Well that is what Dare Obasanjo thinks anyway. I think we can forgive this short sighted thinking because it’s systemic in the culture of his employer. (ouch! Shameless Microsoft dig. I promise not to do it again.)

Yes. He is absolutely correct that an API is better. And to be fair, he does point out that that microformats are a good fit in situations where the client must parse the entire HTML page anyway. To see samples of good ideas in this situation check out this slide show.

I don’t see microformats replacing RSS/Atom feeds. But I can see where microformats will strengthen a conversation. When I get a trackback, my blog could automatically fetch the pages and assemble a page of notes on the post. The software could assemble a pseudo bibliography from the trackback I received and follow the chain down. Making it easy for me to follow the conversation and how it got to this point. Now replying is simple. I didn’t have to track it all down. I let the computer do the work.

That is just one idea that I thought off the top of my head. I am sure smarter people than I have even better ideas.

I don’t think Dare Obasanjo really meant it when he said microformats are a stupid idea. It was a tongue in cheek statement. I think he brings up some good points to ponder while furthering the conversation. Frankly, I am glad the conversation is playing out at all.