The mash-up future of the web
BBCs columnist Bill Thompson says the future of the web lies in mixing, mash-ups and pipes …
Especially on Yahoos pipes:
Yahoo!’s Pipes [lets you build mash-ups] with a simple graphical tool that lets you define and connect data feeds, filters and user prompts, so that you can quickly build the service you want. You still need some technical ability, but you don’t need to be a programmer.
[…]
We have had mashups for a while now, […]
Pipes take things much further.
This isn’t user-generated content, it’s user-controlled content. And unlike personalised pages or simple feed subscriptions it really does put control into the hands of the user.
Pipes mark the point at which remixing online content and creating mashups becomes something that anyone can do. If you can describe what you want then you can build it.
It is also, of course, a collaborative environment, at least for now. You can take someone else’s pipe and “clone” it to make your own, with no hint that there could be copyright or intellectual property issues here.
