Posts Tagged ‘Semantic Web’

Photo Credit: Flickr/kevindooley

Ready for the next big thing in the Internet? It’s called Semantic Web and is loosely defined as an assortment of technologies to help readers better understand online information.

HuffPo invested into semantic technology by acquiring Adaptive Semantics, Inc. to use the “wisdom of machines” to curate the “wisdom of the crowds.” Google brought the semantic search startup Metaweb into its ever-growing family to make searches even smarter.

But what exactly does Semantic Web mean for you? According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) there are a few ways this emerging technology can be useful:

Data integration: This is essentially a Web of data. Semantic Universe explains that it will allow all types of data, online and off, to be shared across different applications.

Resource discovery and classification: What Google is gunning for. Semantic Web can be used to provide domain specific search engine capabilities.

Cataloging: Today, a search for “dog food” yields a whole mess of other info that is only relevant through matched keywords. Semantic Web will pull the concept of “dog food” first, and then bring in all other related facts.

Register for Semantic Web Summit on November 16-17 in Boston to learn from innovators across industries and to see how Semantic Web can transform your business.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.

Below is some of my personal theory on the semantic web and feed aggregation. Please excuse the rambling .
As companies race to effectively aggregate our content an interesting thing is taking place: suddenly an aggregation of all our web-based activities are available via multiple sites on the web. Personally, I have information aggregated at MyBloglog, FriendFeed, Facebook, and many of my activities also show up on Twitter. So with this information everywhere where’s the value add?

At one point, aggregation services that found you news or information related to your friends provided a valuable service, incentivizing you to return to the site in order to get the latest information about what’s going on in your world. Unfortunately, much of that information in now aggregated all over the web and the aggregation service is no longer the core value.
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Last night I had an opportunity to take a look at Glue, self-described as “a contextual network that uses semantic technology to automatically connect people around everyday things – books, music, movies, stars, artists, stocks, wine, restaurants, and more.” When I looked at it, my initial thought was that this is a similar in some regards to LivingSocial.

After I looked at it more I realized that the application connects the activities of users around various objects on the web. What’s interesting is that if you view a movie on Netflix and your friend goes to view the same movie on IMDB, the engine can tell your friend about your related activity. This is pretty interesting and it appears to be more about the intelligence of the engine than a feature heavy product.

At first glance the application doesn’t wow users with limitless features. As you begin to dig and use the product, the benefits rapidly become apparent. While the company has not stated their intention to integrate into Facebook or other social networks, you can rapidly see the value of this tool integrated into your existing networks. Given the individuals behind this project, I’d imagine that they have this in mind for expansion purposes.

Ultimately the key is building a highly intelligent engine and then plugging it into a larger network of individuals. The AdaptiveBlue team focuses on building smart products and this is definitely one of them. I’ll be interested to see how this product evolves over the coming months. For now, this is another great product to add to the team’s portfolio.

The more exciting part will be watching what types of smart services and tools the company can roll out as the semantic engine behind their separate products becomes more intelligent. If you want to try out an intelligent way to connect with your friends based on the objects their interacting with, go download the Glue application for Firefox.