Google Base live: I've uploaded RSS and OPML files
I just uploaded an opml file into Google Base. I wonder what will happen. It'll take an hour to get published.
This is part of the Base bulk upload functionality that allows you to upload XML: RSS 2.0 , RSS 1.0 , Atom 0.3.. Straight Tab-delimited files are allowed too.
It didn't say I could upload an opml file, but then it didn't say I couldn't. I don't think it will work.
Anyway, if it turns up, it'll be here somewhere: https://www.google.com/base/a/alexbarnett
Now the RSS bit is interesting. The RSS 2.0 file allows extention against their namepace. This allows data entry via RSS.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel xmlns:g="https://base.google.com/ns/1.0">
<title> Google Jobs</title>
<link>https://www.google.com/support/jobs/</link>
<description>Information about job openings at Google Inc.</description>
<item>
<title>HR Analyst - Mountain View </title>
<link> https://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/topic.py?dep_id=1077&loc_id=1116</link>
<description> We have an immediate need for an experienced analytical HR professional.
The ideal candidate has a proven record of developing analytical frameworks to make
fact-based decisions. </description>
<g:image_link>https://www.google.com/images/google_sm.gif</g:image_link>
<g:expiration_date>2005-11-15</g:expiration_date>
<g:job_function>Analyst</g:job_function>
<g:location>1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA, 94043, USA</g:location>
<g:label>Hi-Tech</g:label>
<g:label>Business development</g:label>
<g:label>Personnel</g:label>
<g:label>Silicon Valley</g:label>
<g:label>Staffing</g:label>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
I need to sleep, hopefully some interesting RSS / XML / Atom experiments to wake up to in the morning...let me know.
Update: Bill Burham nails it:
"Once the feed gets inside Google the fun is just beginning. Most commentators have been underwhelmed by Google Base because they don't see the big deal of Google Base entires showing up as part of free text search. What these commentators miss, is that Google isn't gathering all this structured data just so they can regurgitate it piece-meal via unstructured queries, they are gathering all this data so that they can build the world's largest XML database.
"...As for RSS, Google Base represents a kind of Confirmation. With Google's endorsement, RSS has now graduated from a rather obscure content syndication standard to the exautled status of the web's default standard for data integration. Google's endorsement should in turn push other competitors to adopt RSS as their data transport format and process of choice. This adoption will in turn force many of the infrastructure software vendors to enhance their products so that they can easily consume and produce RSS-based messages which in turn will further cement the standard. At its highest level, Google's adoption of RSS represents a further trimph of REST-based SOA architectures over the traditional RPC architecture being advanced by many software vendors. Once again, short and simple wins over long and complex."