Mashup Camp 6

20080319-_ND32514Just returned from some travel which included 2 days of Mashup University and a day of Mashup Camp.  A few thoughts:

  • Maps are still well represented.  This surprised me a bit, but I recognize I’ve been well immersed in the WSO2 Mashup Server which supports a wide variety of User Interactions (html pages including maps, but also feeds, email, instant messaging.)  I predict non-map mashups will start to eat into the map-based mashup market share dominance over the next year.
  • There’s lots of interest in consuming various Web APIs.  Some vendors were promoting their APIs, others tools for consuming those APIs.  I think the WSO2 Mashup Server can tap into an underserved market here, since it’s the easiest way I know of to deliver a comprehensive Web API on top of a bit of Javascript logic, which in turn can front information sources as diverse as databases and scraped web pages.  I think the Mashup Server can become a "design your own API" tool that can have great appeal to the mashup developer.
  • A lot of Javascript was in evidence, further validating our choice to use Javascript for mashup logic in the WSO2 Mashup Server.
  • For the first time I ran into a few people with serious interest in WADL.  Has its time finally come?  More on that in a subsequent post.
  • The "unconference" style was quite interesting and successful, especially if you’re like me and are more interesting in connecting with interesting individuals than in hearing yet another vendor pitch (mine excepted of course!) ;-)  One thing that is sorely lacking is any kind of organization to the conference Wiki, and a surprising lack of ability to record much of the activity there.  I couldn’t even find who won the Best Mashup contest…

I can’t wait till next year!