Hi5 checking in...
Paul Lindner
A number of people inside of Hi5 have been following these
discussions, and we just wanted to say that we support the principles
and the concrete objectives of the Data Portability working group.
We feel that we have a lot offer. First off, we're consumers and
providers of data. On the provider end we provide one of the largest
collections of FOAF data on the internet, plus we have extensive Atom
support for most of our features. On the consumer side Hi5 early on
took the lead in importing data from other sites to help our users
find their friends, and we continue to add more and more ways for
users to leverage their non-Hi5 accounts on our site.
We're also doing some very interesting research on using the social
graph. Hi5's "Friend Suggestion" feature is powered by the contacts
data that you and your friends import.
And finally our platform roadmap has many of the technologies that are
proposed for DP. OpenID, OAuth, and more are in our future.
I'll be following this mailing list and contributing where I can.
Thanks,
Paul Lindner
Architect, hi5
Frederick Giasson
> A number of people inside of Hi5 have been following these
> discussions, and we just wanted to say that we support the principles
> and the concrete objectives of the Data Portability working group.
>
>
Great thanks.
> We feel that we have a lot offer. First off, we're consumers and
> providers of data. On the provider end we provide one of the largest
> collections of FOAF data on the internet, plus we have extensive Atom
> support for most of our features. On the consumer side Hi5 early on
> took the lead in importing data from other sites to help our users
> find their friends, and we continue to add more and more ways for
> users to leverage their non-Hi5 accounts on our site.
>
>
Yup I know, and thanks for this.
However, do you consume FOAF from outside?
Okay, there is the usecase:
I have my personal profile here: http://fgiasson.com/me/ (by the way,
this is also my URI)
I don't want to re-enter all the information about my friends, myself,
my projects, etc. into my Hi5 account.
Basically, I own my data, and all the data that is available in my
profile is what I make public.
Now, if I give my (dereferencable) URI to Hi5, is it able to get the RDF
data from that URI, then to include the data into Hi5?
If so, what happens if I update my profile in 3 days, will it be updated
eventually in your system?
This is why RDF+FOAF is really interesting for exchanging personal data
on the Web. I tested this idea on TalkDigger [1] two years ago [2].
This is specifically for a social website. However, as I said in one of
my earlier mail: DP shouldn't restrict itself to "social" things (so
managing people's friends and contact).
[1] http://talkdigger.com
[2]
http://fgiasson.com/blog/index.php/2006/05/04/communities_websites_should_use_foaf_pro/
Take care,
Fred
Paul Lindner
>
>
> > We feel that we have a lot offer. First off, we're consumers and
> > providers of data. On the provider end we provide one of the largest
> > collections of FOAF data on the internet, plus we have extensive Atom
> > support for most of our features. On the consumer side Hi5 early on
> > took the lead in importing data from other sites to help our users
> > find their friends, and we continue to add more and more ways for
> > users to leverage their non-Hi5 accounts on our site.
>
> Yup I know, and thanks for this.
>
> However, do you consume FOAF from outside?
Not yet!
> Okay, there is the usecase:
>
> I have my personal profile here: http://fgiasson.com/me/ (by the way,
> this is also my URI)
> I don't want to re-enter all the information about my friends, myself,
> my projects, etc. into my Hi5 account.
>
> Basically, I own my data, and all the data that is available in my
> profile is what I make public.
>
> Now, if I give my (dereferencable) URI to Hi5, is it able to get the RDF
> data from that URI, then to include the data into Hi5?
Again, not at present. We are adding more importers all the time, and
a FOAF importer is a definite possibility. To make it work well we
have to implement a few largish back-end changes like adding sha1 mbox
hashes to our DBs and storing mappings between userids and multiple
Foaf profile URLs.
> If so, what happens if I update my profile in 3 days, will it be updated
> eventually in your system?
I'd be more likely to adhere to the principle of least astonishment.
Updating data without the user's involvement is often dangerous and
unwanted.
One could add an If-Modified-Since check of your FOAF profile(s) to
the login flow that could prompt you to sync your data.
> This is why RDF+FOAF is really interesting for exchanging personal data
> on the Web. I tested this idea on TalkDigger [1] two years ago [2].
>
> This is specifically for a social website. However, as I said in one of
> my earlier mail: DP shouldn't restrict itself to "social" things (so
> managing people's friends and contact).
That's noble, but I think we want to start by solving a tractable
problem, and then move on to using these technologies in other
situations.
--
Paul Lindner
hi5 Architect
plin...@hi5.com
Frederick Giasson
>> I don't want to re-enter all the information about my friends, myself,
>> my projects, etc. into my Hi5 account.
>>
>> Basically, I own my data, and all the data that is available in my
>> profile is what I make public.
>>
>> Now, if I give my (dereferencable) URI to Hi5, is it able to get the RDF
>> data from that URI, then to include the data into Hi5?
>>
>
> Again, not at present. We are adding more importers all the time, and
> a FOAF importer is a definite possibility. To make it work well we
> have to implement a few largish back-end changes like adding sha1 mbox
> hashes to our DBs and storing mappings between userids and multiple
> Foaf profile URLs.
>
>
Yeah, sure that it means some changes. But it was just one thought among
many others. It was more about making a point: DP is not only about
publishing data, it is also about consuming it :)
>> If so, what happens if I update my profile in 3 days, will it be updated
>> eventually in your system?
>>
>
> I'd be more likely to adhere to the principle of least astonishment.
> Updating data without the user's involvement is often dangerous and
> unwanted.
>
> One could add an If-Modified-Since check of your FOAF profile(s) to
> the login flow that could prompt you to sync your data.
>
>
Well it depends on many things about the system etc. There are many ways
and things that can be done to prevent some unwanted behavior. But as I
said above: was just an idea, and observation, to make a point; and not
to telling you what to do (it is your system, not mine :) ).
You are publishing RDF data, so I am all happy with this.
>> This is why RDF+FOAF is really interesting for exchanging personal data
>> on the Web. I tested this idea on TalkDigger [1] two years ago [2].
>>
>> This is specifically for a social website. However, as I said in one of
>> my earlier mail: DP shouldn't restrict itself to "social" things (so
>> managing people's friends and contact).
>>
>
> That's noble, but I think we want to start by solving a tractable
> problem, and then move on to using these technologies in other
> situations.
>
Yeah sure, first thing first... or "bird by bird" :)
Take care,
Fred