In my last post, I described Web 3.0 (also known as the Semantic Web).  I also introduced a couple of formats (Microformats & RDF) that allow additional meaning (semantics) to be applied to web content when HTML fails to be descriptive enough. 

In this post, I’ll demonstrate how to modify Sitefinity’s Events module to export events that are formatted using Microformat’s hCalendar format.  Once modified, these events can be easily consumed by services such as Yahoo! Calendar, Google Events or other services.

Understanding the hCalendar Format

Here is some typical HTML that might be used to display an event:

<h2>Google Buzz Launch</h2> 
<p>2/9/2010 11:06 AM</p> 
<p>Come witness the launch of a social media service that isn't limited to 140 characters.</p> 
<p>Gmail</p>
<p>Social Media</p>
<p>Google</p>  

Can you spot the organizer?  The location?  The category? 

If you’re having trouble, imagine how difficult it is for a computer to extract ...

Almost everyone has now heard of Web 2.0…and is probably tired of hearing it.  This phrase gets tossed around a lot and has largely been turned into a marketing gimmick.  Many products add the Web 2.0 descriptor simply to make the product appear cutting edge. 

For all the abuse of this descriptor, Web 2.0 really did signify a meaningful transition.  It wasn’t a sudden transition, but rather a gradual transition.  Web 2.0 represents the shift from static brochure web sites to interactive web sites that facilitate participation & information sharing. 

Technologies such as forums, blogs, profiles, comments, wiki’s, user reviews, etc. are all products of the Web 2.0 era.  Web 2.0 also birthed many highly visible companies such as MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia, Youtube, etc.  All of these technologies & companies enable people to participate online. 

The web is just a bunch of documents

Despite all these innovations, the web ...