Category: Linked Data

Is Linked Data DIY a Good Idea?

Posted on by Richard Wallis

Most Semantic Web and Linked Data enthusiasts will tell you that Linked Data is not rocket science, and it is not.  They will tell you that RDF is one of the simplest data forms for describing things, and they are right.  They will tell you that adopting Linked Data makes merging disparate datasets much easier to do, and it does. They will say that publishing persistent globally addressable URIs (identifiers) for your things and concepts will make it easier for others to reference and share them, it will.  They will tell you that it will enable you to add value …

A Data 7th Wave Approaching

Posted on by Richard Wallis

I believe Data, or more precisely changes in how we create, consume, and interact with data, has the potential to deliver a seventh wave impact. With the advent of many data associated advances, variously labelled Big Data, Social Networking, Open Data, Cloud Services, Linked Data, Microformats, Microdata, Semantic Web, Enterprise Data, it is now venturing beyond those closed systems into the wider world. It is precisely because these trends have been around for a while, and are starting to mature and influence each other, that they are building to form something really significant.

Step Back from the XML – RDF Modelling

Posted on by Richard Wallis

I have watched many flounder when they first try to get their head around describing the things they already know in this new Linked Data format, RDF. Just like moving house, we initially grasp for the familiar and that might not always be helpful. This is is where stepping back from the XML is a good idea. XML is only one encoding/transmission format for RDF

WikiData – Announcing Wikipedia’s Next Big Thing

Posted on by Richard Wallis

One of the more eagerly awaited presentations at the Semantic Tech & Business Conference in Berlin today was a late addition to the program from Denny Vrandecic.  With the prominence of Dbpedia in the Linked Open Data Cloud, anything new from Wikipedia with data in it was bound to attract attention, and we were not disappointed. Denny started by telling us that from March he would be moving to Berlin to work for the Wikimedia Foundation on WikiData. He then went on to explain that the rich Wikipedia resource may have much of the world’s information but does not have …

A Kasabi Day at Semtech Berlin

Posted on by Richard Wallis

I spent yesterday at the first day of excellent Semantic Tech and Business Conference 2012 in Berlin.  It was a good day covering a wide range of topics, a great range of speakers and talks, and most encouragingly some really good conversations in the breaks.  I had the pleasure of presenting the opening session The Simple Power of the Link which seemed to provide a good grounding introduction to what to some is a fairly complex topic.  My slides are available on Slideshare, and I provided a background article on semanticweb.com, if you want to check them out. In my …

A Video Conversation

Posted on by Richard Wallis

Today I share a conversation with my good friend and former colleague Paul Miller of Cloud of Data. Paul is a prolific podcaster, but had yet to venture in to the world of the video conversation.  This conversation was therefore a bit of an experiment.  Take a look below and see what you think.   For those that prefer audio only, Paul has helpfully included an mp3 for you to listen to. At the end of this post you will also find a link to a short survey which has posted to ascertain how successful this format. In the conversation itself …

BBC Sport Site Built on a Solid Linked Data Foundation

Posted on by Richard Wallis

The BBC team have been evolving their approach to delivering agile, effective, websites in an efficient way by building on Linked Data foundations, sector by sector – wildlife, news, music, World Cup 2010, and now in readiness for London 2012 – the whole sport experience. Since the launch a few days ago, the main comment seems to be that it is ‘very yellow’, which it is. Not much reference to the innovative approach under the hood – as it should be. If you can see the technology, you have got it wrong.

More Linked Open Data under a More Open License from German National Library

Posted on by Richard Wallis

The German National Library (DNB) has launched a Linked Data version of the German National Bibliography. The bibliographic data of the DNB’s main collection (apart from the printed music and the collection of the Deutsches Exilarchiv) and the serials (magazines, newspapers and series of the German Union Catalogue of serials (ZDB)) have been converted.  Henceforth the RDF/XML-representation of the records are available at the DNB portal. This is an experimental service that will be continually expanded and improved. This is a welcome extension to their Linked Data Service, previously delivering authority data.  Documentation on their data and modelling is available, …

Ookaboo Release 1,000,000 Free Images For 500,000 Topics + RDF Too

Posted on by Richard Wallis

Ookaboo “free pictures of everything on earth” have released nearly a million public domain and Creative Commons licensed stock images mapped with precision to concepts, instead of just words.

But there is more… They have released an RDF dump of the metadata behind the images, concept mappings and links to concepts in Freebase and Dbpedia