I
admit it, this is a day I thought would long to arrive – the day when
Microsoft would surprise me positively again (sans-Xbox 360, which is
impressive on its own). They have just announced SSE (Simple Sharing Extensions),
which is basically an implementation of two way item-sharing (think
bidirectional RSS). The goals of SSE, according to the specification
page, are:
- To use RSS as the basis for item sharing
– that is, the bi-directional, asynchronous replication of new and
changed items amongst two or more cross-subscribed feeds. - To
use OPML as the basis for outline sharing – that is, the
bi-directional, asynchronous replication of outlines, such as RSS
aggregators subscription lists
Dave Winer is excited about the announcement, and Mike points out
(quite spot-on too) that this can give birth to a series of new
applications and companies based on this kind of syndication /
subscription behaviors.
If you’re a hands-on RSS / XML developer, you should have a look at the SSE specification that Microsoft has made available – hold on to your seats – under a Creative Commons Share-Alike license. Two good moves, hands down.
[WeBreakStuff]