[Measurement-wg] Fwd: IAB Workshop Call for Papers: Exploring Synergy between Content Aggregation and the Publisher Ecosystem

[Amreesh Phokeer]

Fyi

> Begin forwarded message:
>  
> From: IAB Executive Administrative Manager <mailto:execd at iab.org>
> Subject: IAB Workshop Call for Papers: Exploring Synergy between Content Aggregation and the Publisher Ecosystem
> Date: May 2, 2019 at 5:54:49 PM EDT
> To: "IETF Announcement List" <mailto:ietf-announce at ietf.org>
> Cc: mailto:ietf at ietf.org
> Reply-To: mailto:ietf at ietf.org
>  
> ESCAPE Workshop
> 
> Exploring Synergy between Content Aggregation and the Publisher 
> Ecosystem
> 
> An Internet Architecture Board workshop
> 
> In recent years, a number of proprietary formats have been defined to 
> enable aggregators of news and other articles to republish Web 
> resources; for example, Google’s AMP <https://amp.dev/>, Facebook’s 
> Instant Articles <https://instantarticles.fb.com/>, Baidu’s MIP 
> <https://github.com/mipengine/mip>, and Apple’s News Format 
> <https://developer.apple.com/news-publisher/>. 
> 
> These formats enable various improvements in end-user perceived 
> performance, through techniques like pre-fetching content from the 
> distributing site. Their deployment has raised a number of significant 
> problems <https://w3ctag.github.io/distributed-content/>. Web Packaging 
> <https://github.com/WICG/webpackage> is one proposal to address these 
> issues, and may be suitable for other use-cases as well.
> 
> Packaging allows content to be presented to users as if it were obtained 
> from the original site, no matter where it was actually fetched from. 
> For example, a peer-to-peer network could exchange signed packages, or a 
> Web search engine could serve them when a user clicks on a search 
> result.
> 
> In one reading, this is a form of modularization: it separates content 
> serving from guarantees of authenticity and integrity. In theory, this 
> could support new content distribution mechanisms, as authors and 
> publishers could delegate their hosting to others while retaining some 
> degree of control, due to their signing authority. It could also serve 
> as a robust defence against censorship by offering alternative 
> publication mechanisms.
> 
> However, significant market power concentration among search engines and 
> social networks creates a concern that this mechanism might allow them 
> to pressure publishers to delegate technical authority, reinforcing 
> consolidation. Today’s republishing platforms have exposed several risks 
> of consolidation: opaque effects on content discovery (including search 
> ranking), monetizations that advantage the aggregator, and interactivity 
> (commenting/sharing) that reinforce the reader’s relationship with the 
> aggregator.
> 
> These outcomes -- both positive and negative -- could have wide-ranging 
> effects on the Web and Internet. Assessing them is outside the core 
> competencies of technical standards bodies on their own; so, we are 
> holding this workshop to convene potentially affected parties to discuss 
> the impact of this proposal.
> 
> The scope of this workshop includes:
> 
> * Understanding potential changes to balance of power on the Internet 
>  (e.g., consolidation, decentralisation)
> * The impact of Web Packaging on the online publishing ecosystem (e.g., 
>  news sites, other publications, both advertising-driven and not) - 
>  both positive and negative
> * Examination of the underlying requirements driving these proposals
> * Other possible approaches to meeting those requirements
> * Feedback and discussion of the Web Packaging proposal in specific
> 
> Note that the primary audience is at the business/policy level, not 
> technical.
> 
> Logistics
> 
> * Submissions Due: 3 June 2019
> * Invitations Issued by: 10 June 2019
> * Workshop Date: 18-19 July 2019 (ending approximately 1pm on Friday)
> * Workshop Location: Herndon, Virginia USA
> * Program Committee Chair: Mark Nottingham (Internet Architecture Board, 
>  Fastly)
> * Program Committee Members: Martin Thomson (Internet Architecture 
>  Board, Mozilla), Robin Berjon (The New York Times), David Strauss 
>  (Pantheon, Drupal), Joseph Lorenzo Hall (Center for Democracy & 
>  Technology)
> * Send Submissions to: mailto:escape-workshop-pc at iab.org
> 
> Position papers from academia, industry and others that focus on the 
> broader picture and that warrant the kind of extended discussion that a 
> 1.5-day workshop offers are the most welcome. Papers that reflect 
> experience based on running code and deployed services are also very 
> welcome. Papers that are proposals for point-solutions are less useful 
> in this context, and can simply be submitted as Internet-Drafts and 
> discussed on relevant IETF or W3C lists.
> 
> The workshop will be by invitation only. Those wishing to attend should 
> submit a position paper to the address above; this may take the form of 
> an Internet-Draft. 
> 
> All inputs submitted and considered relevant will be published on the 
> workshop web page. The organisers will decide whom to invite based on 
> the submissions received. Sessions will be organized according to 
> content, and not every accepted submission or invited attendee will have 
> an opportunity to present as the intent is to foster discussion and not 
> simply to have a sequence of presentations.
> 
> Position papers from those unable to attend in person are encouraged. A 
> workshop report will be published afterwards.
>