Social Graph & Beyond: Tim Berners-Lee’s Graph is The Next Level
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, today published a blog post about what he terms the Graph, which is similar (if not identical) to his Semantic Web vision. Referencing both Brad Fitzpatrick’s influential post earlier this year on Social Graph, and our own Alex Iskold’s analysis of Social Graph concepts, Berners-Lee went on to position the Graph as the third main "level" of computer networks. First there was the Internet, then the Web, and now the Graph - which Sir Tim labeled (somewhat tongue in cheek) the Giant Global Graph!
Note that Berners-Lee wasn’t specifically talking about the Social Graph, which is the term Facebook has been heavily promoting, but something more general. In a nutshell, this is how Berners-Lee envisions the 3 levels (a.k.a. layers of abstraction):
1. The Internet: links computers
2. Web: links documents
3. Graph: links relationships between people and/or documents — "the things documents are about" as Berners-Lee put it.
The Graph is all about connections and re-use of data. Berners-Lee wrote that Semantic Web technologies will enable this:
"So, if only we could express these relationships, such as my social graph, in a way that is above the level of documents, then we would get re-use. That’s just what the graph does for us. We have the technology — it is Semantic Web technology, starting with RDF OWL and SPARQL. Not magic bullets, but the tools which allow us to break free of the document layer."
Sir Tim also notes that as we go up each level, we lose more control but gain more benefits: "…at each layer — Net, Web, or Graph — we have ceded some control for greater benefits." The benefits are what happens when documents and data are connected - for example being able to re-use our personal and friends data across multiple social networks, which is what Google’s OpenSocial aims to achieve.
What’s more, says Berners-Lee, the Graph has major implications for the Mobile Web. He said that longer term "thinking in terms of the graph rather than the web is critical to us making best use of the mobile web, the zoo of wildy differing devices which will give us access to the system." The following scenario sums it up very nicely:
"Then, when I book a flight it is the flight that interests me. Not the flight page on the travel site, or the flight page on the airline site, but the URI (issued by the airlines) of the flight itself. That’s what I will bookmark. And whichever device I use to look up the bookmark, phone or office wall, it will access a situation-appropriate view of an integration of everything I know about that flight from different sources. The task of booking and taking the flight will involve many interactions. And all throughout them, that task and the flight will be primary things in my awareness, the websites involved will be secondary things, and the network and the devices tertiary."
Conclusion
I’m very pleased Tim Berners-Lee has appropriated the concept of the Social Graph and married it to his own vision of the Semantic Web. What Berners-Lee wrote today goes way beyond Facebook, OpenSocial, or social networking in general. It is about how we interact with data on the Web (whether it be mobile or PC or a device like the Amazon Kindle) and the connections that we can take advantage of using the network. This is also why Semantic Apps are so interesting right now, as they take data connection to the next level on the Web.
Overall, unlike Nick Carr , I’m not concerned whether mainstream people accept the term ‘Graph’ or ‘Social Graph’. It really doesn’t matter, so long as the web apps that people use enable them to participate in this ‘next level’ of the Web. That’s what Google, Facebook, and a lot of other companies are trying to achieve.
Incidentally, it’s great to see Tim Berners-Lee ‘re-using’ concepts like the Social Graph, or simply taking inspiration from them. He never really took to the Web 2.0 concept, perhaps because it became too hyped and commercialized, but the fact is that the Consumer Web has given us many innovations over the past few years. Everything from Google to YouTube to MySpace to Facebook. So even though Sir Tim has always been about graphs (as he noted in his post, the Graph is essentially the same as the Semantic Web), it’s fantastic he is reaching out to the ‘web 2.0′ community and citing people like Brad Fitzpatrick and Alex Iskold.
[Article of the month] Revolution of Search Technology, Search 2.0 by Saltlux Inc. October Issue of Monthly Magazine {Management and Computer}
Starting from the year 2000 after the internet the dissemination of internet, the user oriented service paradigm was to change based on the sense of web 2.0 value rooted in the participation, share and opening. And this means that the web 2.0 and the new IT paradigm readily and greatly influence to industry structures and business models in general. The web environment is quickly develops simultaneously together with the market paradigm change, and the web as platform, Web 2.0 is in the center where the user directly participates to the service and create new business model.
Web 2.0 enabled formation of prosumers group together with the appearance of living cultures that seek after the open information share system, interest and fun based on the creation of active involvement value at the user’s point of view. The industrial system at the supplier’s point of view has changed to multi-item, trifle quantity based on the Long-tail Principle escaped from the Pareto Principle.
The platform that means the technology based on the “Production and Share” enables the user’s registration of self produced contents into web an share them with everyone. Rights to produce and share have been expanded to the public
At the user interface point of view, the functions like RIA(Rich Internet Application), AJAX and Widget that provide more familiar and rich UI and experiences have been brought into relief. And the methodology point of view, it has brought user participation and created new value like UGC (UCC) and business model. The web has also developed into platform, and the new conceptual environment like OpenAPI, Mash- up, SOA (Service Oriented Architecture), and SaaS (Software as a Service) that consist the service ecosystem have been secured as new position.
Search engine market has also been developed speedily together with the changes in the Web 2.0 and enterprise market to meet with the user’s desire to change. Currently search services are known to be developed to 3rd generation. Simple links to the contents like Yahoo and AltaVista and the early stage internet that supplies keyword based search are called the first generation search. In this stage the information search is through keyword based method, however, the accuracy and the reliability of the search results were very low. For the complement of these weaknesses the page rank algorithm of link analysis that shows high number of page linkage, reliability and accuracy.
Search 2.0 vs. Web 2.0
Google has started services based on the page link algorithm.
We call this the second stage search. However, regardless of the reappearance of new generation search service a new era when the reproducibility and accuracy were focused, users should add an effort to research the information from the garbage data. To resolve this issue the search companies should have attempted a new information search services. In the course of this attempt a new trend like above mentioned web 2.0 has been appeared and various types of search including the strengthened UI, classification and clustering of documents, intellectually and individually specialized search have been developed. This is called ‘revolution of search’, 3rd generation search or search 2.0 era.
Participating and sharing, distribution based web2.0, text mining and semantic technology have been fused into Search 2.0 which deals with enterprise market that rises to the surface as a substitute to quickly changing business environment, and supports environment of SOA(Service Oriented Architecture) and extended to SaaS(Software as a Service) business model, the new distribution method of software.
While RIA, AJAX technologies of Web 2.0 promote the user experiences the old search technology showed lack of substitution to this web 2.0 trends and show various issues described below.
- Inferior accessibility because of the process of too many search results - Unspecified search to contents verification such as UCC and blog.- Inability of needed information from the contents.- Unable to reflect the user experiences to search.- Unspecified search for individuals.- Linkage inability to mash-up through Open API between open search and other searches.- Inability of support the platform conversion of search for web as a platform.
Because of the above mentioned current issues the importance of the key Search 2.0 functions have been increased as new issues in the web 2.0 environment of participation, sharing and opening.
Rising of Search 2.0
Environmental changes of web 2.0 and enterprise market together with the changes in the market paradigm have created new customer conceptual needs. And this shows the technological limitation of current search system that could not follow the new trends. Especially, the appearance of Search 2.0 upto the front line develops rapidly because the ‘Search’, one of the cores among 6 elements (SLATES) for the enterprise knowledge management paradigm mentioned by Prof. McAfee performs a very important role in the basic concept of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0
In addition, new developers who put up Search 2.0 to the front line try to challenge to the difficult subjects of unnecessary information overflow of most of the search engines that scatters information ‘too much’ which is different from what the needed search results of user. These developers try to restore the order to simple and indiscreet search method taking information wherever there are any of the keywords. The concept is to easily find the needed information without searching every individual result after automatic analysis in a short time and display by categories.
In case of semantic based search, Hakia and Powerset understand the queries searcher input and carry out semantic based search. Practically it provides better search results than Google for the relatively complex queries. It is especially excellent in the intensive subjects like pharmaceutical, legal, financial, scientific, literary fields of study. Rollyo, Swicki, Del.cio.us of user participating types provide services to users for their share and use of search role and bookmark. Vivismo and Ask that are characterized by clustering provide a search function that classifies the search results into new categories based on language and statistical analysis.
Together with these Yahoo Mindset and Collarity accomplish the advanced role of Search 2.0 through intent driven methods and individual search. As seen in the above case, Search 2.0 provides function like user participation, understanding the users’ search intent, automatic clustering of search results, automatic classification and individualization through the compounded technologies of strengthened functions in the current information search with the text mining and semantic technology. The new trend of search technology enables to countermeasure to quickly changing Web 2.0 paradigm and IT environment, and also enables to adapt to Enterprise 2.0 environment of enterprise environmental change.
Service Standard of Search 2.0
The most important service standard of Search 2.0 should be to level up the ability of discovery of related contents for users. This should be focused how to implement the search function in relation to the principles of the search functions. In other words, this means that the Search 2.0 provides real search findability easily in accordance with the hidden user’s intention apart from search focus of the general information exposure.
Secondly, Search 2.0 should be able to search the data from the web in general and the huge serve net. Unlimited category of search is as important as the search results.
Thirdly, search in various form of input including keyword, phrase, query language and parameter. It has to secure the accessibility by users in any ways.
Fourthly, search target contents should be processed and used to meet the user needs
The fifth, search results should immediately be provided at the user’s demand. All the search target contents should be to user oriented.
The sixth, it should provide advanced ranking according to the user participation and advanced UI according to the search results.
User participation and user experience oriented structure is also an important service standard in Search 2.0. As mentioned above Web 2.0 has changed the web paradigm through participation sharing and opening. So that the search in Web 2.0 made Search 2.0 to be changed the paradigm from 3S (Store, Search, Sort) to 4S+1D (3S+Share+Discoverry).
That is to say, a new environment as a service is in construction by appearance of search function to the front. Accordingly, various Web 2.0 elements such as user participation ranking, individualization, construction of platform, OpenAPI/Mash-up and so on are expressed within the Search 2.0. It is forecasted that Search 2.0 together with the Web 2.0 paradigm will be developed further through verification, improvement of search algorithm, and application of innovative search UI via preprocess to query and information source process.
Appearance of Enterprise 2.0
The collective intelligent of sharing and participation oriented customers and market is requested to change into the open and innovative soft organization from closed organization. Professor McAfee of Harvard proclaimed a new concept of Enterprise 2.0. Enterprise 2.0 could be defined as a new social software platform that is used in and between enterprises. It creates new value beyond the new opportunity through the organically integration of culture, process, and technology in and out of the enterprises. Hence, Enterprise 2.0 needed 6 structural elements of SLATES for the new enterprise management paradigm through utilizing the core tool of Enterprise such as social media, WiKi and RSS together with SOA, SaaS and Ajax. The said 6 elements are Search, Links, Authoring, Tags, Extension, and Signals.
As described above, the enterprise software environment where the top-down type of service system realization and participation of obligation were forced to do is being changed to the environment that creates new value through unforced participation and sharing. The typical example of environmental change is the Enterprise 2.0 described above. Enterprise 2.0 is started to be discussed in Korea while it is well established as preferred core keyword among IT specific blogers. Enterprise 2.0 is closely related to Web 2.0. That is to say, “Shouldn’t there be something changes like what the Web 2.0 does and shouldn’t this change be influential to the enterprise solutions and in the enterprise services?” In blog and WiKi, the process for the creation of report from the stage that the user uploads articles, messages and work files into the software. Likewise, it is attempted to actualize the elements by the technologies used in Web 2.0. This actualization was not easy in the software of current platform.
Groupware and portal software with functions of WiKi and social bookmark will be introduced within this year by key software venders such as MS SharePoint and IBM Enterprise WiKi. Cooperative works in social software in the Enterprise 2.0 environment are extremely human oriented works. The more, relationship with various interested parties in and out of enterprise and working processes are accumulated. A big business opportunity to improve the productivity and innovation could be expected if the continuity and relationship would be visualized. In other words, it is for sure that it could get more value than Web 2.0 if communication and cooperation of in and out of enterprise with customers and vendors would be realized. Thus, the introduction of new IT enterprise environment such as SOA(Service Oriented Architecture) and SaaS(Software as a Service) is expect to show further improved IT business future forming the center of the Enterprise 2.0 market.
Introduction of SOA and SaaS
Flexibility is a ‘must’ for the performance of on demand business that reacts against the outside changes and rapidly alters the business through security of business flexibility. SOA is the environment that provides infrastructure which enables business flexibility in the on demand operation environment. With SOA enterprise may build a system that flexibly deals with environmental changes and enhances the competitiveness. It is not easy, however, to satisfy the business flexibility by the current IT system only. Being different from the past, present business environment is so quickly changed that existing IT system could not follow. And it would be the key factor to build the IT system so flexibly. Accordingly, different paradigm to the traditional IT system is needed, and SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) is the outcome of the needed paradigm.
SOA is an IT strategy organized with mutually operational standard based services where enterprise application contained individual functions are quickly assembled and reusable according to mobile business needs. SOA utilizing companies are experiencing key benefits through construction of enterprise IT by service oriented but not application oriented, and the trend is to accept the Service Oriented Architecture to develop the new advanced service to maximize the business opportunity and transfer it in reliable method.
Software business model that is so far classified by the CD ROM types according to license, delivery method and partner is being very quickly changed in accordance with the appearance of ‘SaaS(Software As A Service)’.
‘SaaS’ is focused as a new trend of software industry that is controlled by service that is different from general product oriented software business model. In brief, SaaS is the way that user pays the cost as it is used through the installed web browser in server computer after the software installation.
In one word, ‘As a transaction based model, SaaS is a transaction rate style service where user will pay for the number of transactions.’ The recent wave of Web 2.0 and connectivity of SaaS are closely related. In the future Web is not solution that resolves the web problems but will be developed as a harmonizing application between solutions.
Gartner forecasted that in 2011 25%of the new enterprise software will be provided as SaaS style and IDC has foreseen 17%of the CRM market will be shared by SaaS in on demand Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) market that is forecasted a 31% growth.
Global companies such as Google, MS, SalesForce.Com and Oracle are already seek new strategy being escaped from existing way of software sales. And because of the activities of these big enterprises categories and structures of the software industry will be reshuffled and expanded rapidly with web.
Search 2.0 in Enterprise Market
Together with entry of SOA and SaaS systems to the market the desire to install search system with similar satisfactory has increased through the introduction of concept of Web 2.0 by enterprise. This desire is being connected to an attempt for the integration of information search, information retrieval and multiple application of mash-up and for the security of economic feasibility and productivity through opening, sharing and participating and SOA based search platform that are the concepts of Web 2.0.
As explained Enterprise Search 2.0 may be defined as platform based search service that provides high quality search service at high productivity and economic feasibility that are needed in the quickly changing business environment. Platform basis mentioned here means that developmental and operational systems which enables quickly at low cost the search related services such as information retrieval, information search and mash-up. Enterprise search 2.0 will bring the best customer value regardless time and place being under connection with various IT business solutions.
Introduction of the new search technology to the market will be remained as an issue in the IT market as experienced in enterprise environment of Search 2.0 study cases and Web 2.0 paradigm. In one words Search 2.0 is ‘service oriented intellectual search platform’.
It is a new search platform that provides the best benefit to user through the 3 key functions of ‘Search as a Service’, ‘Intelligent Search’ and ‘Search as a Platform’.
Search 2.0 will provides rich experiences together with accurate search to users through adoption of technologies leading the current IT environment such as Search ++. Text Mining, Semantic, Web 2.0, SOA and so on, and will give economic feasibility to the users. In addition Search2.0 will bring to the users together with the economic feasibility to users by reduction of technology construction cost through expanded satisfaction, interest, integration, expandability, reusability based on the rich experiences as accurate high quality new generation information search technology.
There are various opinions in the search engine industry on how the web search would be changed in the new future. MSN forecasts search engine user interface would be significantly changed while Google advocates basic technological change would become more important and Yahoo says it would be forecasted that there would be a significant changes in social search systems. Likewise, leading search service companies concludes that the current search systems are not effective to manage the changes of user paradigm and enterprise environment and that search system will have to change and Search 2.0 will be the final destination of the search system.
Appearance of search platform made based on technological know-how accumulated on the new search trend has been necessary. The business application through the search platform will be adapted to user and enterprise environment for the enterprise search/analysis system construction, web based search service business, mobile/ubiquitous application business. And the search platform is forecasted to do a leading role for the convenient and developed up-to-dated construction of IT environment.
Saltlux and IRI Ubiteq form Business Alliance for a Web2.0 Solution Business and kick-off a Mutual Collaboration of R&D in the Ubiquitous Technology
Saltlux, Inc. (a Korean Corporation, Kyung-il (Tony) Lee, CEO, called “Saltlux” hereafter) with its Intelligent Info. Retrieval and Text Mining Technology and IRI Ubiteq, Inc. (a Japanese Corporation, Tsukasa Ogino, CEO, called “Ubiteq” hereafter) agreed to for business alliance for a web2.0 solution business, and also both concluded for technical collaboration in Ubiquitous Technology of the next generation of Web (Service Web2.0, Web3.0).
Saltlux will get a toehold into the Japan market with merging its Intelligent Info. Retrieval and Text Mining Technology with an objective-oriented SNS and/or the visual-mapping of information technology, called “Spatial Gateway” of Ubiteq.
On the other hand, Ubiteq will accelerate its Web2.0-type solution business previously announced with adding Saltlux technologies for meeting the needs of enterprises and/or schools. And also, Ubiteq will get a toehold in the Korea market with “Spatial Gateway” by merging it into the solution business scheme of Saltlux.
Contact Information:
Saltlux, Inc. : Lucy Cho TEL: +822-3402-0081(Ext.205) lucycho@saltlux.com
IRI Ubiteq, Inc. : Kosuke Ito k-ito@ubiteq.co.jp
TEL: +81-3-3344-7511 FAX: +81-3-3344-7522 press@ubiteq.co.jpIn addition, both companies also agreed to pursuit Ubiquitous Technologies as a mutual collaboration of R&D with the next generation of web technologies of Saltlux, such as Ontology and Semantic Web, and the sensor network and IPv6 technologies of Ubiteq for a near future ubiquitous solution.
Saltlux partners with KartOO to provide Web 2.0 based service
Saltlux partners with KartOO to provide Web 2.0-based service [The Digital Times Oct. 26, 2006] On October 25, 2006, Saltlux (CEO: Kyung-il Lee) announced a strategic partnership with France based KartOO (CEO: Laurent Baleydier) to launch a service business based on semantic web and Web 2.0.
KartOO is a world-class Web 2.0 specialist recognized by Gartner. Saltlux will combine its semantic technology with the French company’s interactive visualization and group intelligence processing technology to launch a service business in Asia as its main target. KartOO’s KartOO Visu consists of the server system and the visualization client. The server system processes and represents a high volume of Java and XML-based knowledge information.
The flash-based visualization client can interact with the users. This solution provides all visualization features imaginable such as multidimensional knowledge maps, semantic information search engines, object navigation, and social network visualization.
Saltlux will combine its semantic engine ‘[IN2]SDOR’ with KartOO Visu to implement a wide range of next generation knowledge-based web applications, including semantic search engines, semantic KM, and semantic portals, and open their APIs. Saltlux will attend ISWC, the world’s largest semantic web conference to be held in the United Sates in coming November, and present how it has applied semantic technology to a ubiquitous computing environment. Read Article