Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN, defining technologies like URLs, HTTP, and HTML. The Semantic Web refers to the W3C's vision of a Web of linked data that enables computers to do more useful work. Current Semantic Web technologies are most useful for structured vertical applications rather than global networks, but allow libraries to link data from various content sources. Examples of Semantic Web applications include DBPedia, university knowledge bases, and networking platforms.

1. The Semantic WebWhat you need to know and why it is important for your user community. November 5th, 2009 Stephen A. Leicht, COO Collexis Holdings Inc.

2. Who is this guy?

3. Hint… One of these guys started the internet…

4. Tim Berners Lee (part of bio…) Timinvented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. He wrote the first WWW client (a browser-editor running under NeXTStep) and the first WWW server along with most of the communications software, defining URLs, HTTP and HTML.

5. What is the Semantic Web… Definition from W3C In addition to the classic “Web of documents” W3C is helping to build a technology stack to support a “Web of data,” the sort of data you find in databases. The ultimate goal of the Web of data is to enable computers to do more useful work and to develop systems that can support trusted interactions over the network. The term “Semantic Web” refers to W3C’s vision of the Web of linked data. Semantic Web technologies enable people to create data stores on the Web, build vocabularies, and write rules for handling data.

6. What do you need to know? It is not mature technology for global networks (yet) The current uses have more implications for Librarians than they do for web users or researchers The power of semantic web technologies is already available today, but it is most prevalent in vertical applications with semi-structured content.

7. Why is it important to you and your users? Building vocabularies….to link data…based on content….is ‘doable’ with many of the vertical content sources that libraries access every day or with limited integration projects. Examples DBPedia QDOS University of Michigan

8. Examples – Consumer…

9. Example - Networking

11. Questions? Stephen A. Leicht Chief Operating Office, Collexis Holdings Inc. (O) 803.727.1113 (C) 919.539.8067 leicht@collexis.com