Secret service

I have been asked to check out a bookmarking service that is still in beta, so I will not reveal it’s name. I will fill in the blanks later. But I thought it would be a good moment to see whether my MicroContent Client checklist would also work for this service. And where any problems would lie in the checklist. I start with checklist version 1.4.

Comments on the checklist:

• Platform - naturally I had to delete the MacOS-specific category. I guess I have to switch to some web browser list. I can imagine things like adherence to standards, lightness of web-pages, Ajax-support, etc. All the things we would like to see;
• Identity - the user has to login into his personal account at the service. On MacOSX one has to login into one’s account as well;
• Publishing - a strong feature of a service is, is that one can access the data from any place with a browser. One is freed from the computer. This is unlike local MicroContent clients. This adds a new publishing method to the list (.Mac, FTP, RPC). This allows user to browse bookmarks of other users;
• Social stuff - the service add some social stuff, such as a list of friends, an inbox. I see these more like other application and not related to the MicroContent Client itself;

This service scores only 18 points, which is pretty low. There do not seem to be much features in the service, but that might grow in the future.

• MicroContent (5/10) - to what degree does the client support MicroContent Items?
  
  • Structure - YES, the service supports bookmarks with fields such as title, url and description;
  • Multiplicity - NO;
  • Flexibility - NO;
  • MicroWeb - NO;
  • Merged - NO;
  • Pick-list Fields - YES for tags;
  • Title - YES;
  • Description - YES;
  • Tags - YES, hierarchical structure;
  • Rating - NO;
  
  
• Interface (5/10) - does the client have the characteristic layout?


• View-pane - YES, in a details tab. Hovering over a preview (thumbnail) of the bookmarked page shows the bookmark information as well;
• View-pane styles - NO;
• View-pane Window - NO;
• Items-pane - YES;
• Items-pane Views - YES, there is a thumbnails and list view;
• Items-pane Sorting - YES,
• Items-pane Fields - NO;
• Lists-pane - NO;
• Browser-pane - YES, one can browse the tag cloud;
• Pane layout change - NO;
• Item functions (4/10) - functions for managing individual Items.
  
  • View - YES;
  • Create - YES, but only through a bookmarklet;
  • Edit - YES;
  • Mark - NO;
  • Search - NO;
  • Persistence - NO;
  • Access Control - NO;
  • Duplicate Control - NO;
  • Delete - YES;
  • Download - NO;
  
  
• List functions (2/17)
  
  • Local - NO;
  • Connected - NO;
  • Shared - NO;
  • Remote - YES, all bookmarks reside on the service platform
  • Handpicked - NO;
  • Smart - YES, these are based on tags. Not sure whether I should call this smart lists though;
  • Recommendations - NO;
  • List Metadata - NO;
  • Statistics -NO;
  • Directories - NO;
  • Add - NO;
  • Edit - NO;
  • Show - NO;
  • Backup/revert - NO;
  • Refresh - NO;
  • Remove - NO;
  • Delete - NO;
  
  
• Groups (0/8) - the service does not support groups.
  
  • Unlimited Depth - NO;
  • Local - NO;
  • Connected - NO;
  • Shared - NO;
  • Remote - NO;
  • Directories - NO;
  • Add - NO;
  • Edit - NO;
  • Delete - NO;
  
  
• Import (1/6) - does the Client allow for importing Items?
  
  • Classic - NO;
  • Standard - NO;
  • Proprietary - NO;
  • Application - NO;
  • Bookmarklet - YES;
  • Drag&drop - NO;
• Export (1/14) - does the client allow for exporting Items?
  
  • Classic - NO;
  • Standard - NO;
  • Proprietary - NO;
  • HTML - NO;
  • Print - NO;
  • Feed - YES, an RSS-feed for your bookmarks is available;
  • Local - NO;
  • Connected - NO;
  • Shared - NO;
  • Remote: .Mac - NO;
  • Remote: FTP - NO;
  • Remote: RPC - NO;
  • Drag&drop - YES, but this is a browser feature;
  • Application - YES, one can email a bookmark to friends;
  
  

tags: microcontent, type, bookmark,