On Saturday, February NN, join technical pioneers and inspired thinkers on weblogs and aggregators to discuss

Next-Generation Content Interchange Standards

Leveraging existing standards such as RSS and OPML, the functionality of aggregators is growing. How can we make sense out of all the content? How can we use and extend current standards to share and organize weblog content? Where do upcoming systems demand new standards, and how should we work them out in order to ensure interoperability and the best possible user experience?

This powwow will last for 4 hours and will be held at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society on Saturday, February NN.

• Hours 1 and 2 will offer a series of short presentations by attendees. Presenters will be offered 15 minutes to present followed by 5 minutes of questions from the audience. Presenters should attempt to present a coherent vision of the future of weblogs, aggregators, or collaborative content development. Demonstrations of software are encouraged, but promising ideas still in their theoretical stages are also welcome. Presentations should make clear what kinds of information services their visions provide and depend upon, so that attendees can work together to capture the value of these services in standards that support the widest range of interoperability and ad-hoc collaboration.
• (break for lunch)
• Hour 3 will be a group brainstorming session. Attendees will synthesize the ideas presented in hours 1 and 2, and invent new ways to build, blend, and distribute weblog content. If the attendees are numerous enough, this may break into several smaller sessions. A moderator will lead each session.
• Hour 4 will offer attendees the opportunity to work closely in smaller groups on specific new standards RFCs. We hope that groups formed in this session will take the lead in fleshing out and maintaining these next-generation standards.

We hope to bring together a group of people to share ideas and make contacts that will support the next generation of weblog-based content interchange. Our primary goal is to support the development of earth-shaking new technologies in ways that maximize the benefit of these technologies to humanity.