Bookmarks Interchange Format

There are tons of Social Bookmarking services on the net, they need to import from several sources (other SB services, standard browser bookmark files, ...) and to export in some format; AFAIK every SB developer should reinvent the wheel, with the result that there is not a standard that promote interoperability.

My idea is to cooperate with other SB developers in order to define an open, shared Bookmarks Interchange Format - maybe inspired on XBEL or xFolk microformat. I've sent the following email to various SB services, hoping that they could join the project. If I've forgot somebody, please tell me and I'll contact him.

Contacted (random order): Blinklist, Blogmarks, Connotea, Delicious, Delirious, Digg, FeedMeLinks (accepted, thanks John), Furl, linkaGoGo, ma.gnolia, netvouz, RawSugar, Shadows, Simpy, Spurl, Listible, StumbleUpon, My Web, WatVindenWijOver, Clipmarks, Browsr, 30DaysTags, GetBoo, Segnalo, zurpy, Filangy, BlogMemes, FeedMarker, Menéame, Jots, openBM, CrispyNews, BookKit, dogear, peoplefeeds, SiteTagger, Diigo, Lilisto, BMAccess, Maple, Tagsy, Linkologia, Meme-Stream, Linkroll, Lookmarks, taghop, Socializer

Sent message:

Hello,

I'm the developer of http://smarking.com/ , a young social bookmarking
service I opened some weeks ago; I've sent this email to all SB (Social
Bookmarking) service's developers I could find.

At the moment all SB services use their own format to export the user's data
(or don't have that feature at all), and it's a pain to move data from a
service to another, or to convert to/from ordinary browser formats. It's a
pity both for SB developers and for SB users.

I think that users own their data, and SB developers should adopt a common
format to import and export that data in order to

* Let the user choose the best service for his needs
* Backup his data in an open format
* Convert his data from a file format to another
* Promote applications that read/write in that format

In short, this email is to invite you to partecipate in the creation of a
Bookmarks Interchange Format; my idea is to work with as many SB developers
as possibile via mailing list / Google groups / wiki / whatever to create
such format, presumably XML based (of course we can talk about that and all
other aspects, the result have to satisfy all developers).

If we will succeed we could use this new format to import/export user's
data; moreover, we (or others) could write and publish some libraries that
read/write such format in order to build on that some software that convert
to/from various browser's formats (but that's another story, we'd first
arrange a format that makes all happy).

Please let me know if you're interested to join this working group  :)

Cheers

Comments

[Fabio Vescarelli]

Many Social Bookmarking services developers have decided to join the project, I'm very happy of their prompt reply and collaborative spirit :)

I've setup a mailing list to talk about the project; subscribe it if you're interested: http://mailman-mail1.python-hosting.com/listinfo/bif

[Philipp Keller]

Congrats! Very good effort, this is a really really good project..!

[3spots]

I just now fell on this information. Congrats this is a wonderful idea!

Have you any plans to be bookmarkable with Onlywire?

[Fabio Vescarelli]

Yes, we plan to let Smarking be Onlywire-compatible; we've to contact them to see if it could work :-)

[Alexander]

Well, guys... I would like to inform you that less than in a month we will receive a bookmark manager tool that (I hope) will satisfy almost everybody.
I recommend you to subscibe on release notification e-mail here - http://blog.bookmarkbase.net/bookmarkbase-release and you will be notified about "Bookmark Base" project status.

[raj]

How can we automate bookmarks and import them in my social networking sites.