I talk about three major news items about Joomla's extension directory including the introduction of an app store, the new terms of service for using the Joomla extension directory and also the announcement of the rebuild of the directory.
This episode I also have a look at the J and Beyond conference and the winners of the J.O.S.C.A.R awards this year across the different categories. I also do a quick review of content version control for Joomla and have a good look at how it works.
Lastly I have part 2 of my search engine optimisation tips for Joomla and this SEO tip I look at metadata for your Joomla content and making sure it is done right and effectively on your website.
The New Joomla Apps Store
"create a Joomla "app store" that will allow users to search for and install extensions directly from the backend administrator interface. This overall project goal supports our three year vision statement which is to improve adoption of the CMS and Framework."
This will also have a huge impact on extensions developers and also really encourage extensions developers to always submit their extensions to the JED. If users can install straight from their website then it is a huge benefit for developer so to make sure everything is within that ecosystem.
This will also help with pirated and tampered copies of extensions being distributed on the internet with malicious code and hidden links. If all of the extensions are coming from one safe and audited location the assumingly there will be less cases of hacked sites with spyware or malicious code.
Here is an overview of the goals of the project.
Offer a good experience for end users. Offer a positive experience for extension developers. Minimize the workload on project volunteers. Support free and commercial extensions. Integrate with the JED as much as possible. Potentially become a new source of revenue for the project. I do hope that this project goes in the right direction and reaches its goals.
It will have a huge affect on how Joomla as a project can start generating more money by taking fees off the top of pain extensions within the eco system as well as increasing the reach of extensions to site administrators who can now install extensions directly from the backend of their Joomla websites.
http://community.joomla.org/blogs/leadership/1749-app-store-study-group-forming.html
Will this mean we will see the introduction of install packages in Joomla where we can install a group of our favourite extensions into a Joomla website?
For example:
If the app store required me to login with my unique Joomla username and password then it should also be able to store various lists of extensions that may be saved like a E-commerce list, or a forums list. This way when I click to install the e-commerce list, it will pull in Virtuemart and all the other extensions that I like using around it.
I think that would be a very good development for the app store on top of just being able to find, buy and install apps.
New Joomla Extension Directory Terms of Services
Now also over the weekend at the J and Beyond conference, the JED team were working on the draft Terms of Service (ToS) for the JED, new ToS aimed at making everyone's life easier.
http://community.joomla.org/blogs/leadership/1750-the-jed-terms-of-service-revision.html
Rebuild of the Joomla Extension Directory
Plans to rebuild the Joomla extension directory have started! That entire directory is being redone in Joomla 3 and there is a request for proposals out there for the rebuild of this.
The Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) Team is seeking to upgrade the current JED website to Joomla 3.x with a customized extension(s) to facilitate the management of listings and users.
You can find out more information on the community blog as well as read over the proposal for the new build.
There is also more discussion on the Joomla forums about the proposed rebuild of the directory.
J and Beyond J.O.S.C.A.R Winners
Over the weekend was the J and Beyond conference and you can find the social media write up about the conference under the advice category of the Joomla Beat website.
You can also see a round of of all the winners in each of the categories from the event at JoomlaBlogger.net - J and Beyond 2013 JOSCAR Winners. Thanks Kristoffer Sandven for taking the lovely photos and putting them all online.
Demo of Content Version Control for Joomla
Now a few weeks back in episode 19 I mentioned that content version control was being worked on and I had a moment to install and have a look at it. Lou in the office also managed to play with it and get a bit of documentation up around it and you can check it out at
http://joomlabe.at/management/content-version-control-for-joomla-3-x
http://joomlabe.at/videocasts/preview-of-joomla-s-content-version-control-for-joomla-3-1-2
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