I'm considering offering an OPML Community Server here on Become the Media.When I registered this domain, my intention at the time was to run a Frontier/Manila server and offer free weblogs in the form of pcook.becomethemedia.org like a number of other services offered at the time, including my very own Manila hosting service Web Surf Hawaii.
However, a Frontier license was $800 a year and hosting other's people's stuff is serious business. For Become the Media to really blossom into something interesting, initially affordable to me, and beyond simple weblog hosting, I needed some unique reason as well as a solid plan behind it to make sure it would work and be well received.
Regarding the OPML Community server, Dave Winer says..
I'm kind of trying to drive things that way, so that at some point the idea will occur to a business-person, hey I could offer these people a service and make some money. It hasn't happened yet, but I hope it will someday, hopefully soon.
I see running an OPML Community Server, and other offerings, as two things.
1. A way to build community.
2. A way to make money.
I've got to make a living and online communities are what interest me most. At this point, I'm just brainstorming but I'd like to come up with a way to offer a compelling community space for OPML Editors who want more out of a host than just a place to upload their files. I can imagine that once you become a member of the Become the Media community, you get OPML Editor weblog hosting, a campfire, perhaps an email address and other community minded tools. I think a well designed, instantly usable space for communities to gather, thrive, and then depart if desired, would be an interesting and exciting place to gather.
If an OPML Community Server were offered on Become the Media, would you be interested in hosting your OPML site here? What else, besides a place to point your OPML Editor to, would you want or expect? I'm looking for feedback so I can best consider a path to follow.
