Weighing pros and cons of the new intelligent web
The spirit of openness, which the semantic web builds, is probably anathema to several major technology organisations, who till this point have zealously guarded their respective platforms and software and may be unwilling to break down those barriers for the benefit of consumers.
On a positive side, it’s likely that most leading search engines will treat the semantic web as a tool that adds value to what they’re already doing. If another search platform/product can come up with a service, which is more useful as well as more compelling than the one provided by the search engine giant Google, users will surely follow; so will advertisers and, along with them, the licence to make money.
However, technology commentator Paul Miller mentions, “Moving towards a semantic web does not necessarily mean ripping up the Internet and starting again. In spite of the hype, not everything about it has to be paradigm shifting & revolutionary. Many of the benefits will merely come as existing systems tend to become more open & as existing data moves a bit more freely, purposefully.”
Nova Spivack is an Internet visionary who has invested time, money and energy into turning the semantic web into a reality. His web site twine.com, a virtual network that is currently in beta testing, is designed to enable users to discover, organise & share information, as well as form new connections.
Spivack believes that services like Twine will hold the key to enabling users to make sense of the new intelligent web, by providing the tools which could well turn semantic web content into a useful, personalised information repository.
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