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Intro
Rethinking the community calendar
Jon UdellHampton RoadsApril 23, 2013http://elmcity.cloudapp.net
Wh e re I’m w o rk in g to s o lv e th is p ro b le m
Why do posters on kiosks succeed?
there’s no central point of control
everyone is directly responsible for their own stuff
Why do posters on kiosks fail?
you can’t add them (easily) to your personal calendar
you can’t find them (reliably) in community web calendars
Why do posters on kiosks succeed?
there’s no central point of control
everyone is directly responsible for their own stuff
Why do posters on kiosks fail?
you can’t add them (easily) to your personal calendar
you can’t find them (reliably) in community web calendars
Search: “posters on kiosks” Replace: “standard web calendars”
Why do standard web calendars succeed?
there’s no central point of control
everyone is directly responsible for their own stuff
Why do standard web calendars fail?
you can’t add them (easily) to your personal calendar
you can’t find them (reliably) in community web calendars
Search: “posters on kiosks” Replace: “standard web calendars”
Why do standard web calendars succeed?
there’s no central point of control
everyone is directly responsible for their own stuff
Why do standard web calendars fail succeed?
you can’t can add them (easily) to your personal calendar
you can’t can find them (reliably) in community web calendars
Search: “posters on kiosks” Replace: “standard web calendars”
How not: AnnArbor.com
Or: A2Y Chamber
Or: ArborWeb.com
But: A2Chronicle
So: Washtenaw County calendar of events
https://secure.ewashtenaw.org/eventcal/ViewCalendar.do?view=month
A2Cal today
http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html
What is iCalendar and why would I care?
What is iCalendar?
- The standard Internet format for exchanging calendar information. - Supported by Google Calendar, Hotmail Calendar, Outlook, Apple iCal,
Lotus Notes, others.
Why should I care?
When you use a iCalendar-aware program to manage your web calendar:
1. It creates HTML for people to read. 2. It also creates an iCalendar feed for automatic data exchange.
Unfortunately…
Most web calendars (including eWashtenaw’s) are only available as HTML (or even PDF). So people can view them, but computers can't automatically exchange the data.
A2Cal today all
Today in Ann Arbor
Wurster Park
Wurster Park
A2cal feed stats snapshot
Some Ann Arbor feeds I found
A2cal feed stats all
All the Ann Arbor feeds I found
A2cal quick stats
Sources feeding the Ann Arbor hub
iCal PRODIDs
Applications that produced the feeds
Feed count by iCal producer
Bright lights: AADL
Syndication from the Ann Arbor District Library
Bright lights: Crazy Wisdom
Syndication from CrazyWisdom
Bright lights: City of Ann Arbor
Syndication from the City of Ann Arbor
calendar “dark matter”dark matter
The HTML/PDF/RSS fallacyHow humans represent calendar events:
“Community Information Sharing Seminar with Jon Udell, Ann Arbor District Library, Sept. 26 at 4PM“
How computers represent calendar events:
DTSTART;TZID=EST;20120926T160000 SUMMARY:Jon Udell: Community Info Sharing LOCATION:Ann Arbor District Library
HTML, PDF,RSS
iCalendar
A civic scorecard for public calendars
Google create new calendar
Step 1: Create a calendar (once only)
Syndicating from Google Calendar
Google share calendarStep 2: Make it public (once only)
Capture Google HTML and iCal
https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/ajgh1q3t9plrlcoobkovsdfm88%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=ajgh1q3t9plrlcoobkovsdfm88%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York" style="border: 0" width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
HTML (for people)
iCalendar (for computers)
Step 3: Capture HTML for website, iCalendar URL for syndication (once only)
Embed Google HTML
Step 4: Ask webmaster to embed the HTML in your site (once only)
Transmit URL to curator
Step 5: Send the iCal URL to the syndication hub (once only)
From: [email protected] 1
To: [email protected] 2
Subject: iCal feed for Washtenaw County public meetings
Hi there,
Please syndicate our calendar at this URL:
https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/8i9vg16fbddqkct11sml54a0m0%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
1. Person responsible for the eWashtenaw public calendar
2. Person responsible for the syndication hub
Google create eventFrom now on, when you create an event here…
It shows up here
It shows up here: https://secure.ewashtenaw.org/eventcal
And also here
And also here: http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html
And potentially A2Chron
And maybe here? http://annarborchronicle.com/events-listing/
And potentially also A2YChamber
And maybe also here? http://www.a2ychamber.org/Events.aspx
And potentially even Community Television Network
And maybe even on community access television?
Hotmail create new calendar
Step 1: Create a calendar (once only)
Syndicating from Hotmail Calendar
Hotmail share calendarStep 2: Make it public (once only)
HTML (for people)
iCalendar (for computers)
Capture Hotmail HTML and iCal
Embed Hotmail HTML
Step 4: Ask webmaster to embed the HTML in your site (once only)
Transmit URL to curator
Step 5: Send the iCal URL to the syndication hub (once only)
From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: iCal feed for Washtenaw County public meetings
Hi there,
Please syndicate our calendar at this URL:
webcals://cid-dffec23daaf5ee89.calendar.live.com/calendar/eWashtenaw/calendar.ics
Hotmail create eventFrom now on, when you create an event here…
It shows up here
It shows up here…
And also here
And also here: http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html
And potentially A2Chron
And maybe here? http://annarborchronicle.com/events-listing/
And potentially also A2YChamber
And maybe also here? http://www.a2ychamber.org/Events.aspx
Blind Pig home calendar
http://www.blindpigmusic.com/calendar.html
Blind Pig in a2cal via upcoming
http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html?view=music
The Hood Internet shows up here via Upcoming
Blind Pig in facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BlindPigAnnArbor/events
The Blind Pig didn’t include The Hood Internet (Sep 26) in its Facebook calendar.
But it was a source for these events.
Blind Pig Sept 30 in a2cal
Two Gallants shows up here (at the right time, because The Blind Pig entered the data into Facebook)
Two Gallants also shows up here (at the wrong time, because somebody else entered the data into Upcoming)
Duplication isn’t necessarily bad. When times and titles match, multiples coalesce.
Syndicating from Facebook
What could the Blind Pig do? (Strategy 1: Use Facebook)
How? Put the whole schedule on Facebook.
Pros Popular, convenient, great way to socialize events.
Cons 1. Doesn’t automatically feed the Blind Pig home site
2. Event details only available to logged-in Facebook users.
Workarounds 1. Syndicate from Facebook to standard calendar, embed that on home site.
2. Now details visible to Blind Pig home site visitors (as well as Facebook site).
What could the Blind Pig do? (Strategy 2: Use a standard calendar)
How? Put the whole schedule into an iCalendar-aware program.
Pros Write it once, show it automatically on website and elsewhere.
Cons 1. Not in Facebook.2. Widgets don’t match site design.
Workarounds 1. Use one-click Add to Facebook 2. Extract data from Facebook, flow through
site template.
One-click Add To Facebook
Any syndicated event can also be added to personal calendars in the cloud (Google, Hotmail) or on the desktop (Outlook, Apple iCal)
Music in Ann Arbor
Feeds in the Ann Arbor hub’s music category
Exploratorium
Creating a “Music Around Town” widget
Blind Pig with widget
“Music Around Town” widget embedded in the Blind Pig site
Crazy Wisdom with widget
“Music Around Town” widget embedded in the Crazy Wisdom site
Crazy Wisdom: all vs music only
http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html?view=crazywisdom
http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html?view=crazywisdom,music
Organizing feeds into categories
Crazy Wisdom feeds and tags
Organizing feeds into categories
Crazy Wisdom: making the music feed
BEGIN:VEVENTCATEGORIES:crazywisdomCATEGORIES:musicDESCRIPTION: Live Music Weekends at Crazy Wisdom Tea Room \n 8:30 to 10 :30 p.m. &ndash\; No Cover Charge \n Every Friday and Saturday night C razy Wisdom invites you to Tea and Tunes. Not a tea drinker? No problem! C razy Wisdom offer a wide selection of coffee drinks. (while you&rsquo\;re here\, don&rsquo\;t forget to try some of our tasty treats as well!) \n Click here to see who is playing DTEND;TZID=Eastern Standard Time:20120928T223000DTSTAMP:20120924T135335DTSTART;TZID=Eastern Standard Time:20120928T203000LOCATION:SEQUENCE:0SUMMARY:Live Music in th Tea RoomUID:eab1368d-f802-45ab-b63f-842bf09fa1c6URL:http://www.crazywisdom.net/events.htmlEND:VEVENT
Organizing feeds into categories
Slauson: all vs music only
http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html?view=slauson
http://elmcity.cloudapp.net/a2cal/html?view=slauson,music
Organizing feeds into categories
Slauson: multiple gcals
Organizing feeds into categories
Arts Alive site
Arts alive hub
music
healthsports
environment
tech
Community Arts and Culture Hub
art
business
music art
Community Tech and Business Hub
tech business
State Hub A: Arts and Culture
Ann Arbor music
Ann Arbor art
Detroit music
Grand Rapids art
…State Hub B: Tech and Business
Ann Arbor tech
Ann Arbor business
Detroit tech
Lansing business
…
…
…
Big picture
