Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Bonus Thing #3 - The Semantic Web

The concepts of the"Semantic Web", or "Web of Data" have been buzzing on the blogosphere for a while, but honestly, it's still very fuzzy to me. The most comprehendable definition I've found is this one:

"The Semantic Web is about two things. It is about common formats for integration and combination of data drawn from diverse sources, where on the original Web mainly concentrated on the interchange of documents. It is also about language for recording how the data relates to real world objects. That allows a person, or a machine, to start off in one database, and then move through an unending set of databases which are connected not by wires but by being about the same thing."

W3C Semantic Web Activity


There have been some interesting interviews on the topic on the "Talking with Talis" podcast:

As far as I can understand, once the standards and methods expounded by the supporters of this concept are realised, searching the web and the ways in which we are able to find and combine information will be revolutionized. I look forward to reaping those benefits, and hopefully by the time they are available to librarians I will also have a firmer grasp on just exactly what it all means and what implications it could have for information privacy.

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