ReadWriteWeb has posted an article on the 10 best Semantic Web products of 2008. The top two spots are taken by Yahoo and Microsoft. Yahoo! SearchMonkey is a search platform aiming at making the search better by leveraging web annotations. Microsoft acquired Powerset, a natural language processing search engine. Who has not made the list and maybe they should have: Twine by Radar Networks, which provides a new way of tracking, finding, and sharing content, all in one place.
Showing posts with label Semantic Web. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Semantic Web. Show all posts
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Semantic Web - Technology Maturity
I recently read an article about the golden age of software architecture written by Mary Shaw and Paul Clements. They have a section on how technologies mature, therefore I thought about where the Semantic Web is on that six-phase scale. I believe that the Semantic Web lies at the end of stage four, moving towards stage five. Here is why:
- Basic Research: Basic ideas and concepts have been investigated. The structure of the Semantic Web has been defined, and the different layers have been identified and described into details.
- Concept formulation: There is a wide research community available, which has refined the concepts available in the Semantic Web, converging on a set of ideas and continuously refining the structure of it.
- Development and Extension: Preliminary applications of the Semantic Web have been spotted since a couple of years. One of the first such applications has been Dublin Core, a vocabulary for distributed Digital Libraries.
- Internal enhancement and exploration: Semantic Web has been extended to other domains, such as biology, and has been used for real problems such as a better way to integrate and combine data. In addition, specific companies offer training. The problem is that the tools are not yet quite there in terms of usability, in terms of making it easy for the user.
- External enhancement and exploration: The problem here is that a broader community of people who are not developers is not involved. There are not a lot of companies that use Semantic Web technologies. There is yet to be shown a substantial evidence of value and applicability. In my opinion, better known companies need to use Semantic Web. If you look at Ajax, the technologies behind it were known for a long time; but before Google Maps used it, it was not adopted in a broad manner.
- Popularization: There are commercial products that use Semantic Web; hence, the technology has been marketed.
In conclusion, even though part of phase five and six are available, there are incomplete. Without broader support, without better tools, without making it easier for the user to understand and use the technology, it will never become popular. Furthermore, even if we were to teach Semantic Web in Universities, it would make little difference because the industry needs also to adopt it more openly and frequently.
I would love to hear from somebody who has more experience with the Semantic Web and maybe a different view on where it lies in the six-phase system.
- Basic Research: Basic ideas and concepts have been investigated. The structure of the Semantic Web has been defined, and the different layers have been identified and described into details.
- Concept formulation: There is a wide research community available, which has refined the concepts available in the Semantic Web, converging on a set of ideas and continuously refining the structure of it.
- Development and Extension: Preliminary applications of the Semantic Web have been spotted since a couple of years. One of the first such applications has been Dublin Core, a vocabulary for distributed Digital Libraries.
- Internal enhancement and exploration: Semantic Web has been extended to other domains, such as biology, and has been used for real problems such as a better way to integrate and combine data. In addition, specific companies offer training. The problem is that the tools are not yet quite there in terms of usability, in terms of making it easy for the user.
- External enhancement and exploration: The problem here is that a broader community of people who are not developers is not involved. There are not a lot of companies that use Semantic Web technologies. There is yet to be shown a substantial evidence of value and applicability. In my opinion, better known companies need to use Semantic Web. If you look at Ajax, the technologies behind it were known for a long time; but before Google Maps used it, it was not adopted in a broad manner.
- Popularization: There are commercial products that use Semantic Web; hence, the technology has been marketed.
In conclusion, even though part of phase five and six are available, there are incomplete. Without broader support, without better tools, without making it easier for the user to understand and use the technology, it will never become popular. Furthermore, even if we were to teach Semantic Web in Universities, it would make little difference because the industry needs also to adopt it more openly and frequently.
I would love to hear from somebody who has more experience with the Semantic Web and maybe a different view on where it lies in the six-phase system.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
(Software) Agents and the Semantic Web
I thought about why the concept of Agent has not taken off, why people/companies do not use them as widely as they use other technologies. Two reasons came in mind.
First, there is the security issue. How does one know that the software agent has not been tampered with, or that the information it caries is secure enough, or that other agents it meets are "good" agents, not "bad" ones. Since the concept of agent has to include the property of being autonomous, how can we restrict the agent in its actions and decisions without greatly reducing his autonomy?
Second, the job of an (software) agent is to talk to other systems, interpret and gather data, make decisions on that data, and present it back to the user in a readable and useful way.
While the first reason might have been already overcome, the second has not. In my opinion, to overcome this, one has to use the Semantic Web. If you add meaning to data, agents can interpret it and make proper decisions, without having to ask the user for guidance at every step (thus loosing its effectiveness, and some of the main properties it's supposed to posses, like being autonomous) . I am sure this is not an novel idea, and that people have already thought about it, but for me it makes sense. I envision an "Agent Store", or "Agent Market", where people would go and "rent" or "buy" agents to fulfill their immediate or long time needs, such as paying all utilities (power, phone, internet, cable, credit cards, etc), or scheduling a doctor appointment, etc.
Wouldn't this be nice?
First, there is the security issue. How does one know that the software agent has not been tampered with, or that the information it caries is secure enough, or that other agents it meets are "good" agents, not "bad" ones. Since the concept of agent has to include the property of being autonomous, how can we restrict the agent in its actions and decisions without greatly reducing his autonomy?
Second, the job of an (software) agent is to talk to other systems, interpret and gather data, make decisions on that data, and present it back to the user in a readable and useful way.
While the first reason might have been already overcome, the second has not. In my opinion, to overcome this, one has to use the Semantic Web. If you add meaning to data, agents can interpret it and make proper decisions, without having to ask the user for guidance at every step (thus loosing its effectiveness, and some of the main properties it's supposed to posses, like being autonomous) . I am sure this is not an novel idea, and that people have already thought about it, but for me it makes sense. I envision an "Agent Store", or "Agent Market", where people would go and "rent" or "buy" agents to fulfill their immediate or long time needs, such as paying all utilities (power, phone, internet, cable, credit cards, etc), or scheduling a doctor appointment, etc.
Wouldn't this be nice?
Friday, March 28, 2008
Motorola insider writes about current crisis
On engadget you can find the publication of a letter written by Numair Faraz, the personal adviser of Motorola's former CMO Geoffrey Frost, to the executive group at Motorola. Some of the claims made their are troubling and point to how Ed Zander, the former CEO, made some unfortunate decisions that diminished the role Motorola played in the mobile phone market.
Some parts that I find disturbing:
"Motorola's current CEO, Greg Brown, is so technologically out of touch he refuses to use a computer for communications, and has all his email correspondences printed by his secretary and replied to by dictation." (not part of the letter)
"But apparently different from the rest of the incompetent senior executives at Motorola -- except instead of merely being inept, you're actually actively killing the company" and "You clearly have no interest in fighting the good fight and attempting to mold Motorola into the market leader it can and should be." (Talking about Greg Brown, current Motorola CEO)
Some of the solutions mentioned:
"... make me a phone that looks, feels, and works like a symbol of wealth and privilege."
"Fully embrace embedded Linux and Google's Android initiative, and take the phone operating system out of the stone age."
"Understand that the next big feature in handsets isn't a camera or a music player -- it is social connectedness; build expertise in this area, and sell it down the entire value chain." (totally agree with this, although I would look even beyond this, to the next stage of evolution, like the Semantic Web).
I wonder how open minded the current executive team is as to incorporate advises and to take critics in a constructive way. Either way, the letter is refreshing and the solutions proposed there need to be incorporated into future directions that the company has to take.
Some parts that I find disturbing:
"Motorola's current CEO, Greg Brown, is so technologically out of touch he refuses to use a computer for communications, and has all his email correspondences printed by his secretary and replied to by dictation." (not part of the letter)
"But apparently different from the rest of the incompetent senior executives at Motorola -- except instead of merely being inept, you're actually actively killing the company" and "You clearly have no interest in fighting the good fight and attempting to mold Motorola into the market leader it can and should be." (Talking about Greg Brown, current Motorola CEO)
Some of the solutions mentioned:
"... make me a phone that looks, feels, and works like a symbol of wealth and privilege."
"Fully embrace embedded Linux and Google's Android initiative, and take the phone operating system out of the stone age."
"Understand that the next big feature in handsets isn't a camera or a music player -- it is social connectedness; build expertise in this area, and sell it down the entire value chain." (totally agree with this, although I would look even beyond this, to the next stage of evolution, like the Semantic Web).
I wonder how open minded the current executive team is as to incorporate advises and to take critics in a constructive way. Either way, the letter is refreshing and the solutions proposed there need to be incorporated into future directions that the company has to take.
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