A new page, Content Types/Text Post, has been added to my Social Networking+ notebook for My Idea Outlet. The contents can be found below.
When it comes to content types for this inclusionary social networking concept, I am starting with the most basic. A standard post refers to text that is being posted to a social network.
Most properties would be standard for any components. One piece is identifying the author. This can lead people to other posts written by the same person.
Another important property would be a unique ID for the post. This would be assigned by the social network. This would be absolutely vital for replies and sharing.
Tags would be optional. Hashtags could probably be extracted from the post's text.
Two versions of the text should be included. One would be a plain text version. This would allow social networks to provide simple lists of posts in a streamlined and consistent format. The other form of text would be partially formatted. In particular, this would allow options for making words bold or italicized. It could also help with links, although there should be an option to add a link to plain text.
Optional properties established by the social network can also be considered. These properties would not be standardized and would relate to the specifics of how the post should be handled. For example, some social networks may allow a post to be pinned or a post to lock out comments.
Alternative post content types probably wouldn't be necessary since just about every site should accept text. Some sites could prioritize between plain text and formatted text. If only one type is included, it will likely not show up on certain sites. It should be rare not to include plain text. The only time I can imagine problems with plain text is if someone is doing some ASCII art requiring a monospace font.
Plain text could also be used as a replacement for Twitter. A search engine could be developed that looks at post length. To be included in a feed, you would need to keep your character count low. Some social networking sites could allow you to limit reply lengths. Another option for social networking sites would be to display criteria for various sites and search engines. While writing a post, you could see how your post compares to certain criteria.
I also had one more idea for a property. This could actually be viewed as two related properties that could be used as some form of connector. You could add an image or video. This could then provide a link to another website (photo sharing, video sharing, etc.) or to another component (slide show, map, poll, etc.)
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