… a quick introduction to:

What is the Semantic Web?

The Semantic Web means different things to different people. (ironic, eh?)

Semantic Web for Dummies defines it in the following ways:

a) Family of Web standards aimed at making data on the Web easier to use and re-purpose.

b) An upgrade to the current Web that marks a new era of intelligence in the applications you use in a Web browser.

c) Collection of metadata technologies to improve the responsiveness and adaptability of business software applications.

d) Social movement favoring free open-source data that can be linked together, re-purposed or re-mixed

e) Web generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that builds upon Frame Systems, Semantic Networks and Description Logics

f) Controversial vision derided by some people as hyperbole, failed AI technology, and unachievable wishful thinking.

…what it isn’t

A better search engine….a “Google killer”….or, the Wolfram Alpha

An “Ivory Tower” ….dressed up Artificial Intelligence for expert systems

HTML tagging language ….competition for Microformats ….Dewey Decimal for the Web

A multi-billion dollar software industry (I wish!)

Semantic Web in your life…

Idealistic (and controversial):• Making our country safer

• Making our country more prepared for disasters

• Improving the speed we find new medications

• Unifying disconnected software standards

• Making business software more change-resilient and

less expensive

• Building the giant database in the sky from open-

source data

• Giving humanity the gift of open knowledge

More Down to Earth:• Making your life simpler

• Fewer mouse clicks to find data; stay organized

better on the Web and in your Browser; collect

and share your interests easier; organize your

travel plans; pinpoint your news content

• Save you time and money

• Finding online resources easier; preserve

knowledge better; integrate information;

linking Web services; build mash-ups faster;

more targeted advertizing

Semantic Web at work for business…

DCF Risk Trap!

(aka: Semantic Web isn’t as risky as you think it is!)

• Empower new business capabilities with stronger and more

consistent metadata linking, automatic inference for dynamic data

structures, and a more declarative foundation model for shared

business information

• Throttle back IT expenditures within medium and large businesses

with reduced head-count requirements for the management of

enterprise information assets, decrease the long-term costs of

integration, and simplify decentralized data architectures

• Transform enterprise software foundations as major software

vendors and standards communities adopt Semantic Web

specifications within the context of mainstream tools, applications

and infrastructure.

Building the Semantic Web

Example: TopBraid Composer

Other Semantic Web enablers…

often mistaken as Semantic Web:

• Natural Language Processing (NLP) – entity extraction

• Rule Interchange Format (RIF) – business rules

• Theorem Provers, Fuzzy Logics, Production Systems etc.

often overlooked in real Semantic Web solutions:

• Relational DBs, Java, XML, and mainstream data tools like ETL, Data Profiling and

Data Quality

Linked Data Web

Rise of the Information Worker

Who are they?

• Business Analyst

• Corporate Librarian

• Taxonomist

• Ontologist

• Information Architect

• Data Steward

• Database Architect

What do they do?

• Search Optimization

• Business Intelligence

• Data Accuracy and Data Quality

• Content Tagging

• Data Modeling

Enterprise Semantic Web

• Databases

• Warehouse

• SOA / Integration

• Business Intelligence

• Content Management

• Enterprise Search

• Applications

Early Examples & Implementations

Consumer Web Sites:

• Twine

• Harpers Magazine

• Dbpedia and Dbpedia

Mobile

• Yahoo!

Business Software:

• Thomson-Reuters Calais

• Oracle Database

• IBM Registry

• Garlik Online Identity

Protection• Yahoo!

• hakia

• Freebase (by Metaweb)

• TripIt

• ZoomInfo

• BBC Online

Protection

• Dow Jones Client Solutions

• Microsoft (various)

• Metatomix Semantic

Integration

• TopQuadrant TopBraid

Composer

Ten Myths…

1) Semantic Web is science fiction

2) Semantic Web is for tagging web sites

3) Semantic Web will put Google out of business

4) Semantic Web is too complex to succeed

5) Semantic Web is a catalog system5) Semantic Web is a catalog system

6) Semantic Web is an ivory tower design

7) Semantic Web is Description Logic (only)

8) Semantic Web is (just) Artificial Intelligence

9) Semantic Web is a $20B industry

10) Semantic Web hasn’t changed the world

Ten Next Steps…

1) Try Twine

2) Explore Yahoo! Search Monkey

3) Check out Calais

4) Learn RDF and/or take Training• Semantic Arts, TopQuadrant, Zepheria• Semantic Arts, TopQuadrant, Zepheria

5) Read the W3C Specifications

6) Contact your trusted vendors

7) Write down and assess your own ideas

8) Ask Zepheria

9) Prototype using open-source software

10) Sell your boss on the idea!

Questions?