Thoughts on an Emerging “Web 3.0″…05.29.09

I thought Allan Cho‘s thoughts on the emerging “Web 3.0″ insightful and worth pondering further:

“In the Journal of Social Computing, Peter Sweeney argues that whatever we call Web 3.0, it is going to be a the automation of tasks which displaces human work. Our information economy is ultimately in the midst of an Industrial Revolution. He makes another excellent point:

Billions are being spent worldwide on semantic technologies to create the factories and specialized machinery for manufacturing content. Railways of linked data and standards are being laid to allow these factories to trade and co-operate. And the most productive information services in the world are those that leverage Web 3.0 industrial processes and technologies. Web 3.0 is a controversial term, as it confuses those who are just only beginning to feel comfortable with the concept Web 2.0 and those who are embracing the Semantic Web. Web 3.0 disrupts these traditional, safe thoughts. It not only blurs the terminology, it also offers business advocates an opportunity to cash in.

But I see Sweeney’s arguments as a multidimensional argument that transcends nickels and dimes. He makes an excellent point when he argues that many dismiss Web 3.0 as a fad; however, when we think of the Web as a manufacturing process, that is a disruptive technology — very much like the Industrial Revolution — then we can begin to understand what Web 3.0 represents.”

Web 3.0, Linked Data, Semantic Web…05.15.09

Here is a excerpt from Richard MacManus ‘ thought-provoking post Understanding the New Web Era: Web 3.0, Linked Data, Semantic Web on ReadWriteWeb today:

“I’ve been following a fascinating 3-part series of posts this week by Greg Boutin, founder of Growthroute Ventures. The series aimed to tie together 3 big trends, all based around structured data: 1) the still nascent ‘Web 3.0′ concept, 2) the relatively new kid on the structured Web block, Linked Data, and 3) the long-running saga that is the Semantic Web. Greg’s series is probably the best explanation I’ve read all year about the way these trends are converging…

Last year Boutin loosely defined web 3.0 as “the Web of Openness. A web that breaks the old siloes, links everyone everything everywhere, and makes the whole thing potentially smarter.”

..The current trends we’re seeing today – filtering content, real-time data, personalization – are evidence that ‘Web 3.0′ is upon us, if not yet well defined. We actually saw a great example of Web 3.0 this week, with Google’s release of Search Options and Rich Snippets…

In Part 2 of his series, Greg Boutin tackled Linked Data. He explained that ‘Linked Data offers a new medium to link structured data that is then more machine-readable.’ However, he added that Linked Data ‘does not by itself add any semantic meaning to the information, but it better carries that semantic information once you have it. So, while Linked Data is not semantic, creating links at the data level paves the way to a true Semantic Web.’…

According to Greg Boutin in Part 3 of his series, the Linked Data format ‘does not create smart data, it only enables it.’…

Google is going to play a big role in making the Semantic Web mainstream. We noticed here on ReadWriteWeb in January that Google had begun to expose semantic data in search results. We noted that Google appeared to be parsing the semantic structure from semi or unstructured data…

Conclusion

Web 3.0 is an amorphous term, and possibly one that people shouldn’t even attempt to use. Nevertheless, it’s clear to us that the time for structured data has come. We’re beginning to see it in the current wave of Linked Data sets being released, and in the support that big companies, like Google and Yahoo, are showing for structured data. Who knows, maybe the Semantic Web is nearly upon us too.”

The BBC and the Semantic Web…03.08.09

BBC’s Semantic Web is a short but interesting post from Allan Cho on the state of the “semantic web” from his blog  Allan’s Library:

“BBC gets it.   In the latest issue of Nodalities magazine (one of my favourite reads), BBC reveals how it is applying the bottom-up approach to its contribution in realizing the SemWeb.   To make this happen, web programmers broke with BBC tradition by designing from the domain modelup rather than the interface down.  The domain model provided us with a set of objects (brands, series, episodes, versions, ondemands, broadcasts, etc) and their sometimes tangled interrelationships.

This is exciting stuff.  Without ever explicitly talking RDF we’d built a site that complied with Tim Berners-Lee’s four principles for Linked Data:

(1)  Use URIs as names for things. 

(2)  Use HTTP URIs so that people can look up those names. - 

(3)  When someone looks up a URI, provide useful information

(4)  Include links to other URIs

In fact, as the BBC web developers argue, 

considering how best to build websites we’d recommend you throw out the Photoshop and embrace Domain Driven Design and the Linked Data approach every time. Even if you never intend to publish RDF it just works.   The longer term aim of this work is to not only expose BBC data but to ensure that it is contextually linked to the wider web.”  

Hakia-”First SemWeb Search Engine of Its Kind”…01.13.09

Allan Cho’s  post “hakia and Librarians’ Race to End the Search Wars” on Allan’s Library:

“I’ve always been intrigued by hakia, which is considered the first SemWeb search engine of its kind. It is said that for the next generation web to exist, there needs to be a more concise way for users to find information and to search the web online. Hakia is working with librarians to help make its results even more credible in the attempt to win the race to ouster Google in the current search engine wars. Hakia is one of the first Semantic Web search engines…

hakia also relies on the subject knowledge expertise of professionals. By combining technology and human expertise, it attempts to completely redefine the search process and experience. Take a look at my hakia, Search Engines, and Librarians How Expert Searchers Are Building the Next Generation Web for a deeper analysis of what hakia is trying to do with librarians…”