Yesterday Johannes Ernst asked on Twitter: "So what do you call this architecture where your data is on your site, running the code you want, with your own terms."

It was a complex question, so I said I'd answer it in a blog post, not on Twitter, where the 140-character limit would inevitably lead to abbreviation and misunderstanding.

My architecture

My architecture is called RSS.

There's no limit on the data I can attach to my RSS feed, and since I'm already producing one, and lots of people are already subscribed to it, and it's a widely understood format, there really never was any other choice.

I've created a namespace that extends RSS that adds features that have become necessary since RSS 2.0 was frozen in 2002. Notably the <source:account> element that I use to point to my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

My podcasts are included in that feed.

I have a separate feed for my Little Cards. I'd really like that to be merged with my main feed. Hopefully soon.

Why RSS is the obvious choice

One of the things I said to Johannes earlier in this thread is that before formats matter you need three things: 1. Software. 2. Content. 3. Users. RSS has all three, so it's the obvious choice for evolving blogs.