If I could explain in one word what I’d like to see Web 2.0 permitting, it would be "interoperability". Basically think of the Web like your computer works now. Each folder or application that you use on your computer would be like a different Web 2.0 service that you can switch to without any problems. For example, some people may use Picasa for image management on their computers while others may use ACDSee. Doesn’t matter which one you choose, both give you easy access to the same content. The same should apply to Web 2.0 services.
For example, I might be using Flickr right now for my image hosting. Yet what if tomorrow another service comes out that I’d like to use instead and I’d like to switch over to it. What would this entail for me?
- Download all my photos from Flickr
- Upload all my photos to my the new service.
- Going back to all of my previous entries and changing their image URLs.
Pretty simple right? Not! 🙂
Here’s what I’d like to see with Web 2.0 services instead then to make things a little easier.
- OPML export download / import upload feature – Basically whatever service I use, it allows me to create an OPML export list of links to my images. This same OPML export file can then be imported into another service and the images are automatically uploaded directly from my previous service.
- Custom Domain Names / Aliasing – Basically a way for me to create a consistent root path to my images no matter which service I’m using (i.e. images.nollind.whachell.com), as well as the ability to define my own aliases for my image paths instead of using the services. Thus a Flickr path of "http://static.flickr.com/53/112126899_592cf8d9dc.jpg" would become "http://images.nollind.whachell.com/spring-walk-02.jpg".