General FAQs

What is the Murmurations protocol?

The Murmurations protocol, which we also just call Murmurations, is a standardised, open source set of rules designed to enable decentralised, interoperable data sharing and aggregation. Murmurations uses existing standards such as JSON-Schema to help people, projects and organisations discover each other and share data across platforms and between networks. The ultimate aim of Murmurations is to accelerate the global transition to the regenerative economy.

What can I do with Murmurations?

See our post on collaborative mapping for some user stories explaining how you can use Murmurations to:

• Build a map of X (e.g. vegan shops) in a specific area
• Build a map of a network of members

Can you explain the terms you use?

See the common terms we use when working with Murmurations and our blog posts Murmurations explained, and using Murmurations.

How do I create a Murmurations profile?

Visit the Murmurations Profile Generator and follow the steps, or for more detail see our create a profile guide.

Are there any restrictions on what I can do with Murmurations?

Yes, to use Murmurations you must agree to the principles.

Isn't this just like ___ ?

Solid

Not really - Solid is a proposed set of conventions and tools for building decentralized social applications based on Linked Data principles. Solid aims to offer 'data pods' to help you store and share your data and to restrict access to it on your terms. Murmurations provides a way to share and map public data according to a standardised set of fields, which make the data interoperable across platforms and networks.

ActivityPub

Not really - ActivityPub is a decentralized social networking protocol based on the ActivityStreams 2.0 data format, which provides a client to server API for creating, updating and deleting content, as well as a federated server to server API for delivering notifications and subscribing to content. Murmurations doesn't deliver notifications or enable people to subscribe to content, instead it provides a way to share and map public data according to a standaridised set of fields, which make the data interoperable accross platforms and networks.

Schema.org

Not really - Schema.org provides a shared vocabulary to make it easier for webmasters and developers to decide on a schema and get the maximum benefit for their efforts. Murmurations uses some of Schema.org's vocabulary and extends it by creating a standaridised set of fields, which make the data interoperable accross platforms and networks.

Are Murmurations profiles JSON-LD?

No - JSON-LD is a lightweight Linked Data format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is based on the already successful JSON format and provides a way to help JSON data interoperate at Web-scale. Murmurations profiles use JSON but their structure is not strict JSON-LD. Instead they reference the linked_schemas against which they validate, which reference the fields used, some of which are based on Schema.org's vocabulary.

Aren't you just building another map?

No - we're building a new way to map: a protocol which makes data on maps interoperable, and a suite of tools to help mappers build better maps based on the protocol.

My questions isn’t answered here – what can I do?

You can send us a message and we will reply and add the answer here, or join the Telegram group and ask there.