The EU-funded OpenKnowledge program is a smart toolkit designed to unlock the hidden resources of the web that can't be accessed by web sites and browsers alone. With a small, downloadable piece of Java code, users can coordinate and share information with each other more directly than through traditional means. To highlight the potential of the OpenKnowledge system, researchers have put it to work in three different areas: healthcare services, emergency management, and proteomics research.
It was two years ago that we first heard of Zigtag, a service that promised to "transform how people search, save and share knowledge & information." Now, after a nine-month private beta, this semantic tagging service has finally launched. But is Zigtag's bookmarking tool intelligent enough for 2009?
In this article, we'll analyze the trends and technologies that power the Semantic Web. We'll identify patterns that are beginning to emerge, classify the different trends, and peak into what the future holds.
In a recent interview Tim Berners-Lee pointed out that the infrastructure to power the Semantic Web is already here. ReadWriteWeb's founder, Richard MacManus, even picked it to be the number one trend in 2008. And rightly so. Not only are the bits of infrastructure now in place, but we are also seeing startups and larger corporations working hard to deliver end user value on top of this sophisticated set of technologies.
Two German researchers, Simon Bergweiler and Matthieu Deru, came up with a way to explain the heady concept of the semantic web, aka "Web 3.0," to everyday people who aren't as steeped in technology advancements and lingo as perhaps we are. To do this, the researchers set up an experimental kiosk that lets you use semantic web capabilities with only an iPhone and a swish of your finger.
Ambitious online music magazine Idiomag serves up synchronized songs, photos, videos and articles from and about artists it believes you'll like, based on your past behavior. Today the company is opening up its store-room of dynamically aggregated content to 3rd party developers through a particularly exciting API (application programming interface). Beyond just media content, Idiomag is opening up access to user Attention Data through the APML (attention profile markup language) protocol and will soon offer bundles of topical content coordinated to suit any user's interests.
We're impressed by the offering and excited to see what will come of it.
In November 2007, we listed 10 Semantic apps to watch and yesterday we published an update on what each had achieved over the past year. All of them are still alive and well - a couple are thriving, some are experimenting and a few are still finding their way.
Now we're going to list 10 more Semantic apps to watch. These are all apps that have gotten onto our radar over 2008. We've reviewed all but one of them, so click through to the individual reviews for more detail. It should go without saying, but this is by no means an exhaustive list - so if we haven't mentioned your favorite, please add it in the comments.
In November 2007, we listed and reviewed 10 promising Semantic Web apps. A lot can happen in one year on the Internet, so we thought we'd check back in with each of the 10 products and see how they're progressing. What's changed over the past year and what are these companies working on now? The products are, in no particular order: Freebase, Powerset, Twine, AdaptiveBlue, Hakia, Talis, TrueKnowledge, TripIt, Calais (was ClearForest), Spock.
In our next post in this series, we're going to publish a completely new list of Semantic apps to watch! That's right, 10 more Semantic apps. Let us know your suggestions in the comments.
We've all been there. You started reading something on the Web, saw something interesting in the article, searched for it, wound up somewhere else, and after about 12 hops you've forgotten exactly what it was you were looking for. If only there were some way to select that topic midstream and have the information automagically appear for you, without disrupting your workflow or sending you traipsing off into the wilds of the Web.
If that sounds familiar, you may need a shot of Juice, a new Firefox 3 add-in currently in public beta from Linkool Labs, that makes researching Web content as easy as click-and-drag.
When Twine announced itself to the world exactly one year ago, it claimed to be "the first mainstream Semantic Web application". However despite raising millions of dollars in its quest to bring the Semantic Web to the mainstream, Twine has been beset by usability and performance issues in its beta period. Our own Marshall Kirkpatrick wrote probably the most brutal review. The post title said it all: Twine Disappoints After Semantic Web Hype.
However Twine has just launched publicly, confident that it is ready for prime time. I spoke with Twine founder and Semantic Web proponent Nova Spivack today to find out what's changed, who's been using Twine up till now, and where the service is headed in the future.
"Imagine what your cell phone could know [about you]," pondered Sandro Hawke (Semantic Web Developer, W3C), at the Web 3.0 Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, CA this week.
"It hears everything that's going on around you; it knows where you are, it knows the motion of your body, it sees what's in front of it, it knows your contacts, and it hears your phone calls". Imagine the possibilities.
