[tdwg] programmablebiodiversity.org ?

Lee Belbin leebel at netspace.net.au
Tue Oct 2 08:26:13 CEST 2007


Hi David

I'll leave the registry of web services to people like Éamonn and Roger to
ponder (and I do agree that it would be a neat idea). 

In regards the Projects Database, I didn't want to make too big a thing of
it, but would be happy (in retrospect given the interest) to elevate it to
the top level in the sidebar of the web site. 

I have also been discussing a similar effort in relation to 'natural
history' organisations (to use Neil Thomson's words) and a
meeting/conferences/events database for TDWG. Our project assisted Neil
Thomson to start considering sources for locating natural history
organizations (and to start the list based on NCD). Basically, I am
interested in that list as real and potential clients of TDWG. Roger Hyam
has also been considering how to organize a more serious project on the
natural history organisations.

In terms of the meetings/conferences relevant to TDWG and its members, I'll
probably get Ricardo to seed a simple database with online form for
additions (similar to the projects database). This database would be a
useful service to TDWG and its supporters. Like the projects, I get the
feeling that all of us would underestimate the range and number of meetings
that would be relevant to TDWG.

I realise that all the above 'data' are linked, so I'll try to ensure 'value
added' wherever possible. The bigger issue with such databases is how to
keep them up to date. So, at some point, we may need a 'section' on the TDWG
site where anyone can search, browse etc across all this type of
information.

Cheers

Lee


Lee Belbin
Manager, TDWG Infrastructure Project
Email: lee at tdwg.org
Phone: +61(0)419 374 133 
-----Original Message-----
From: tdwg-bounces at lists.tdwg.org [mailto:tdwg-bounces at lists.tdwg.org] On
Behalf Of Eamonn O Tuama
Sent: Sunday, 30 September 2007 6:10 PM
To: 'Shorthouse, David'; tdwg at lists.tdwg.org
Subject: RE: [tdwg] programmablebiodiversity.org ?

Hi David,
 
I think a comprehensive registry of data providers, datasets and the
services built on them would go a long way to achieve what you are looking
for. To do that we need a good metadata profile for biodiversity data and
GBIF has identified this as a priority over the next year. We also need to
think beyond the immediate biodiversity realm to engage with the wider
geospatial community in such activities as GEOSS. We have already registered
the GBIF data portal REST services in the GEOSS registry and I have started
discussions with TDWG about getting their standards registered.

Best regards,

Éamonn

________________________________

From: tdwg-bounces at lists.tdwg.org [mailto:tdwg-bounces at lists.tdwg.org] On
Behalf Of Shorthouse, David
Sent: 30 September 2007 05:45
To: tdwg at lists.tdwg.org
Subject: [tdwg] programmablebiodiversity.org ?



Now that GBIF is releasing lots of cool web services (thanks to Dave Martin,
Tim Robertson, and others) and similar web services can be found in other
organizations, ought we consider a www.programmableweb.com knock-off called
something like www.programmablebiodiversity.org? This way, we can have a
user-driven repository / show-and-tell for useful applications that can be
built for the wider biodiversity informatics community. At the very least,
this will provide some positive feedback for providers who can then point to
examples of how the data can be used, mashed-up, or otherwise repurposed in
imaginative ways. Plus, this could be like a communal grab-bag of tricks for
organizations like EOL. If anyone wants to take the initiative on this, I’ll
most certainly contribute.

 

The kinds of things I am thinking of are Rod Page’s iSpecies
(http://ispecies.org) or my temporary, development knock-off using nothing
but JSON (http://ispiders.blogspot.com/2007/09/ispecies-clone.html), or
Rod’s bioGUID reference parser and my simple way to tap into this in
real-time (http://tinyurl.com/ytqxo6), PygmyBrowse
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1125451.1125562), etc.

 

Along the same sort of lines, the TDWG link to its “Biodiversity Projects of
the World” is buried under “Activities”. Shouldn’t this be front and center
on the TDWG homepage?

 

Cheers,

 

David P. Shorthouse

------------------------------------------------------

Department of Biological Sciences

CW-403, Biological Sciences Centre

University of Alberta

Edmonton, AB   T6G 2E9

mailto:dps1 at ualberta.ca

http://canadianarachnology.dyndns.org

http://www.spiderwebwatch.org

http://ispiders.blogspot.com

------------------------------------------------------

 


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