Does Google finally get it!?
In an interview summary entitled: Google could be superseded, says web inventor Jonathan Richards of UK Newspaper The Times Online reports how one of the World Wide Web’s most important innovators and proponents, Sir Tim Berners-Lee described Google as a syntactical search powerhouse of the current web that “may eventually be displaced as the pre-eminent brand on the internet by a company that harnesses the power of next-generation web technology”.
As usual for a Berners-Lee interview, there were many quotable moments, and without further adue we’ll list the best ones here:
(Comment on Google’s Search dominance and current focus):
“The search giant has developed an extremely effective way of searching for pages on the internet, but that ability pales in comparison to what could be achieved on the “web of the future”, which would allow any piece of information — such as a photo or a bank statement — to be linked to any other (piece of information).”
(Comment on the Social Media and SNS craze, Google has jumped on the band-wagon with OpenSocial):
“At the moment, people are very excited about all these connections being made between people — for obvious reasons, because people are important — but I think after a while people will realise that there are many other things you can connect to via the web.”
(Purpose of the Semantic Web):
“It’s about creating a seamless web of all the data in your life.”
(Basic explanation of how the Semantic Web he envisions will look):
“In the semantic web, it’s like every piece of data is given a longitude and latitute on a map, and anyone can ‘mash’ them together and use them for different things”
(Example uses of the Semantic Web):
“Using the semantic web, you can build applications that are much more powerful than anything on the regular web… One expected application is in the pharmaceutical industry, where previously unconnected pieces of research into a drug or disease, say, could be brought together and assimilated.” Another example frequently given is of “typing a street address which, if it had “semantic data” built into it, would link directly to a map showing its location, dispensing with the need to go to a site like Google `maps, type in the address, get the link and paste it into a document or e-mail”.
“Imagine if two completely separate things — your bank statements and your calendar — spoke the same language and could share information with one another. You could drag one on top of the other and a whole bunch of dots would appear showing you when you spent your money. If you still weren’t sure of where you were when you made a particular transaction, you could then drag your photo album on top of the calendar, and be reminded that you used your credit card at the same time you were taking pictures of your kids at a theme park. So you wouldd know not to claim it as a tax deduction.”
(In response to the Security threats that may be posed by all the inter-connected data within the Semantic Web):
“One option is to build systems which more effectively track what information you’ve used to perform a particular task, and make sure people aren’t using their authority to do things that they shouldn’t be doing.”
BC$ = Behavior, Content, Money
The goal of the BC$ project is to raise awareness and make changes with respect to the three pillars of information freedom - Behavior (pursuit of interests and passions), Content (sharing/exchanging ideas in various formats), Money (fairness and accessibility) - bringing to light the fact that:
1. We regularly hand over our browser histories, search histories and daily online activities to companies that want our money, or, to benefit from our use of their services with lucrative ad deals or sales of personal information.
2. We create and/or consume interesting content on their services, but we aren't adequately rewarded for our creative efforts or loyalty.
3. We pay money to be connected online (and possibly also over mobile), yet we lose both time and money by allowing companies to market to us with unsolicited advertisements, irrelevant product offers and unfairly structured service pricing plans.