortability Project members will attend. (http://upcoming.yahoo.com/user/208052/)
Please visit the
DataPortability Events Page for additional information on how to find,annouce, or participate in an event.
I joined one of the Action Groups and want to participate in the Skype Chats- What are the Chat Rooms Communication Guidelines?
In order to contribute and participate effectively in the Chat Rooms, please follow these simple communication etiquette guidelines:
What are the Skype Chat Rooms for ?:
The group Skype chat is about basically getting to know each other, supporting each other, and covering very quickly emerging ideas and issues - basically things that would be very difficult within the action group discussion pages.The chat rooms were setup hoping they would facilitate the
discussions, to discover strengths, needs and interests, and also to
allow people to get acquainted with people outside their own direct
community.
What are some of the basic guidelines of using the Skype Chat Rooms?:
- Each Skype Room is related to an Action Group- Please make sure you understand and agree to the Contribution guidelines prior to joining.
- All participants must stay on topic in the rooms. If for more than five minutes,
you get off topic with a fellow chat room participant, as you discuss
common interests or are getting to know each other- that's great and encouraged! but you MUST start up
a private chat to not spam the room
- The initial poster of a topic should take on the
responsibility of ensuring the subsequent thread stays on track (by
occasionally reaching out to individual contributors when necessary to
keep 'em on target), and then summarizing the conclusion of the
discussion into a Page (or whatever's appropriate) when the debate
slows down.
- Chat room participants can call out each other by using the following naming criteria. For example if i wanted to get daniela's attention i would use @daniela within the chat. When daniela gets back on line, one of the first things she would do is CTRL F and search for her name. This is a best practice that chat room participants have found useful.
If you are new to Skype you can visit the Skype Help Guide.
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