Opening up for OPML

It’s time again for Dave Winer to urge us to use OPML. Dave put up an interesting artivcle, How to implement an OPML directory browser.

That got people like Phil Windley to look into OPML again. And me too.

You won’t notice it, but my blogrolls are based on OPML, transformed to HTML on the fly. Since Dave’s last call, I provide a full OPML-version og my GotzeLinked, and use my Blogging-category there to maintain my blogrolls. Now, thanks to Defconzero‘s PHP-OPML toolkit, I have retired the ol’ RSS-aggregator and shifted to OPML.

If you’re not into outliners, OPML makes little sense. But even outside the “outliner-business”, OPML is worth looking into, and I have already seen one killer app using OPML. I’m sure it won’t be long before we see another OPML-based killer app.

One of the areas OPML is around is in the exploding aggregator market. Which desktop aggregator do you use today? These days, my favorite is NewsMonster, which has a convenient OPML-integration mechanism, although as far as I can tell, no OPML-export feature (like Amphetadesk).

For OPML to expand – and I do think there is a great potential here – some standardisation work is needed. We need a formal OPML Schema, and a more substantial specification, and ultimately, a standards body to take ownership of the specs and stuff.

Let’s see how it goes with RSS and its standardisation. J�rgen Thelin is continuing working on a RSS 2.0 Scema. Interesting stuff.