“Microformats” are a major piece of what people are calling “the semantic web” – ways to signify the meaning of text on a web page the same way visual information is indicated – by means of xhtml tags. Designed to be readable first and foremost by humans, and only secondarily by software, microformats provide a way to make visually-displayed information immediately useable to other applications. This session will explore how this is done, and how some current applications are making use of the technology. Finally, we’ll push the state of the art by brainstorming how semantic markup can transform data sharing on the web for non-profit organization.

Takeaways:

1. What are microformats and what are they good for
2. Examples of microformats in use today
3. How microformats can be valuable to non-profits in web publishing, information harvesting, and product integration

Speaker List:

1. Michael Stein / Members Only Software

Session Materials:

1. Session slides