On Feb 17, 10:44 pm, Dhrup <
Dhrup2...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have been looking closely at OpenDD and related in Elgg -- we're
> looking to create a 'federated' network of schools sites based on Elgg
> so that individual schools can have their 'private' portfolios and can
> share what they choose across the Federation.
I think that for now the only format and protocol for this kind of
network
with interoperability across applications is OpenSocial (the > 0.8
server to
server "REST" api) .
Even without doing any comparisons on technical or intrinsic merit, in
my
opinion there is essentially zero chance for OpenDD to get any
adoption outside
of elgg installs. The reason is for a standard to get adopted, there
must be
a massive effort in marketing, development of libraries, get the
licences and
patent story right, etc. etc. This implies either a substantial
community effort
or a big company getting behind it.
Furthermore, a standard which is just a little ahead in these efforts,
again completely
independently of intrinsic merit, will have a big first mover
advantage, because
of network effects: after a little while it is in everyones interest
to join the
bigger network and the standard will become dominant in its domain.
I think that is what will happen with OpenSocial, although I guess a
newcomer
in a niche educational software cannot be excluded. But, the question
will
always remain: can you afford to exclude OpenSocial users from your
network?
So, if I were an elgg user, I would invest in the OpenSocial plugins.