Mashups for '09

It's already been two years since my publication of an article on library web mashups. There have been developments, but still no breakthroughs with that killer application that could popularize mashups for the masses. The main challenge with mashups is that they are still a programmer's world. In merging two or more web programs together, web mashups are the next stage of Web 2.0 and are changing the way that the web is being used. There are already several mashup editors that help user create or edit mashups. Yahoo pipes, Google Mashup Editor, Microsoft Popfly, and Mozilla Ubiquity. But they require some programming skills. I believe mashups are the next stage of the web, the Semantic Web. Why? Because mashups open up data, breaking down the information silos.

I've updated my last article with Mashups, Social Software, and Web 2.0: How Remixing Programming Code Has Changed The Web. In taking a look at mashups, I think libraries need to pay attention, as they open up virtual information services to a much larger audience.