Many smart people have asked this question:
"What is the killer app for the semantic web?". Well I do not have the answer to that question. But I can tell you some of the attributes that characterize a killer semantic web application.
I came up with a scoring system you can use for evaluating semantic web technologies. The maximum score is 10.
Immediate Value to User
1 point: The tool adds immediate value to the human user.
1 point: That immediate value to the user is novel functionality that is not available for free elsewhere.
1 point: The tool is free.
Generation of Semantic (RDF) Data
1 point: Use existing human workflows to generate new semantic data.
1 point: Automated computer process generates new semantic data, without direct human involvement.
1 point: Generated semantic data links extensively to pre-existing semantic data, hosted remotely.
Consumption of Semantic (RDF) Data
1 point: Humans may annotate the semantic data through a simple procedure, increasing the value thereof.
1 point: Such human annotation occurs automatically, using existing human workflows.
1 point: An automated computer process can consume the generated semantic data in some useful way. That is, humans are not the sole consumers of the generated semantic data.
1 point: Such automated processing increases the value of the body of semantic data, thereby facilitating cumulative accrual of value by the computer.
Not sure how accurate the above model is for capturing the key features of a semantic web application. For example, maybe it puts too much emphasis on machine processing of data. But that's what the semantic web is all about, right? Most agree that it's not just another paradigm for presentation.
So assuming that above scoring system is good enough, let's try to answer: "What is the killer app for the semantic web?"
Well it will be a tool for generating semantic data, of immediate value, using simple, human + automated methods. Such semantic data is processable by automated agents, in such a way that its value grows with time.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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