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I feel the need to share this with you all, because I feel like this is an important topic. I’ve been reading a lot recently about the Semantic Web. I don’t know much about it at all, but I get this funny feeling it’s going to be big…like the kind of big that almost makes me want to go out on a limb and say it will be the “New Internet.” Many times in my life, I’ve heard about or thought of something without acting on it, and I end up regretting it because whatever I heard or thought about becomes relatively successful, leaving me feeling like I missed out again. But I think this time, I’m going to keep an eye on the Semantic Web and see if I can’t use it to my advantage.

What I know so far…

The Semantic Web can be thought of as the “Intelligent Web.” Many people are calling it “Web 3.0,” or at least saying that the Semantic Web will be part of Web 3.0. It is based on the Resource Description Framework (RDF), which builds on Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI) and Extensible Markup Language (XML). Now, if you’re like me, you have no idea what I just said…and honestly, I’m not totally sure about what I just wrote. My understanding, as simply as I can say it, is that today’s internet uses mainly URI and XML, so the Semantic Web will build on that using RDF.

Today’s web is driven by content, which is brought to you through applications. On websites, you only see information that the owner of the website wants you to see, in the way that they want you to see it. This is because you are limited by applications.

 

Basic Example

Say, for example, you are searching for an apartment. You go to one website to search for an apartment in a certain area, and the result of the search gives you a list of, let’s say, 15 apartments for rent in that area. Each apartment that you click on gives you a limited amount of information that you have to dig through one-at-a-time. Then, you want to see a map of where the apartments are located, so you have to open a separate instance of Google Maps, or whatever, and find each address individually for all 15 apartments. Pretty inefficient.

BUT, the database of the apartment website has all of the addresses of every apartment listed under one category. Of course, you can’t see that because you’re limited by the application and what it wants you to see. A basic description of what the Semantic Web will do, to my understanding, is on the apartment website, the RDF can go in and get all of the addresses from the search results list, and plot them together on a single Google Map in a matter of seconds. Much more efficient.

 

The web of data

The point is, the Semantic Web is a web of DATA, not a web of content and applications. It’s kind of like a synergy of the entire internet as we know it. The great part is that the Semantic Web is still in its infancy. I truly believe it’s going to be something big. Maybe even something totally different that we can’t even imagine today. Who knows, it could be the end of websites all together, resulting in a single gigantic database.

Whatever the case, I’m going to try and keep an eye on its development. I’ll update you with any information that I find about it. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out a way that people might be able to make a little profit off of it.

Other Resources

Here are some other websites you can look at to find out more about the Semantic Web:

 

www.w3.org — Semantic Web Creators’ website

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_web – Wikipedia (obviously)

Semantic Web Introduction – GREAT info, easy to understand

Logicerror.com – More great info, also easy to read

Semanticfocus.com – Blog about Semantic Web, go there and subscribe!

 

If you have any information about the Semantic Web, please contact me, either by clicking “Contact” at the top of the page, or by leaving a comment below. I’m really trying to learn as much as I can and I don’t know much, so please don’t hesitate to share your wisdom!

 

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