Announcing APML: The OPML of Attention

We have just announced Attention Profiling Mark-up Language over on the new APML blog.

For those of you who have been following our work, APML is an evolution in the file format we have been working on for some time now for Touchstone called 'I-AM'.

I-AM will still exist, and it will now be joined by something called U-AR, however these names will now reference the technologies that write and consume APML rather than the file format itself.

Our hope is to create an APML Workgroup of industry experts to contribute to the spec and then submit it to the appropriate standards body(ies).

From the site:

APML will allow users to export and use their own personal Attention Profile in much the same way that OPML allows them to export their reading lists from Feed Readers.

The idea is to boil down all forms of Attention Data – including Browser History, OPML, Attention.XML, Email etc – to a portable file format containing a description of ranked user interests.

From the blog post announcement:

Today Faraday Media (Creators of Touchstone) announce a new initiative to work with the community in order to design and implement “Attention Profiling Mark-up Language” or APML.

APML will allow users to export and use their own personal Attention Profile in much the same way that OPML allows them to export their reading lists from Feed Readers.

The idea is to boil down all forms of Attention Data – including Browser History, OPML, Attention.XML, Email etc – to a portable file format containing a description of ranked user interests.

Imagine being able to export your Attention Profile from Amazon and plugging it into Digg to get an instantly customized view of the top Digg stories most relevant to your interests.

We anticipate that an ecosystem of technologies can begin to write and consume the format and we are taking the lead with Touchstone’s U-AR and I-AM engines. We look forward to working with everyone in the community to ensure the format delivers on this promise and empowers users to take control of their Attention.

Find out more about U-AR and I-AM at www.touchstonelive.com/technology
Find out more about APML at http://www.apml.org/

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