The Sweetcase

The semantic web speaks to how we are moving from a Web of documents – what Google does- to a Web of linked data. The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, states that the semantic Web will give information “…a well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation.” For Journalism, this implies lots of challenges for how information can be found and used.

The true believers say the semantic web could help journalists report complex ever-changing stories and reach new audiences. Reporters who exploit the semantic Web could soon use automated research tools that identify patterns, local connections, and even conflicts of interest without having to painfully acquire and load piles of data into spreadsheets.

But the critics of the semantic web are afraid about the consequences that web 3.0 could imply for journalism jobs: “could the technology become so smart it will replace some reporters?”

As Finlayson states, “if you search Google for a city's weather, it will give you the answer without sending you to a weather-related page on a news site”, so, if the semantic Web continues its development, could this happen with other stories? But Semantic Web advocates think the Internet will remain confusing for machines so reporters will continue being needed.

But, for the time being, the enhanced findability that the semantic Web provides, is the most practical and immediate reason for journalists to pay attention to the semantic Web movement, because it will allow us to easy access to thousands of sources of raw data that we will use to tell meaningful stories about our communities.

To sum up, I agree with the opinion of Andrew Finlayson: “Humans still will be needed to analyze and use the data to tell stories. In this way, the semantic Web might not be a technology that hastens the end of journalism but instead offers a new beginning”. 

Google Glass is the new project of Google that everyone talks about. This new wearable computer with a head-mounted display has the mission of producing a mass-market ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format,that can interact with the Internet via natural language voice commands.

  But the arrival of this new device will change the way in what we request and retrieve information. From now, to date requests for information we have appeal to a search engine, and retrieval has happened in the form of a web page. But from now, instead of searching, users are beginning to request information verbally and using natural language. And the retrieval has also changed. Upcoming Google Glasses, instead of returning a webpage they will simply provide you with the snippet of information you require.

But to make content accessible in this way the semantic web has to develop itself: every web design portfolio will need to be marked up in the same way so that the data can easily be extracted. A need that for some time has been like an utopia but what is becoming a reality. Is the example of Google Glass which has developed its semantically-driven Knowledge Graph database of hundreds of millions of entities and billions of facts, and their relationships to each other to work properly. But this, is just the beginning. 

  To know more about Semantic search 

Siri is the Apple’s voice assistant that lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. Siri is an example of the way to the next level of semantic web apps in which the semantic web becomes more than just a ‘web of data,’ but also a “web of services”.

  The development of this new technology means a new way of using the web. We are no longer merely searching or browsing, or retrieving information, we are solving human problems with this technology. And it is perhaps the biggest stake in the ground ever for the semantic Web.

Siri is a powerful realization of the semantic Web — Siri has to figure out what you mean, not just take your literal words and run them against an index of files. However, to make use of all the information and services on the web, leveraging its potential to its full extent, Siri and other digital agents would need information about the meaning of the content of web pages. So, the development of this technology also implies the development of the new semantic web.

As for Siri’s role in the emergence of the semantic Web, Gary Goldhammer writes:

"Siri is collecting a monster database of human behavior. Siri goes beyond “need” to “intent” – not what somebody wants, but why. The Semantic Web is not a separate Web but an extension of the current one, in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation.”

Virtual agents could be a companion over the daily lives of people because the next step is take the leap in the car and also television. Siri or perhaps other similar wizard may not be very far from appearing in your living room to lower the volume if you wish, or inform programming. In shot, what Siri points is the way to go to the new semantic web. The opportunities are endless and this is just de beginning. Siri and its future improvements could become a driving force behind businesses and individuals to together build the semantic web on large scale. 

  You can know a little bit more how it works here