Where to start?

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Dan Gooden

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May 3, 2011, 10:06:14 PM5/3/11
to API for sharing
Hey everybody,

Dan from sharedearth.net here.

Where do we all think the best place to start is?

I guess we need to define common structures for transactions, item
information, reputation and so forth..

Also in terms of collaborating, this is a good place for the
communication. We should probably also use some cloud document storage
\collaboration tool for collating ideas in a structured way. This
http://sharing.freebase.com/ might also be a really nice fit for
defining commonly agreed stuff.

dimitz...@gmail.com

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May 4, 2011, 7:41:08 PM5/4/11
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Perhaps we can try to define the actual need, to make sure we understand the problem and see it clearly.
So then we can agree on what we want to achieve.


--
Dimitris

matslats

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May 7, 2011, 8:43:25 AM5/7/11
to API for sharing
I've outlined the clear need that I perceive for an open classified
directory here:
http://matslats.net/open-classified-directory

On May 5, 1:41 am, "dimitzort...@gmail.com" <dimitzort...@gmail.com>
wrote:

Kusti

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May 20, 2011, 7:23:43 AM5/20/11
to API for sharing
Hi All,

As Dimitris said, I think it's good to start by outlining what we want
to achieve. I'd say that a good first goal would be an API definition
that could then be implemented by all collcons services (Kassi,
SharedEarth and CES could probably be first candidates to actually
implement it).

I think defining a structure for the common elements should be the
first task we. We should probably have a wiki page or something
similar than that to make it easy to edit the definition together. Any
suggestions for good wikis or corresponding tools? I took a look to
freebase but I'm not sure whether it's the right tool for this exact
purpose.

Matthew, I think we could use your definition of an open classified
ads directory as a base on top of which to build. Regarding that, I
have doubts regarding the single centralized repository of content. I
suggest we start by defining an API that has roughly the same
components than in Matthew's proposal + messaging/transaction +
reputation. In the future the transaction model could also include
stuff like exchanging virtual currencies, if it is seen fit.

-juho

matslats

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May 20, 2011, 1:02:45 PM5/20/11
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>I'm not completely sure about having a centralized repository, for that brings about some problems, like: Who runs the repository servers (if they contain a lot of data, server costs could be an issue)? Who has the rights to decide who gets access to the data? If everyone has those rights, will it be a problem if some people would like to have restrictions in who can see their listings (for instance, in Kassi you could only show some listings to your friends)?

Regarding centralisation
I guess once the API for sharing is defined, and there's software to
implement it, then many instances can be run. I am most interesting in
gathering together all the offers and wants which can be traded in
complementary currencies. That could be one usage. Or just CES could
be one usage. Lets not worry about that now.
Regarding privacy
Would prefer to keep it simple. Each entry needs to be visible either
globally or from within its own portal only. Then if we say no photos
and only email addresses stored, there shouldn't be a problem, right?
that means outsiders can contact users through a form, or even through
the API, and the portal can present the address / contact details
according to its own settings.
Regarding currencies/transactions
I'm working on this. It gets complicated very quickly, even just
trying to define a currency. I would like to address this problem
separately.

matslats

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Jun 16, 2011, 9:02:44 AM6/16/11
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I came accross this API which intended for reporting civic issues to
local governments.
http://open311.org/
Could this be re-used to register things available for sharing? For
offers and wants?
I think the main problem is that there is no privacy built into this
API
Matthew

Kusti

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Jun 16, 2011, 10:31:34 AM6/16/11
to API for sharing
Hi all,

I haven't really been doing anything for this project on the past few
weeks, but now the work should start I think.

Thanks Matthew for your suggestions. I checked open311.org site. I
think that the format used in the wiki page is exactly what we want to
achieve. We could use that as a base of structuring the API
specification. And the "request" there seems to have a lot in common
with a request/offer we have in mind. But since we also need stuff
that differs a bit from that I suggest we open a new site for this.

I suggest that we reserve a domain name (apiforsharing.org?
apiforsharing.com? sharingapi.org? all these are free, what would be
the best? any other suggestions?) and set up a wiki in there
(mediawiki will probably do just fine, open311 seems to be a mediawiki
site too). Then we start editing the specification there, by using the
stuff from 311.org as the base.

I can reserve the domain name and set up the wiki as soon as we get an
understanding of what is a good name/domain for the site.

Paul from Shareable just contacted me and showed me this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jun/14/collaborative-consumption

His point was the part where the reporter tries to search several
different services but get disappointed every time since there are no
results close enough.

Paul asked if I could write a continuation article in Shareable where
I talk about how the sharing API could address this problem. If all
services would use that API and it would be behind one search, most
people would probably already find something near them. I try to write
an article about it in the coming days.

I was thinking that after we have finalized the specification and
implemented it to some services (Kassi, CES and SharedEarth are a good
starting point), we could then build a showcase search page. Just a
simple search that would contact all the sites where the search is
implemented and then sort the stuff based on proximity of the user
conducting the search. I think that should be relatively easy to do if
we get the specification right. At first that could just be a really
simple starting point for a person new to collaborative consumption:
each listing would simply take the user to the corresponding service,
so no messaging etc at this point. That could obviously be added
later.

What do you guys think? Does this make sense? And what would be a good
name for the sharing API site? :)

Best,
Juho

On Jun 16, 4:02 pm, matslats <matsl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I came accross this API which intended for reporting civic issues to
> local governments.http://open311.org/

Dan

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Jun 19, 2011, 6:59:19 AM6/19/11
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hi juho,

think thats a fantastic idea and a great way to approach it - sort of
like a google for stuff right?

would this domain name you have in mind be for people wanting to share
stuff, or more for developers and implementers? or both? if for
people, i think best to choose a catchy non technical name, i.e.
something without 'api' in it, but unfortunately i have no great ideas
so sharingapi.org might be perfect.

i'm flat out at the moment trying to prepare sharedearth.net for
private beta but am still keen to be involved. i plan on having more
time when its rolling along in private than public beta..

as an aside, sharedearth.net is designed to search by networks (like
facebook) rather than location, so items returned will be from people
you know, or people from the same communities\villages that you're
part of. the location will be quite general (and
related to groups of people rather than individuals), at the level of
a post\zip code..

something to consider also is privacy & security implications for
people? could be an issue of concern for some people? granted i'm not
really addressing that well in my site, as i have a fairly open
outlook, but not really sure how that'll play in the current
privacy-preferred culture.

Kusti

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Jun 23, 2011, 12:48:56 PM6/23/11
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Hi,

Yeah, a google of stuff might be one way to describe it :) It could
also easily enable services like Padmapper which currently maps stuff
from (at least) Craigslist to map a lot more services http://www.padmapper.com/

I think that the API domain could be just for the developers, that's
why the API in the url. The search page could then have a different
domain since that would be for all users. Obviously these two would be
linked to each other.

We put up a wiki page now at http://www.sharingapi.org/

We only did it today so not that much there, I quickly jotted down
some stuff based on Matt's suggestions. I welcome everyone to create
an account to the wiki and edit the page as you please! Also please do
tell if you see some obvious flaws in the approach I have used so far,
and make corrections accordingly. I'm definitely not a professional
API designer even though I have some experience on them.

About the privacy issue: it naturally depends on each service what
content they allow the API to access. For instance, in Kassi there are
some listings that are only visible to members of a certain community,
and those will naturally not be shown via the API when we implement
it. But then we also have some listings that are public to the whole
internet, and those the API can obviously access. This way privacy
should not be an issue.

It's a good point that all services do not have exact locations of all
items. Then these are simply not shown when doing a search based on
what is near. But in case of sharedearth (if there even is listings
public to everyone) we could simply use the location of the group
(based on the zip code) as the basis, it would still be more helpful
than not having a location at all.

Also, I put together a draft for the Shareable post Paul ask me. If
you want to check the first draft I sent to Paul it can be found here:
http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5 If you have any thoughts regarding it,
please let me know.

Juho

matslats

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Jun 23, 2011, 7:16:11 PM6/23/11
to API for sharing


> About the privacy issue: it naturally depends on each service what
> content they allow the API to access. For instance, in Kassi there are
> some listings that are only visible to members of a certain community,
> and those will naturally not be shown via the API when we implement
> it. But then we also have some listings that are public to the whole
> internet, and those the API can obviously access. This way privacy
> should not be an issue.
Each item should have its own privacy flag. That way it can be set
either by the user or by the local system.

> Also, I put together a draft for the Shareable post Paul ask me. If
> you want to check the first draft I sent to Paul it can be found here:http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5If you have any thoughts regarding it
I love the first third though it is close to your first article. I
wonder if there is another place to put it? But I think its not a
good idea to write in public about what you intend and then call
people. People want to join projects that are already successful! I've
much more time to read about working projects than proposals.
Consequently I don't have suggestions at the moment about what the
other 2/3rds of the article might be about. I think if you can expand
on the first third, and we can be very clear what will be produced and
who its for and why we all need it, that will be better than going
into technical details. You could use the term collaborative
consumption if you think it would titillate your audience. It could be
a collaborative consumption engine, if you like.

Dan

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Jun 23, 2011, 9:03:54 PM6/23/11
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i've made a few updates to the article you wrote Juho, i think we're on the right track. though please feel free to roll back the changes if you don't like them.

.d

Kusti

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Jun 27, 2011, 6:54:15 AM6/27/11
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Thanks Matt and Dan for your suggestions!

Matt, while I agree that it's easier to get people along when you have
something to show, the last article at least managed to get you guys
interested! :) And if with this article we can get more people
interested and perhaps joining in this group and editing the wiki, I
think that's a good thing. About the technical details: Shareable guys
precisely asked me to talk a bit about those, they believe it might be
interesting to their readership.

About the term "collaborative consumption": Shareable seems to be
using "sharing economy" but meaning the same thing. I personally think
that the sharing economy describes the phenomenon better, but
collaborative consumption is more widely known. And then there's also
the term "the mesh"... a bit confusing. Maybe I'll just use both
sharing economy and collaborative consumption while talking about the
same thing.

Dan, thanks for your good additions!

I'm currently writing a second draft, I got a lot of comments from the
Shareable guys, I promised to get it to them by tomorrow, and then
they might make some final edits to it.

-juho

On Jun 24, 4:03 am, Dan <dani.mc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> i've made a few updates to the article you wrote Juho, i think we're on the
> right track. though please feel free to roll back the changes if you don't
> like them.
>
> .d
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 9:16 AM, matslats <matsl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > About the privacy issue: it naturally depends on each service what
> > > content they allow the API to access. For instance, in Kassi there are
> > > some listings that are only visible to members of a certain community,
> > > and those will naturally not be shown via the API when we implement
> > > it. But then we also have some listings that are public to the whole
> > > internet, and those the API can obviously access. This way privacy
> > > should not be an issue.
> > Each item should have its own privacy flag. That way it can be set
> > either by the user or by the local system.
>
> > > Also, I put together a draft for the Shareable post Paul ask me. If
> > > you want to check the first draft I sent to Paul it can be found here:
> >http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5Ifyou have any thoughts regarding it

adam berk

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Jun 27, 2011, 10:04:59 AM6/27/11
to API for sharing
hey everyone- ill try and get up to speed so i dont duplicate anything
here... we (neighborrow) actually attempted something like this
already and actually have some shared code with frenting.com - i will
figure out the best way to share the code with you and some of my
documentation on sharing the sharing...

i (personally) think that aggregating the inventory (what we tried
with frenting) is a completely different undertaking than aggregating
the collective history/reputation across multiple platforms.. as such,
i actually created 2 different prototypes- the second one is living
here on http://thanq.us

looking forward to the discussion! will be inviting some friends from
guestvessel.com and meetingwave.com as well as others eventually

cheers
> > >http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5Ifyouhave any thoughts regarding it

adam berk

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Jun 27, 2011, 10:14:31 AM6/27/11
to API for sharing
the STUFF - the listings - which as someone noted already is
difficult bc the privacy of those listings, unlike say, hotel rooms or
flights, is dynamic based on the person searching, not static and just
constantly "public"

difficult != cant be done

the first place to start is just aggregating the PUBLIC listings of
course - there are other ways we can creatively solve problems as
well..

take a look at this prototype - please disregard the awful design and
ux http://peersource.sfrails.net/ search for TEST it actually works

also- im sure you all know but hipmunk.com now includes airbnb in
their hotel listings- if we build something good enough, we can maybe
approach them and let them use an open API

On Jun 27, 10:04 am, adam berk <a...@neighborrow.com> wrote:
> hey everyone- ill try and get up to speed so i dont duplicate anything
> here... we (neighborrow) actually attempted something like this
> already and actually have some shared code with frenting.com - i will
> figure out the best way to share the code with you and some of my
> documentation on sharing the sharing...
>
> i (personally) think that aggregating the inventory (what we tried
> with frenting) is a completely different undertaking than aggregating
> the collective history/reputation across multiple platforms.. as such,
> i actually created 2 different prototypes- the second one is living
> here onhttp://thanq.us
> > > >http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5Ifyouhaveany thoughts regarding it

Kusti

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Jul 2, 2011, 2:59:37 AM7/2/11
to API for sharing
Hi Adam, and welcome to the group!

It seems that you have already done a lot in this area. I knew that
there must be other people thinking about this stuff too!

You might be right in that aggregating stuff and reputation are
different tasks. That's also why it's probably better to start with
stuff.

Would be great to see the code you guys are sharing with frenting.com.
The search page at http://peersource.sfrails.net/ at least seems to
work just the way I thought the searching would. Searching from public
listings is definitely a good starting point.

Did you take a look at the wiki specs at http://www.sharingapi.org ?
Does it look the same compared to the stuff you have done?

And yes, when this API is ready and enough services are using it, it
could definitely get into some interesting search engines.

On Jun 27, 5:14 pm, adam berk <a...@neighborrow.com> wrote:
>  the STUFF - the listings - which as someone noted already is
> difficult bc the privacy of those listings, unlike say, hotel rooms or
> flights, is dynamic based on the person searching, not static and just
> constantly "public"
>
> difficult != cant be done
>
> the first place to start is just aggregating the PUBLIC listings of
> course - there are other ways we can creatively solve problems as
> well..
>
> take a look at this prototype - please disregard the awful design and
> uxhttp://peersource.sfrails.net/ search for TEST it actually works
> > > > >http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5Ifyouhaveanythoughts regarding it

adam berk

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Jul 3, 2011, 11:54:41 PM7/3/11
to API for sharing
yes- the specs are similar to the wiki... ill respond more in depth
later... ill also find a way to post some of the code somewhere or
give you all access to the server somehow:)

On Jul 2, 2:59 am, Kusti <juho.makko...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Adam, and welcome to the group!
>
> It seems that you have already done a lot in this area. I knew that
> there must be other people thinking about this stuff too!
>
> You might be right in that aggregating stuff and reputation are
> different tasks. That's also why it's probably better to start with
> stuff.
>
> Would be great to see the code you guys are sharing with frenting.com.
> The search page athttp://peersource.sfrails.net/ at least seems to
> > > > > >http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5Ifyouhaveanythoughtsregarding it

Marc

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Jul 5, 2011, 8:46:34 PM7/5/11
to API for sharing
peersource is rails. It receives XML from the services
Most of the work is in this file

<div id="map_canvas"></div>
<div id="wrapper">

<h1 class="wdyn">Need a ride, a room, a wrench? Someone in <%=
simple_format(@city) %> is willing
to lend a lift, a loft, or a hammer!
?</h1>
<%
require 'nokogiri'
require 'open-uri'

puts @latitude
puts @longitude
%>

<%
if !@search_str.empty?
doc = Nokogiri::XML(open("http://www.frenting.com/api/search/items/
xml/?query="+@search_str.gsub(' ', "%20")))
%>

<%= simple_format('search results for ' + @search_str) %>
<div class="result_box">
<% doc.xpath('//resource').each do |node|
%>
<%= link_to node.xpath('name').text, node.xpath('link').text
%>
<%= image_tag(node.xpath('logo').text, :border=>0, :size=>'75x25')
%><br>
<% end
%>
</div><div class="result_box">
<% doc = Nokogiri::XML(open("http://soaps.neighborrow.com/soap/items/
simple_item_search/"+@search_str.gsub(' ', "%20")))%>
<% doc.xpath('//resource').each do |node| %>
<%= link_to node.xpath('name').text, node.xpath('link').text %>
<%= image_tag(node.xpath('logo').text, :border=>0, :size=>'75x25')
%><br>
<% end %>
</div>
<% end %>

<div id="search_wdyn">
<% form_for :soap_search, :url => { :action => "search" } do |f| %>
<%= text_field_tag(:search_box_wdyn) %>
<br>
<input id="search_box_wdyn_submit" class="submit" type="submit"
value="peersource it!"/>
</div>

<% end %>
<%= #@search_str
%>
<br /><span class="icon"><%= image_tag "weshouldshareit/rides.gif";
%><br> Rides / Cars</span>

<span class="icon"><%= image_tag "weshouldshareit/rooms.gif";
%><br>Rooms / Housing</span>
<span class="icon"><%= image_tag "weshouldshareit/stuff.gif";
%><br>Tools / Stuff</span>
<!--tennis court, place to sleep, book, tool, ride, answer, ladder,
camera,-->
<br>

The collaborative consumption movement is getting huge!
"WeShouldShare" aggregates the supply and demand of rides, stuff,
services, housing...<br />


<div
id="footer">&copy;&nbsp;WeShouldShare.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a
href="http://weshouldshareit.com/about.php">About</
a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://weshouldshareit.com/
contact.php">Participate</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a
href="/">Home</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>


On Jul 1, 11:59 pm, Kusti <juho.makko...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Adam, and welcome to the group!
>
> It seems that you have already done a lot in this area. I knew that
> there must be other people thinking about this stuff too!
>
> You might be right in that aggregating stuff and reputation are
> different tasks. That's also why it's probably better to start with
> stuff.
>
> Would be great to see the code you guys are sharing with frenting.com.
> The search page athttp://peersource.sfrails.net/ at least seems to
> > > > > >http://piratepad.net/9272k3RXy5Ifyouhaveanythoughtsregarding it

Kusti

unread,
Jul 7, 2011, 6:07:34 AM7/7/11
to API for sharing
Hi Marc,

Awesome. We seem to have a lot of Rails guys here :) Kassi and
Sharedearth.net are also built in rails, and Peter also works in
Rails.

I have to take a closer look to that file and the docs Adam sent me.
But, in the meantime, here's some interesting links that were pointed
to me after the new Shareable post (http://www.shareable.net/blog/the-
sharing-economy-has-a-problem-that-needs-to-be-fixed)

This tweet https://twitter.com/#!/mfhepp/status/88352331091025920
notes that "you can perfectly combine schema.org #goodrelations
(http://www.heppnetz.de/projects/goodrelations/) and http://bit.ly/grBVy8
- one markup for all targets". This sounds very interesting indeed!
These look like a really helpful sources for our purposes.

-juho

Marc

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Jul 22, 2011, 2:45:57 PM7/22/11
to API for sharing
Hi,
I've created this site http://sfcrowd.com/ as a collaborative
community for the peersource aggregator
In the backend is a Trac program and SVN repo.


On Jul 7, 3:07 am, Kusti <juho.makko...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Marc,
>
> Awesome. We seem to have a lot of Rails guys here :) Kassi and
> Sharedearth.net are also built in rails, and Peter also works in
> Rails.
>
> I have to take a closer look to that file and the docs Adam sent me.
> But, in the meantime, here's some interesting links that were pointed
> to me after the new Shareable post (http://www.shareable.net/blog/the-
> sharing-economy-has-a-problem-that-needs-to-be-fixed)
>
> This tweethttps://twitter.com/#!/mfhepp/status/88352331091025920
> notes that "you can perfectly combine schema.org #goodrelations
> (http://www.heppnetz.de/projects/goodrelations/) andhttp://bit.ly/grBVy8
> ...
>
> read more »

Albert

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Jul 27, 2011, 7:17:10 AM7/27/11
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Hi,

I am not sure it will add a lot to what has already been discussed but
I just came across a website that might be interesting to check

Little bit old but fully open source http://www.whopools.net/devel/

Regards,
Albert.

On 23 jul, 02:45, Marc <fogcitymaratho...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
> I've created this sitehttp://sfcrowd.com/as a collaborative
> ...
>
> leer más »
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