I’ve just finished reading a fascinating 228 pp transcript on the topic of peer production and open data architectures. This discussion, the first of the so-called Union Square Sessions, involved more than 40 prominent Web and other thinkers with a heavy sprinkling of VCs.
That being said, I was disappointed that neither interoperability nor extensibility directly entered into any of the discussions. I suspect this may be due to conjoining the important singular topic of open data architectures with the lens of peer production or social networks. For me, the quote closest to my interests among this disparate group was from Dick Costolo, who stated “the bottom line implication is that an open data architecture will be one that is purely API based and not destination based.”
Nonetheless, this is an interesting start. I’d like to humbly suggest open and extensible data architectures (including, importantly, database engines in addition to extensible exchange formats such as XML) for a future discussion topic.
Here is the link to the Union Square Sessions Transcript.
