Called Popfly, it will be an on-demand service that will allow non-programmers to embed mashups in channels like blogs. It works with a metaphor called blocks that are objects that can be manipulated and tied together.
Sorted under four general categories, including data retrieval, data transformation, logic, and presentation, specialized blocks will be available for specific tasks such as poll (search) videos and get videos. Microsoft plans to release roughly 40 blocks in the first go round.
The blocks hide all the JavaScript and XML that programmers otherwise would use to build mashups. You point the blocks at a page or a piece of a mashup to perform a task, such as searching for or grabbing a video.
Or you might use a data transformation block to convert a geocoded object, such as a photo that was taken on the beach in Malibu, and covert it to longitude and latitude so it could be mashed up atop a mapping application such as Microsoft Virtual Earth.
Microsoft is adopting a build it and they will come strategy to drawing takers. That’s essentially the strategy it used when it opened the floodgates to Visual Studio Express which has now drawn 14 million downloads.
Popfly will be available on its own website, but the tools could also be run outside Popfly such as on a blog. Microsoft also wants to build a community and will support features such as having users vote for which Popfly mashups are the most popular.
