Anyone noticed the new Numly ID at the bottom of my blog? Earlier known as ESBN (similar to ISBN), it is called Numly now and is a an ESN (Electronic Serial Number) which can be obtained free of cost and used to identify any work of a person or organisation, like a site any document or even emails.
ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers) are pretty costly, although widespread. The other form of identification for documents, the ISSN can be obtained free-of-cost, but it is ONLY for electronic periodicals and journals, and specifically omits any sites or blogs.
Numly, on the other hand, can be applied to anything. Based on the site Numly.com, you can apply this attribute to whatever you want to using a Mozilla Firefox plugin (or a Mac OS widget if you are using Mac OS). You can even choose a Creative Commons license during the quick process. You can also have this information in barcode form.
Numly Numbers (as they are called) are recognised by most media outlets, but are yet to gain favor in the mainstream world. You don’t find the books in your neighbourhood bookshop with a Numly ID, do you? But they are increasingly becoming popular in the online world for providing quick verification. It also has a vote feature for websites.
Numly Numbers are surely very important in the blogosphere, for clearly demarcating the rights associated with a particular piece of work.