Scribu had a fantastic reminder about data portability, even as far as saying that it’s “more valuable than having an open source project to manipulate that content.”
Some may disagree but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to agree. Because most simply the possibility of WordPress completely tanking and disappearing off the face of the planet is still (and will always be) a real possibility.
It’s hard to imagine that WordPress would ever lose it’s luster but how many applications have you used historically that you may never have thought would ever become stale and ugly that, now, you no longer use? I think of many of the Microsoft products that at one point I believe would be the be-all, end-all but now I detest them and use other solutions.
As a result, I believe what Scribu says is very important, especially when you are considering a move to a new application or giving another web service your time and content:
Going forward, whenever I start using a new application or service, I will make sure there’s a sane exit strategy. I should be able to leave and take my data with me at any time, with no questions asked.
Preach it brother man. Preach it. I cannot thank enough the applications that have allowed me to export the raw data easily so that I could move on to greener pastures.
Thanks for the reminder Scribu!
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