[previous post] I came across an interesting debate on Semantic Web, sparked by Clay Shirky's article,
The Semantic Web, Syllogism, and Worldview, which generated many responses (
Bb,
Ayers,
Bray,
Ford). I like the last one from Paul Ford, not only because he writes well, but also because he has done some very interesting things with Semantic Web ideas.
Paul has several interesting articles that are worth reading on his web site, especially the
'Google takes it all' article. He designed and built
Harper's Magazine website using the Semantic Web technologies with
"3,000 facts, 6,000 events, 12,000 links, 500 topics, and over 939 separate HTML pages. 300,000 words." That's the first of a kind I have seen so far, and if nothing else, it gives us a glimpse of what is possible.
Shirky makes some important points, but misses many. I don't think the majority of the Semantic Web community believes in a single world view (global ontology) as suggested by him, and it is not necessarily a requirement for the success of Semantic Web. As I opined
earlier, many interesting applications will evolve in specific contexts (mini / micro worldviews) rather than in the global context (one worldview).
(more on the subject)
