Kingsley Idehen's Blog Data Space http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/ I have seen the future and it's full of Linked Data! :-) Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> 2009-11-07T14:58:18Z en-us Conversation with Jon Udell: Are We There Yet Re. Web++ ? http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1584 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1584 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1584 2009-09-10T15:03:01Z Personally, I believe that we've actually reached a watershed moment re. the evolution of the Web from a mesh of Linked Data Containers (Web of Linked Documents) to a mesh of Linked Data Items (entities or real world objects). The journey towards this watershed moment started with the Semantic Web Project, gained focus and pragmatism via the Linked Data meme, attained substance & credibility via efforts such as DBpedia and the resulting cloud of Open Linked Data Spaces, and finally arrived at the most important destination of all: broad comprehension and coherence, via RDFa. Over the years, I've chronicled the journey above via entries in this particular data space (my blog) and most recently, via my rapid-fire comments and debates on Twitter (basically hastag #linkeddata account: kidehen). On a parallel front re. my chronicles, I've periodically had conversations with Jon Udell, who has always provided a coherent sounding board and reconciliation framework for my world views and open data access vision; naturally, this has a lot to do with his holistic grasp of the big picture issues, associated technical details, and special communication prowess :-) Against this backdrop, I refer you to my most recent podcast conversation with Jon, which is about how the tandem of HTML+RDFa and the GoodRelations vocabulary deliver the critical missing links re. broad comprehension of the Semantic Web vision en route to mass exploitation. Related Mark Birbeck Introduces RDFa RDFa Handbook GoodRelations Usage Examples & Templates Be the master of your own search index Personally, I believe that we've actually reached a watershed moment re. the evolution of the Web from a mesh of Linked Data Containers (Web of Linked Documents) to a mesh of Linked Data Items (entities or real world objects).

The journey towards this watershed moment started with the Semantic Web Project, gained focus and pragmatism via the Linked Data meme, attained substance & credibility via efforts such as DBpedia and the resulting cloud of Open Linked Data Spaces, and finally arrived at the most important destination of all: broad comprehension and coherence, via RDFa.

Over the years, I've chronicled the journey above via entries in this particular data space (my blog) and most recently, via my rapid-fire comments and debates on Twitter (basically hastag #linkeddata account: kidehen).

On a parallel front re. my chronicles, I've periodically had conversations with Jon Udell, who has always provided a coherent sounding board and reconciliation framework for my world views and open data access vision; naturally, this has a lot to do with his holistic grasp of the big picture issues, associated technical details, and special communication prowess :-)

Against this backdrop, I refer you to my most recent podcast conversation with Jon, which is about how the tandem of HTML+RDFa and the GoodRelations vocabulary deliver the critical missing links re. broad comprehension of the Semantic Web vision en route to mass exploitation.

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> The URI, URL, and Linked Data Meme's Generic HTTP URI (Updated) http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1567 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1567 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1567 2009-08-07T18:34:50Z Situation Analysis As the "Linked Data" meme has gained momentum you've more than likely been on the receiving end of dialog with Linked Open Data community members (myself included) that goes something like this: "Do you have a URI", "Get yourself a URI", "Give me a de-referencable URI" etc.. And each time, you respond with a URL -- which to the best of your Web knowledge is a bona fide URI. But to your utter confusion you are told: Nah! You gave me a Document URI instead of the URI of a real-world thing or object etc.. What's up with that? Well our everyday use of the Web is an unfortunate conflation of two distinct things, which have Identity: Real World Objects (RWOs) & Address/Location of Documents (Information bearing Resources). The "Linked Data" meme is about enhancing the Web by unobtrusively reintroducing its core essence: the generic HTTP URI, a vital piece of Web Architecture DNA. Basically, its about so realizing the full capabilities of the Web as a platform for Open Data Identification, Definition, Access, Storage, Representation, Presentation, and Integration. What is a Real World Object? People, Places, Music, Books, Cars, Ideas, Emotions etc.. What is a URI? A Uniform Resource Identifier. A global identifier mechanism for network addressable data items. Its sole function is Name oriented Identification. URI Generic Syntax The constituent parts of a URI (from URI Generic Syntax RFC) are depicted below: What is a URL? A location oriented HTTP scheme based URI. The HTTP scheme introduces a powerful and inherent duality that delivers: Resource Address/Location Identifier Data Access mechanism for an Information bearing Resource (Document, File etc..) So far so good! What is an HTTP based URI? The kind of URI Linked Data aficionados mean when they use the term: URI. An HTTP URI is an HTTP scheme based URI. Unlike a URL, this kind of HTTP scheme URI is devoid of any Web Location orientation or specificity. Thus, Its inherent duality provides a more powerful level of abstraction. Hence, you can use this form of URI to assign Names/Identifiers to Real World Objects (RWO). Even better, courtesy of the Identity/Address duality of the HTTP scheme, a single URI can deliver the following: RWO Identfier/Name RWO Metadata document Locator (courtesy of URL aspect) Negotiable Representation of the Located Document (courtesy of HTTP's content negotiation feature). What is Metadata? Data about Data. Put differently, data that describes other data in a structured manner. How Do we Model Metadata? The predominant model for metadata is the Entity-Attribute-Value + Classes & Relationships model (EAV/CR). A model that's been with us since the inception of modern computing (long before the Web). What about RDF? The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a framework for describing Web addressable resources. In a nutshell, its a framework for adding Metadata bearing Information Resources to the current Web. Its comprised of: Entity-Attribute-Value (aka. Subject-Predictate-Object) plus Classes & Relationships (Data Dictionaries e.g., OWL) metadata model A plethora of instance data representation formats that include: RDFa (when doing so within (X)HTML docs), Turtle, N3, TriX, RDF/XML etc. What's the Problem Today? The ubiquitous use of the Web is primarily focused on a Linked Mesh of Information bearing Documents. URLs rather than generic HTTP URIs are the prime mechanism for Web tapestry; basically, we use URLs to conduct Information -- which is inherently subjective -- instead of using HTTP URIs to conduct "Raw Data" -- which is inherently objective. Note: Information is "data in context", it isn't the same thing as "Raw Data". Thus, if we can link to Information via the Web, why shouldn't we be able to do the same for "Raw Data"? How Does the Link Data meme solve the problem? The meme simply provides a set of guidelines (best practices) for producing Web architecture friendly metadata. Meaning: when producing EAV/CR model based metadata, endow Subjects, their Attributes, and Attribute Values (optionally) with HTTP URIs. By doing so, a new level of Link Abstraction on the Web is possible i.e., "Data Item to Data Item" level links (aka hyperdata links). Even better, when you de-reference a RWO hyperdata link you end up with a negotiated representations of its metadata. Conclusion Linked Data is ultimately about an HTTP URI for each item in the Data Organization Hierarchy :-) Related History of how "Resource" became part of URI - historic account by TimBL Linked Data Design Issues Document - TimBL's initial Linked Data Guide Linked Data Rules Simplified - My attempt at simplifying the Linked Data Meme without SPARQL & RDF distraction Linked Data & Identity - another related post The Linked Data Meme's Value Proposition My Del.icio.us hosted Bookmark Data Space for Identity Schemes TimBL's Ted Talk re. "Raw Linked Data". Situation Analysis

As the "Linked Data" meme has gained momentum you've more than likely been on the receiving end of dialog with Linked Open Data community members (myself included) that goes something like this:

"Do you have a URI", "Get yourself a URI", "Give me a de-referencable URI" etc..

And each time, you respond with a URL -- which to the best of your Web knowledge is a bona fide URI. But to your utter confusion you are told: Nah! You gave me a Document URI instead of the URI of a real-world thing or object etc..

What's up with that?

Well our everyday use of the Web is an unfortunate conflation of two distinct things, which have Identity: Real World Objects (RWOs) & Address/Location of Documents (Information bearing Resources).

The "Linked Data" meme is about enhancing the Web by unobtrusively reintroducing its core essence: the generic HTTP URI, a vital piece of Web Architecture DNA. Basically, its about so realizing the full capabilities of the Web as a platform for Open Data Identification, Definition, Access, Storage, Representation, Presentation, and Integration.

What is a Real World Object?

People, Places, Music, Books, Cars, Ideas, Emotions etc..

What is a URI?

A Uniform Resource Identifier. A global identifier mechanism for network addressable data items. Its sole function is Name oriented Identification.

URI Generic Syntax

The constituent parts of a URI (from URI Generic Syntax RFC) are depicted below: Image

What is a URL?

A location oriented HTTP scheme based URI. The HTTP scheme introduces a powerful and inherent duality that delivers:

  1. Resource Address/Location Identifier
  2. Data Access mechanism for an Information bearing Resource (Document, File etc..)

So far so good!

What is an HTTP based URI?

The kind of URI Linked Data aficionados mean when they use the term: URI.

An HTTP URI is an HTTP scheme based URI. Unlike a URL, this kind of HTTP scheme URI is devoid of any Web Location orientation or specificity. Thus, Its inherent duality provides a more powerful level of abstraction. Hence, you can use this form of URI to assign Names/Identifiers to Real World Objects (RWO). Even better, courtesy of the Identity/Address duality of the HTTP scheme, a single URI can deliver the following:

  1. RWO Identfier/Name
  2. RWO Metadata document Locator (courtesy of URL aspect)
  3. Negotiable Representation of the Located Document (courtesy of HTTP's content negotiation feature).

What is Metadata?

Data about Data. Put differently, data that describes other data in a structured manner.

How Do we Model Metadata?

The predominant model for metadata is the Entity-Attribute-Value + Classes & Relationships model (EAV/CR). A model that's been with us since the inception of modern computing (long before the Web).

What about RDF?

The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a framework for describing Web addressable resources. In a nutshell, its a framework for adding Metadata bearing Information Resources to the current Web. Its comprised of:

  1. Entity-Attribute-Value (aka. Subject-Predictate-Object) plus Classes & Relationships (Data Dictionaries e.g., OWL) metadata model
  2. A plethora of instance data representation formats that include: RDFa (when doing so within (X)HTML docs), Turtle, N3, TriX, RDF/XML etc.

What's the Problem Today?

The ubiquitous use of the Web is primarily focused on a Linked Mesh of Information bearing Documents. URLs rather than generic HTTP URIs are the prime mechanism for Web tapestry; basically, we use URLs to conduct Information -- which is inherently subjective -- instead of using HTTP URIs to conduct "Raw Data" -- which is inherently objective.

Note: Information is "data in context", it isn't the same thing as "Raw Data". Thus, if we can link to Information via the Web, why shouldn't we be able to do the same for "Raw Data"?

How Does the Link Data meme solve the problem?

The meme simply provides a set of guidelines (best practices) for producing Web architecture friendly metadata. Meaning: when producing EAV/CR model based metadata, endow Subjects, their Attributes, and Attribute Values (optionally) with HTTP URIs. By doing so, a new level of Link Abstraction on the Web is possible i.e., "Data Item to Data Item" level links (aka hyperdata links). Even better, when you de-reference a RWO hyperdata link you end up with a negotiated representations of its metadata.

Conclusion

Linked Data is ultimately about an HTTP URI for each item in the Data Organization Hierarchy :-)

Related

  1. History of how "Resource" became part of URI - historic account by TimBL
  2. Linked Data Design Issues Document - TimBL's initial Linked Data Guide
  3. Linked Data Rules Simplified - My attempt at simplifying the Linked Data Meme without SPARQL & RDF distraction
  4. Linked Data & Identity - another related post
  5. The Linked Data Meme's Value Proposition
  6. My Del.icio.us hosted Bookmark Data Space for Identity Schemes
  7. TimBL's Ted Talk re. "Raw Linked Data".
]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Why Do We Put Stuff On The Web, Really? http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1566 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1566 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1566 2009-07-24T15:54:26Z As espoused by the Ubuntu philosophy, no Human is an Island. Thus, although the objects of our sociality are vast and varied; that said, the basic foundation still centers on the pursuit and/or delivery of products and services. Today, the we put stuff on the Web because we want it do be discovered as part of a "sharing act". Likewise, we make regular use of Search Engine Services because we want to "Find" stuff in a productive manner. Putting, the above in context, you don't need to be Einstein to figure out that to date the Web hasn't enabled vendors to describe their products and services clearly. Likewise, it hasn't enabled us to describe what we want, when we want it, and how much we are willing to pay etc. Basically, the SDQ of Web Content is excruciatingly low! The Linked Data meme is about using the essence of the Web -- HTTP URIs -- as the mechanism for conducting data across the Web that unambiguously unveils basic things like: Using a personal profile to describe exactly who I am, my interests, favorite things, what I want (wishlist), what I have to offer (offerlist) etc. Using an company profile to describe my entire product catalog, inventory levels, store locations, distributor and reseller networks, feature specs, price specs, deal terms and duration, and even opening and closing hours. Conclusions A Web of Linked Data enables a complete redefinition of eCommerce, and that's just for starters :-) Related Post Introducing SDQ Serendipitous Discovery Quotient (SDQ): The Future of SEO? Or an Abstract Concept? As espoused by the Ubuntu philosophy, no Human is an Island. Thus, although the objects of our sociality are vast and varied; that said, the basic foundation still centers on the pursuit and/or delivery of products and services.

Today, the we put stuff on the Web because we want it do be discovered as part of a "sharing act". Likewise, we make regular use of Search Engine Services because we want to "Find" stuff in a productive manner.

Putting, the above in context, you don't need to be Einstein to figure out that to date the Web hasn't enabled vendors to describe their products and services clearly. Likewise, it hasn't enabled us to describe what we want, when we want it, and how much we are willing to pay etc. Basically, the SDQ of Web Content is excruciatingly low!

The Linked Data meme is about using the essence of the Web -- HTTP URIs -- as the mechanism for conducting data across the Web that unambiguously unveils basic things like:

  1. Using a personal profile to describe exactly who I am, my interests, favorite things, what I want (wishlist), what I have to offer (offerlist) etc.
  2. Using an company profile to describe my entire product catalog, inventory levels, store locations, distributor and reseller networks, feature specs, price specs, deal terms and duration, and even opening and closing hours.

Conclusions

A Web of Linked Data enables a complete redefinition of eCommerce, and that's just for starters :-)

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Exploring the Value Proposition of Linked Data http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1565 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1565 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1565 2009-07-24T00:17:19Z What is Linked Data? The primary topic of a meme penned by TimBL in the form of a Design Issues Doc (note: this is how TimBL has shared his thoughts since the Beginning of the Web). There are a number of dimensions to the meme, but its primary purpose is the reintroduction of the HTTP URI -- a vital component of the Web's core architecture. What's Special about HTTP URIs? They possess an intrinsic duality that combines persistent and unambiguous Data Identity with platform & representation format independent Data Access. Thus, you can use a string of characters that look like a contemporary Web URL to unambiguously achieve the following: Identity or Name Anything of Interest Describe Anything of Interest by associating the Description Subject's Identity with a constellation of Attribute and Value pairs (technically: an Entity-Attribute-Value or Subject-Predicate-Object graph) Make the Description of Named Things of Interest discoverable on the Web by implicitly binding the aforementioned to Documents that hold their descriptions (technically: metadata documents or information resources) What's the basic value proposition of the Linked Data meme? Enabling more productive use of the Web by users and developers alike. All of which is achieved by tweaking the Web's Hyperlinking feature such that it now includes Hypertext and Hyperdata as link types. Note: Hyperdata Linking is simply what an HTTP URI facilitates. Examples problems solved by injecting Linked Data into the Web: Federated Identity by enabling Individuals to unambiguously Identify themselves (Profiles++) courtesy of existing Internet and Web protocols (e.g., FOAF+SSL's WebIDs which combine Personal Identity with X.509 certificates and HTTPs based client side certification) Security and Privacy challenge alleviation by delivering a mechanism for policy based data access that feeds off federated individual identity and social network (graph) traversal Spam Busting via the above. Increasing the Serendipitous Discovery Quotient (SDQ) of Web accessible resources by embedding Rich Metadata into (X)HTML Documents e.g., structured descriptions of your "WishLists" and "OfferLists" via a common set of terms offered by vocabularies such as GoodRelations and SIOC Coherent integration of disparate data across the Web and/or within the Enterprise via "Data Meshing" rather than "Data Mashing" Moving beyond imprecise statistically driven "Keyword Search" (e.g. Page Rank) to "Precision Find" driven by typed link based Entity Rank plus Entity Type and Entity Property filters. Conclusion If all of the above still falls into the technical mumbo-jumbo realm, then simply consider Linked Data as delivering Open Data Access in granular form to Web accessible data -- that goes beyond data containers (documents or files). The value proposition of Linked Data is inextricably linked to the value proposition of the World Wide Web. This is true, because the Linked Data meme is ultimately about an enhancement of the current Web; achieved by reintroducing its architectural essence -- in new context -- via a new level of link abstraction, courtesy of the Identity and Access duality of HTTP URIs. As a result of Linked Data, you can now have Links on the Web for a Person, Document, Music, Consumer Electronics, Products & Services, Business Opening & Closing Hours, Personal "WishLists" and "OfferList", an Idea, etc.. in addition to links for Properties (Attributes & Values) of the aforementioned. Ultimately, all of these links will be indexed in a myriad of ways providing the substrate for the next major period of Internet & Web driven innovation, within our larger human-ingenuity driven innovation continuum. Related Recipes for Describing Your Business and its Offerings using the GoodRelations Vocabulary / Schema Solving Real Problems with RDF based Linked Data Other Linked Data Posts from this Blog oriented Linked Data Space (goes back a few years!) Various practical Linked Data demo links from my Del.icio.us Bookmark oriented Data Space My personal WebID which is conduit to a Linked Data mesh covering vast variety of things I've opted to share with others via the Web (best viewed using a Linked Data aware User Agent like ODE). What is Linked Data?

The primary topic of a meme penned by TimBL in the form of a Design Issues Doc (note: this is how TimBL has shared his thoughts since the Beginning of the Web).

There are a number of dimensions to the meme, but its primary purpose is the reintroduction of the HTTP URI -- a vital component of the Web's core architecture.

What's Special about HTTP URIs?

They possess an intrinsic duality that combines persistent and unambiguous Data Identity with platform & representation format independent Data Access. Thus, you can use a string of characters that look like a contemporary Web URL to unambiguously achieve the following:

  1. Identity or Name Anything of Interest
  2. Describe Anything of Interest by associating the Description Subject's Identity with a constellation of Attribute and Value pairs (technically: an Entity-Attribute-Value or Subject-Predicate-Object graph)
  3. Make the Description of Named Things of Interest discoverable on the Web by implicitly binding the aforementioned to Documents that hold their descriptions (technically: metadata documents or information resources)

What's the basic value proposition of the Linked Data meme?

Enabling more productive use of the Web by users and developers alike. All of which is achieved by tweaking the Web's Hyperlinking feature such that it now includes Hypertext and Hyperdata as link types.

Note: Hyperdata Linking is simply what an HTTP URI facilitates.

Examples problems solved by injecting Linked Data into the Web:

  1. Federated Identity by enabling Individuals to unambiguously Identify themselves (Profiles++) courtesy of existing Internet and Web protocols (e.g., FOAF+SSL's WebIDs which combine Personal Identity with X.509 certificates and HTTPs based client side certification)
  2. Security and Privacy challenge alleviation by delivering a mechanism for policy based data access that feeds off federated individual identity and social network (graph) traversal
  3. Spam Busting via the above
    4. .
  4. Increasing the Serendipitous Discovery Quotient (SDQ) of Web accessible resources by embedding Rich Metadata into (X)HTML Documents e.g., structured descriptions of your "WishLists" and "OfferLists" via a common set of terms offered by vocabularies such as GoodRelations and SIOC
  5. Coherent integration of disparate data across the Web and/or within the Enterprise via "Data Meshing" rather than "Data Mashing"
  6. Moving beyond imprecise statistically driven "Keyword Search" (e.g. Page Rank) to "Precision Find" driven by typed link based Entity Rank plus Entity Type and Entity Property filters.

Conclusion

If all of the above still falls into the technical mumbo-jumbo realm, then simply consider Linked Data as delivering Open Data Access in granular form to Web accessible data -- that goes beyond data containers (documents or files).

The value proposition of Linked Data is inextricably linked to the value proposition of the World Wide Web. This is true, because the Linked Data meme is ultimately about an enhancement of the current Web; achieved by reintroducing its architectural essence -- in new context -- via a new level of link abstraction, courtesy of the Identity and Access duality of HTTP URIs.

As a result of Linked Data, you can now have Links on the Web for a Person, Document, Music, Consumer Electronics, Products & Services, Business Opening & Closing Hours, Personal "WishLists" and "OfferList", an Idea, etc.. in addition to links for Properties (Attributes & Values) of the aforementioned. Ultimately, all of these links will be indexed in a myriad of ways providing the substrate for the next major period of Internet & Web driven innovation, within our larger human-ingenuity driven innovation continuum.

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Important Things to Note about the World Wide Web http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1564 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1564 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1564 2009-07-23T13:27:11Z Based on the prevalence of confusion re. the Linked Data meme, here are a few important points to remember about the World Wide Web. Its an HTTP based Network Cluster within the Internet (remember: Networks are about meshes of Nodes connected by Links) Its underlying data model is that of a Network (we've had Network Data models for eons. EAV/CR is an example) Links are facilitated via URIs Until recently the granularity of Networking on the Web was scoped to Data Containers (documents) (due to prevalence of URL style links The Linked Data meme adds Data Item (Datum) level granularity to World Wide Web networking via HTTP URIs Data Items become Web Reference-able when you Identify/Name them using HTTP based URIs An HTTP URI implicitly binds a Web Reference-able Data Item (Entity, Datum, Data Object, Resource) to its Web Accessible Metadata Web Accessible Metadata resides within Data Containers (documents or information resources) The representation of a Web Accessible Metadata container is negotiable I am able to write and dispatch this blog post courtesy of the Web features listed above You are able to explore the many dimensions to data exposed by this blog should you decide to explore the Linked Data mesh exposed by this post's HTTP URI (via its permalink permalink) The HTTP URI is the secret sauce of the Web that is powerfully and unobtrusively reintroduced via the Linked Data meme (classic back to the future act). This powerful sauce possess a unique power courtesy of its inherent duality i.e., how it uniquely combines Data Item Identity (think keys in traditional DBMS parlance) with Data Access (e.g. access to negotiable representations of associated metadata). As you can see, I've made no mention of RDF or SPARQL, and I can still articulate the inherent value of the "Linked Data" dimension that the "Linked Data" meme adds to the World Wide Web. As per usual this post is a live demonstration of Linked Data (dog-food style) :-) Related Greg Boutin's post about Linked Data Brand Management Ian Davis' "Linked Data Brand" post Paul Miller's "Does Linked Data need RDF" post Based on the prevalence of confusion re. the Linked Data meme, here are a few important points to remember about the World Wide Web.

  1. Its an HTTP based Network Cluster within the Internet (remember: Networks are about meshes of Nodes connected by Links)
  2. Its underlying data model is that of a Network (we've had Network Data models for eons. EAV/CR is an example)
  3. Links are facilitated via URIs
  4. Until recently the granularity of Networking on the Web was scoped to Data Containers (documents) (due to prevalence of URL style links
  5. The Linked Data meme adds Data Item (Datum) level granularity to World Wide Web networking via HTTP URIs
  6. Data Items become Web Reference-able when you Identify/Name them using HTTP based URIs
  7. An HTTP URI implicitly binds a Web Reference-able Data Item (Entity, Datum, Data Object, Resource) to its Web Accessible Metadata
  8. Web Accessible Metadata resides within Data Containers (documents or information resources)
  9. The representation of a Web Accessible Metadata container is negotiable
  10. I am able to write and dispatch this blog post courtesy of the Web features listed above
  11. You are able to explore the many dimensions to data exposed by this blog should you decide to explore the Linked Data mesh exposed by this post's HTTP URI (via its permalink permalink)

The HTTP URI is the secret sauce of the Web that is powerfully and unobtrusively reintroduced via the Linked Data meme (classic back to the future act). This powerful sauce possess a unique power courtesy of its inherent duality i.e., how it uniquely combines Data Item Identity (think keys in traditional DBMS parlance) with Data Access (e.g. access to negotiable representations of associated metadata).

As you can see, I've made no mention of RDF or SPARQL, and I can still articulate the inherent value of the "Linked Data" dimension that the "Linked Data" meme adds to the World Wide Web.

As per usual this post is a live demonstration of Linked Data (dog-food style) :-)

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Linked Data Rules Simplified http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1561 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1561 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1561 2009-06-26T14:49:03Z As a compliment to the most recent Linked Data Design Issues note by TimBL, I would like to add this subtle tweak to the enumerated rules: Identify or Name things using HTTP URIs Describe things using the RDF metadata model Increase link data mesh density on the Web by linking (referring) to things in other data spaces using their HTTP URIs. If you perform the steps above, on any HTTP network (e.g. World Wide Web), you implicitly bind the Names/Identifiers of things to negotiable representations of their metadata (description) bearing documents. Also note, you can create and deploy the resulting RDF metadata using any of the following approaches: RDFa within (X)HTML documents N3, Turtle, TriX, RDF/XML etc. based documents Programmatically generated variants of 1&2. Related What is the Linked Data meme about? Simple Explanation of RDF and Linked Data Dynamics As a compliment to the most recent Linked Data Design Issues note by TimBL, I would like to add this subtle tweak to the enumerated rules:

  1. Identify or Name things using HTTP URIs
  2. Describe things using the RDF metadata model
  3. Increase link data mesh density on the Web by linking (referring) to things in other data spaces using their HTTP URIs.

If you perform the steps above, on any HTTP network (e.g. World Wide Web), you implicitly bind the Names/Identifiers of things to negotiable representations of their metadata (description) bearing documents.

Also note, you can create and deploy the resulting RDF metadata using any of the following approaches:

  1. RDFa within (X)HTML documents
  2. N3, Turtle, TriX, RDF/XML etc. based documents
  3. Programmatically generated variants of 1&2.

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> BBC Linked Data Meshup In 3 Steps http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1560 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1560 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1560 2009-06-12T18:09:08Z Situation Analysis: Dr. Dre is one of the artists in the Linked Data Space we host for the BBC. He is also referenced in music oriented data spaces such as DBpedia, MusicBrainz and Last.FM (to name a few). Challenge: How do I obtain a holistic view of the entity "Dr. Dre" across the BBC, MusicBrainz, and Last.FM data spaces? We know the BBC published Linked Data, but what about Last.FM and MusicBrainz? Both of these data spaces only expose XML or JSON data via REST APIs? Solution: Simple 3 step Linked Data Meshup courtesy of Virtuoso's in-built RDFizer Middleware "the Sponger" (think ODBC Driver Manager for the Linked Data Web) and its numerous Cartridges (think ODBC Drivers for the Linked Data Web). Steps: Go to Last.FM and search using pattern: Dr. Dre (you will end up with this URL: http://www.last.fm/music/Dr.+Dre) Go to the Virtuoso powered BBC Linked Data Space home page and enter: http://bbc.openlinksw.com/about/html/http://www.last.fm/music/Dr.+Dre Go to the BBC Linked Data Space home page and type full text pattern (using default tab): Dr. Dre, then view Dr. Dre's metadata via the Statistics Link. What Happened? The following took place: Virtuoso Sponger sent an HTTP GET to Last.FM Distilled the "Artist" entity "Dr. Dre" from the page, and made a Linked Data graph Inverse Functional Property and sameAs reasoning handled the Meshup (augmented graph from a conjunctive query processing pipeline) Links for "Dr. Dre" across BBC (sameAs), Last.FM (seeAlso), via DBpedia URI. The new enhanced URI for Dr. Dre now provides a rich holistic view of the aforementioned "Artist" entity. This URI is usable anywhere on the Web for Linked Data Conduction :-) Related (as in NearBy) Augmenting Last.fm Data with BBC data on the Talis Platform Situation Analysis:

Dr. Dre is one of the artists in the Linked Data Space we host for the BBC. He is also referenced in music oriented data spaces such as DBpedia, MusicBrainz and Last.FM (to name a few).

Challenge:

How do I obtain a holistic view of the entity "Dr. Dre" across the BBC, MusicBrainz, and Last.FM data spaces? We know the BBC published Linked Data, but what about Last.FM and MusicBrainz? Both of these data spaces only expose XML or JSON data via REST APIs?

Solution:

Simple 3 step Linked Data Meshup courtesy of Virtuoso's in-built RDFizer Middleware "the Sponger" (think ODBC Driver Manager for the Linked Data Web) and its numerous Cartridges (think ODBC Drivers for the Linked Data Web).

Steps:

  1. Go to Last.FM and search using pattern: Dr. Dre (you will end up with this URL: http://www.last.fm/music/Dr.+Dre)
  2. Go to the Virtuoso powered BBC Linked Data Space home page and enter: http://bbc.openlinksw.com/about/html/http://www.last.fm/music/Dr.+Dre
  3. Go to the BBC Linked Data Space home page and type full text pattern (using default tab): Dr. Dre, then view Dr. Dre's metadata via the Statistics Link.

What Happened?

The following took place:

  1. Virtuoso Sponger sent an HTTP GET to Last.FM
  2. Distilled the "Artist" entity "Dr. Dre" from the page, and made a Linked Data graph
  3. Inverse Functional Property and sameAs reasoning handled the Meshup (augmented graph from a conjunctive query processing pipeline)
  4. Links for "Dr. Dre" across BBC (sameAs), Last.FM (seeAlso), via DBpedia URI.

The new enhanced URI for Dr. Dre now provides a rich holistic view of the aforementioned "Artist" entity. This URI is usable anywhere on the Web for Linked Data Conduction :-)

Related (as in NearBy)

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Understanding the BBC's Virtuoso Powered Linked Data Space http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1559 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1559 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1559 2009-06-11T21:59:31Z The BBC's recently announced Linked Data space for Programmes and Music data, joins a growing list of immediately useful "Virtuoso Powered" linked data spaces, driving the burgeoning Web of Linked Data. Others include: DBpedia, Bio2RDF, NeuroCommons etc (the click friendly version of the LOD-Cloud diagram reveals a snapshot of other Virtuoso driven linked data spaces). Why is it important? As a leading media organization, the BBC's use of Linked Data provides a clear beacon to other media players re. the imminence of a serious Linked Data induced sector inflection. In a nutshell, every Web Site has to evolve into a Linked Data Space: a location on the Web that provides granular access to discrete data items in line with the core principles of the Linked Data meme. Remember, the essence of the Linked Data meme is simply this: you reference data items and access their metadata, in variety of formats via a single HTTP based URI. This approach to Web data publishing is compatible with any HTTP aware user agent (e.g., your Web Browser or tools & applications that provide abstracted access to HTTP). How Do I use it? There a number of very powerful things available to end-users and developers alike. End-Users: The most powerful feature of our variant of the BBC's Linked Data Space is the exposure of Faceted Find (think Search++ and beyond). Thus, you can go the the home page of the service and commence data discovery and exploration via any of the following interfaces: Full Text Search Tab -- type in a full text pattern and then experience Linked Data Entity Ranking as opposed to Page Ranking URI Lookup (By Label) Tab -- type in part of a URI and let the system auto-complete by looking up Entity Labels URI Lookup (Raw String Pattern) Tab -- type in part of a URI and let the system auto-complete by looking up the raw URI OpenLink Data Explorer Service -- "deceptively simple" Linked Data explorer and Data Mesher (simply type in a URI or Text pattern, then view the data via a myriad of entity type specific viewer tabs). Once you are comfortable with at least one of the items above, you can exploit the system further by performing any of the following: Explore the Linked Data Space via Data Dictionary -- click on a Named Data Set URI and then explore Class instances (rdf:type property values) Explore Entity Metadata -- currently labeled "Statistics" but really is "Metadata" that describes data about an Entity (how you discern identifier co-reference, indirect identifiers, references from other data sets, and provenance/source graphs). Information Architects & Developers Bare bones SPARQL Endpoint -- usable by SPARQL aware user agents SPARQL Query Tool -- type in SPARQL and interact with result pages that enable URI navigation (de-referencing) iSPARQL Query By Example -- paint your SPARQL Query and Learn SPARQL by Example (just take defaults and then click "OK" to get in) Virtuoso Facets API - REST API for Faceted Browsing & Navigation across Linked Data Set Dimensions. Disambiguated Search (aka. Search++ or Find) In line with the time-tested "embrace and extend" pattern, we provide Full Text search capability, but unlike Google, Yahoo!, Bing and other search engines, we don't use use "Page Rank" algorithm to sort results; instead, we use an "Entity Rank" algorithm since we are dealing with an RDF based Graph model DBMS where links exist between entities across instance data and data dictionary (vocabularies, schemas, ontologies) boundaries. In addition, when you get results (by clicking "show values" or "show values with distinct counts") that list entities associated with a full text search pattern, we take a quantum leap beyond search engines by allowing you to use "Entity Type" and/or "Entity Properties" (all of these have HTTP URIs too) to set your own context for what you seek. Much more to come in the form of BBC specific demo queries and tutorials :-) Related Live LOD Cloud Cache instance that combines BBC data with other data sets from the LOD Cloud (in a single Virtuoso RDF DBMS hosting 5 Billion+ triples & counting) The BBC's recently announced Linked Data space for Programmes and Music data, joins a growing list of immediately useful "Virtuoso Powered" linked data spaces, driving the burgeoning Web of Linked Data. Others include: DBpedia, Bio2RDF, NeuroCommons etc (the click friendly version of the LOD-Cloud diagram reveals a snapshot of other Virtuoso driven linked data spaces).

Why is it important?

As a leading media organization, the BBC's use of Linked Data provides a clear beacon to other media players re. the imminence of a serious Linked Data induced sector inflection. In a nutshell, every Web Site has to evolve into a Linked Data Space: a location on the Web that provides granular access to discrete data items in line with the core principles of the Linked Data meme.

Remember, the essence of the Linked Data meme is simply this: you reference data items and access their metadata, in variety of formats via a single HTTP based URI. This approach to Web data publishing is compatible with any HTTP aware user agent (e.g., your Web Browser or tools & applications that provide abstracted access to HTTP).

How Do I use it?

There a number of very powerful things available to end-users and developers alike.

End-Users:

The most powerful feature of our variant of the BBC's Linked Data Space is the exposure of Faceted Find (think Search++ and beyond). Thus, you can go the the home page of the service and commence data discovery and exploration via any of the following interfaces:

  • Full Text Search Tab -- type in a full text pattern and then experience Linked Data Entity Ranking as opposed to Page Ranking
  • URI Lookup (By Label) Tab -- type in part of a URI and let the system auto-complete by looking up Entity Labels
  • URI Lookup (Raw String Pattern) Tab -- type in part of a URI and let the system auto-complete by looking up the raw URI
  • OpenLink Data Explorer Service -- "deceptively simple" Linked Data explorer and Data Mesher (simply type in a URI or Text pattern, then view the data via a myriad of entity type specific viewer tabs).

Once you are comfortable with at least one of the items above, you can exploit the system further by performing any of the following:

Information Architects & Developers

Disambiguated Search (aka. Search++ or Find)

In line with the time-tested "embrace and extend" pattern, we provide Full Text search capability, but unlike Google, Yahoo!, Bing and other search engines, we don't use use "Page Rank" algorithm to sort results; instead, we use an "Entity Rank" algorithm since we are dealing with an RDF based Graph model DBMS where links exist between entities across instance data and data dictionary (vocabularies, schemas, ontologies) boundaries. In addition, when you get results (by clicking "show values" or "show values with distinct counts") that list entities associated with a full text search pattern, we take a quantum leap beyond search engines by allowing you to use "Entity Type" and/or "Entity Properties" (all of these have HTTP URIs too) to set your own context for what you seek.

Much more to come in the form of BBC specific demo queries and tutorials :-)

Related

  • Live LOD Cloud Cache instance that combines BBC data with other data sets from the LOD Cloud (in a single Virtuoso RDF DBMS hosting 5 Billion+ triples & counting)
]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Library of Congress & Reasonable Linked Data http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1556 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1556 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1556 2009-05-05T17:53:24Z While exploring the Subject Headings Linked Data Space (LCSH) recently unveiled by the Library of Congress, I noticed that the URI for the subject heading: World Wide Web, exposes an "owl:sameAs" link to resource URI: "info:lc/authorities/sh95000541" -- in fact, a URI.URN that isn't HTTP protocol scheme based. The observations above triggered a discussion thread on Twitter that involved: @edsu, @iand, and moi. Naturally, it morphed into a live demonstration of: human vs machine, interpretation of claims expressed in the RDF graph. What makes this whole thing interesting? It showcases (in Man vs Machine style) the issue of unambiguously discerning the meaning of the owl:sameAs claim expressed in the LCSH Linked Data Space. Perspectives & Potential Confusion From the Linked Data perspective, it may spook a few people to see owl:sameAs values such as: "info:lc/authorities/sh95000541", that cannot be de-referenced using HTTP. It may confuse a few people or user agents that see URI de-referencing as not necessarily HTTP specific, thereby attempting to de-reference the URI.URN on the assumption that it's associated with a "handle system", for instance. It may even confuse RDFizer / RDFization middleware that use owl:sameAs as a data provider attribution mechanism via hint/nudge URI values derived from original content / data URI.URLs that de-reference to nothing e.g., an original resource URI.URL plus "#this" which produces URI.URN-URL -- think of this pattern as "owl:shameAs" in a sense :-) Unambiguously Discerning Meaning Simply bring OWL reasoning (inference rules and reasoners) into the mix, thereby negating human dialogue about interpretation which ultimately unveils a mesh of orthogonal view points. Remember, OWL is all about infrastructure that ultimately enables you to express yourself clearly i.e., say what you mean, and mean what you say. Path to Clarity (using Virtuoso, its in-built Sponger Middleware, and Inference Engine): GET the data into the Virtuoso Quad store -- what the sponger does via its URIBurner Service (while following designated predicates such as owl:sameAs in case they point to other mesh-able data sources) Query the data in Quad Store with "owl:sameAs" inference rules enabled Repeat the last step with the inference rules excluded. Actual SPARQL Queries: SPARQL Query against the HTTP based Subject Heading URI for WWW SPARQL Query (with reasoning via inference rule for owl:sameAs) against the URN based Subject Heading URI for WWW SPARQL Query (*without* reasoning via inference rule for owl:sameAs) against the URN based Subject Heading URI for WWW Observations: The SPARQL queries against the Graph generated and automatically populated by the Sponger reveal -- without human intervention-- that: "info:lc/authorities/sh95000541", is just an alternative name for < xmlns="http" id.loc.gov="id.loc.gov" authorities="authorities" sh95000541="sh95000541" concept="concept">, and that the graph produced by LCSH is self-describing enough for an OWL reasoner to figure this all out courtesy of the owl:sameAs property :-). Hopefully, this post also provides a simple example of how OWL facilitates "Reasonable Linked Data". Related State of the Linked Data Web Making Linked Data Reasonable Using Description Logics Series - post by Mike Bergman While exploring the Subject Headings Linked Data Space (LCSH) recently unveiled by the Library of Congress, I noticed that the URI for the subject heading: World Wide Web, exposes an "owl:sameAs" link to resource URI: "info:lc/authorities/sh95000541" -- in fact, a URI.URN that isn't HTTP protocol scheme based.

The observations above triggered a discussion thread on Twitter that involved: @edsu, @iand, and moi. Naturally, it morphed into a live demonstration of: human vs machine, interpretation of claims expressed in the RDF graph.

What makes this whole thing interesting?

It showcases (in Man vs Machine style) the issue of unambiguously discerning the meaning of the owl:sameAs claim expressed in the LCSH Linked Data Space.

Perspectives & Potential Confusion

From the Linked Data perspective, it may spook a few people to see owl:sameAs values such as: "info:lc/authorities/sh95000541", that cannot be de-referenced using HTTP.

It may confuse a few people or user agents that see URI de-referencing as not necessarily HTTP specific, thereby attempting to de-reference the URI.URN on the assumption that it's associated with a "handle system", for instance.

It may even confuse RDFizer / RDFization middleware that use owl:sameAs as a data provider attribution mechanism via hint/nudge URI values derived from original content / data URI.URLs that de-reference to nothing e.g., an original resource URI.URL plus "#this" which produces URI.URN-URL -- think of this pattern as "owl:shameAs" in a sense :-)

Unambiguously Discerning Meaning

Simply bring OWL reasoning (inference rules and reasoners) into the mix, thereby negating human dialogue about interpretation which ultimately unveils a mesh of orthogonal view points. Remember, OWL is all about infrastructure that ultimately enables you to express yourself clearly i.e., say what you mean, and mean what you say.

Path to Clarity (using Virtuoso, its in-built Sponger Middleware, and Inference Engine):

  1. GET the data into the Virtuoso Quad store -- what the sponger does via its URIBurner Service (while following designated predicates such as owl:sameAs in case they point to other mesh-able data sources)
  2. Query the data in Quad Store with "owl:sameAs" inference rules enabled
  3. Repeat the last step with the inference rules excluded.

Actual SPARQL Queries:

Observations:

The SPARQL queries against the Graph generated and automatically populated by the Sponger reveal -- without human intervention-- that: "info:lc/authorities/sh95000541", is just an alternative name for < xmlns="http" id.loc.gov="id.loc.gov" authorities="authorities" sh95000541="sh95000541" concept="concept">, and that the graph produced by LCSH is self-describing enough for an OWL reasoner to figure this all out courtesy of the owl:sameAs property :-).

Hopefully, this post also provides a simple example of how OWL facilitates "Reasonable Linked Data".

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Linked Data & Identity http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1547 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1547 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1547 2009-04-29T20:05:58Z A person, organization, place, idea, subject matter topic/heading, and other real world things possess "identity" -- that is, a constellation of characteristics that distinguish them from any other identity. Associated with this abstraction can be a label used as a reference, or "identifier". This is the distinction between a thing and the name of the thing. section from IETF's Domain Keys spec. (paraphrased by me) . The Linked Data meme is based on the use of HTTP based URIs as reference / identifier labels associated with the "identity abstraction" referred to above. Thus, when you de-reference (request information about) an HTTP based URI you ultimately end up with a resource URL that exposes the "constellation of characteristics" mentioned above, in a representation negotiated at request time -- between an HTTP client and server e.g., (X)HTML, JSON, XML, RDF/XML, N3, Turtle, Trix, others :-) Related What is the Linked Data meme About? Simple Explanation of RDF & Linked Data Dynamics. Handle -- Internet wide Identity Scheme and Resolution System A person, organization, place, idea, subject matter topic/heading, and other real world things possess "identity" -- that is, a constellation of characteristics that distinguish them from any other identity. Associated with this abstraction can be a label used as a reference, or "identifier". This is the distinction between a thing and the name of the thing.

section from IETF's Domain Keys spec. (paraphrased by me)

.

The Linked Data meme is based on the use of HTTP based URIs as reference / identifier labels associated with the "identity abstraction" referred to above. Thus, when you de-reference (request information about) an HTTP based URI you ultimately end up with a resource URL that exposes the "constellation of characteristics" mentioned above, in a representation negotiated at request time -- between an HTTP client and server e.g., (X)HTML, JSON, XML, RDF/XML, N3, Turtle, Trix, others :-)

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> What is the Linked Data Meme about? http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1546 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1546 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1546 2009-04-29T15:32:49Z The act of using URIs to "refer to" (reference) Web addressable data objects. It's also the act of using the same URI to de-reference the description of a referenced data object; in this case, the representation of the description is negotiated by a Web client and/or Web server. Thus, you can access the description of a data object via data representation formats such as: JSON, XML, (X)HTML, RDF/XML, N3, Turtle, TriX etc. Note: In proper Web parlance, a data object is referred to as a resource. Simple example (using DBpedia) In the Linked Data realm, If you want to make a reference to the Linked Data meme in a blog post, you are better off using the resource URI: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Linked_Data, instead of the Web page URL: http://dbpedia.org/page/Linked_Data, which is the address of a physical document (an information conveying artifact) that at best visually presents the negotiated representation of a resource description. Why is this valuable? In the simplest sense, you only have one focal point for referencing (referring to) and de-referencing (retrieving data about) a given Web resource. It protects you from the impact of Web document location changes (amongst many other things). Remember, a single URI is a conduit into a realm where the identity, access, representation, presentation, and storage of a resource (data object) are completely distinct. It's the mechanism for conducting data across network, machine, operating system, dbms engine, application, and service (API) boundaries. Thus, without "linked data meme" prescribed URI referencing and de-referencing, we are simply back to "business as usual" re. the industry at large, where networks, operating systems, dbms engines, applications, and services (APIs) become the basis for "data lock-in" and silo construction. Going forward Take a second to think about the profound virtues of the ubiquitous Web of Linked Document URLs that we have today, and then apply that thinking to the burgeoning Web of Linked Data URIs, that has just turned corner and heading in everyone's direction at full blast. Note to "Social Media" players: Who you know isn't the canonical object of sociality. What you are i.e., your description and the data objects it exposes, are real objects of your sociality :-) Related Other post in this Blog Data Space associated with "Linked Data". The act of using URIs to "refer to" (reference) Web addressable data objects. It's also the act of using the same URI to de-reference the description of a referenced data object; in this case, the representation of the description is negotiated by a Web client and/or Web server. Thus, you can access the description of a data object via data representation formats such as: JSON, XML, (X)HTML, RDF/XML, N3, Turtle, TriX etc.

Note: In proper Web parlance, a data object is referred to as a resource.

Simple example (using DBpedia)

In the Linked Data realm, If you want to make a reference to the Linked Data meme in a blog post, you are better off using the resource URI: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Linked_Data, instead of the Web page URL: http://dbpedia.org/page/Linked_Data, which is the address of a physical document (an information conveying artifact) that at best visually presents the negotiated representation of a resource description.

Why is this valuable?

In the simplest sense, you only have one focal point for referencing (referring to) and de-referencing (retrieving data about) a given Web resource. It protects you from the impact of Web document location changes (amongst many other things).

Remember, a single URI is a conduit into a realm where the identity, access, representation, presentation, and storage of a resource (data object) are completely distinct. It's the mechanism for conducting data across network, machine, operating system, dbms engine, application, and service (API) boundaries. Thus, without "linked data meme" prescribed URI referencing and de-referencing, we are simply back to "business as usual" re. the industry at large, where networks, operating systems, dbms engines, applications, and services (APIs) become the basis for "data lock-in" and silo construction.

Going forward

Take a second to think about the profound virtues of the ubiquitous Web of Linked Document URLs that we have today, and then apply that thinking to the burgeoning Web of Linked Data URIs, that has just turned corner and heading in everyone's direction at full blast.

Note to "Social Media" players: Who you know isn't the canonical object of sociality. What you are i.e., your description and the data objects it exposes, are real objects of your sociality :-)

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Simple Explanation of RDF and Linked Data Dynamics http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1543 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1543 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1543 2009-04-24T20:59:08Z What is RDF? The acronym stands for: Resource Description Framework. And that's just what it is. RDF is comprised of a Data Model (EAV/CR Graph) and Data Representation Formats such as: N3, Turtle, RDF/XML etc. RDF's essence is about: "Entities" and "Attributes" being URI based, while "Values" may be URI or Literals (typed or untyped) based. URIs are Entity Identifiers. What is Linked Data? Short for "Web of Linked Data" or "Linked Data Web". A term coined by TimBL that describes an HTTP based "data access by reference pattern" that uses a single pointer or handle for "referring to" and "obtaining actual data about" an entity. Linked Data uses the deceptively simple messaging scheme of HTTP to deliver a granular entity reference and access mechanism that transcends traditional computing boundaries such as: operating system, application, database engines, and networks. How are Linked Data & RDF Related? Linked Data simply mandates the following re. RDF: URIs should be HTTP based so that you can "refer to" (Reference) an Entity, its Attributes, or URI based Attribute values via the Web (infact any HTTP based network e.g., Intranets and Extranets) URIs should also be HTTP based so that you can use them to de-reference resource descriptions via the Web (or Intranets and Extranets). Note: by Entity I am also referring to: a resource (Web parlance), data item, data object, real-world object, or datum. Linked Data is also about, using URIs and HTTP's content negotiation feature to separate: presentation, representation, access, and identity of data items. Even better, content negotiation can be driven by user agent and/or data server based quality of service algorithms (representation preference order schemes). To conclude, Linked Data is ultimately about the realization that: Data is the new Electricity, and it's conductors are URIs :-) Tip to governments of the world: we are in exponential times, the current downturn is but one side of the "exponential times ledger", the other side of the "exponential times ledger" is simply about unleashing "raw data" -- in structured form -- into the Web, so that "citizen analysts" can blossom and ultimately deliver the transparency desperately sought at every level of the economic value chain. Think: "raw data ready" whenever you ponder about "shovel ready" infrastructure projects! What is RDF?

The acronym stands for: Resource Description Framework. And that's just what it is.

RDF is comprised of a Data Model (EAV/CR Graph) and Data Representation Formats such as: N3, Turtle, RDF/XML etc.

RDF's essence is about: "Entities" and "Attributes" being URI based, while "Values" may be URI or Literals (typed or untyped) based.

URIs are Entity Identifiers.

What is Linked Data?

Short for "Web of Linked Data" or "Linked Data Web".

A term coined by TimBL that describes an HTTP based "data access by reference pattern" that uses a single pointer or handle for "referring to" and "obtaining actual data about" an entity.

Linked Data uses the deceptively simple messaging scheme of HTTP to deliver a granular entity reference and access mechanism that transcends traditional computing boundaries such as: operating system, application, database engines, and networks.

How are Linked Data & RDF Related?

Linked Data simply mandates the following re. RDF:

  • URIs should be HTTP based so that you can "refer to" (Reference) an Entity, its Attributes, or URI based Attribute values via the Web (infact any HTTP based network e.g., Intranets and Extranets)
  • URIs should also be HTTP based so that you can use them to de-reference resource descriptions via the Web (or Intranets and Extranets).

Note: by Entity I am also referring to: a resource (Web parlance), data item, data object, real-world object, or datum.

Linked Data is also about, using URIs and HTTP's content negotiation feature to separate: presentation, representation, access, and identity of data items. Even better, content negotiation can be driven by user agent and/or data server based quality of service algorithms (representation preference order schemes).

To conclude, Linked Data is ultimately about the realization that: Data is the new Electricity, and it's conductors are URIs :-)

Tip to governments of the world: we are in exponential times, the current downturn is but one side of the "exponential times ledger", the other side of the "exponential times ledger" is simply about unleashing "raw data" -- in structured form -- into the Web, so that "citizen analysts" can blossom and ultimately deliver the transparency desperately sought at every level of the economic value chain. Think: "raw data ready" whenever you ponder about "shovel ready" infrastructure projects!

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Take N: Yet Another OpenLink Data Spaces Introduction http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1542 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1542 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1542 2009-04-22T18:46:18Z Problem: Your Life, Profession, Web, and Internet do not need to become mutually exclusive due to "information overload". Solution: A platform or service that delivers a point of online presence that embodies the fundamental separation of: Identity, Data Access, Data Representation, Data Presentation, by adhering to Web and Internet protocols. How: Typical post installation (Local or Cloud) task sequence: Identify myself (happens automatically by way of registration) If in an LDAP environment, import accounts or associate system with LDAP for account lookup and authentication Identify Online Accounts (by fleshing out profile) which also connects system to online accounts and their data Use Profile for granular description (Biography, Interests, WishList, OfferList, etc.) Optionally upstream or downstream data to and from my online accounts Create content Tagging Rules Create rules for associating Tags with formal URIs Create automatic Hyperlinking Rules for reuse when new content is created (e.g. Blog posts) Exploit Data Portability virtues of RSS, Atom, OPML, RDFa, RDF/XML, and other formats for imports and exports Automatically tag imported content Use function-specific helper application UIs for domain specific data generation e.g. AddressBook (optionally use vCard import), Calendar (optionally use iCalendar import), Email, File Storage (use WebDAV mount with copy and paste or HTTP GET), Feed Subscriptions (optionally import RSS/Atom/OPML feeds), Bookmarking (optionally import bookmark.html or XBEL) etc.. Optionally enable "Conversation" feature (today: Social Media feature) across the relevant application domains (manage conversations under covers using NNTP, the standard for this functionality realm) Generate HTTP based Entity IDs (URIs) for every piece of data in this burgeoning data space Use REST based APIs to perform CRUD tasks against my data (local and remote) (SPARQL, GData, Ubiquity Commands, Atom Publishing) Use OpenID, OAuth, FOAF+SSL, FOAF+SSL+OpenID for accessing data elsewhere Use OpenID, OAuth, FOAF+SSL, FOAF+SSL+OpenID for Controlling access to my data (Self Signed Certificate Generation, Browser Import of said Certificate & associated Private Key, plus persistence of Certificate to FOAF based profile data space in "one click") Have a simple UI for Entity-Attribute-Value or Subject-Predicate-Object arbitrary data annotations and creation since you can't pre model an "Open World" where the only constant is data flow Have my Personal URI (Web ID) as the single entry point for controlled access to my HTTP accessible data space I've just outlined a snippet of the capabilities of the OpenLink Data Spaces platform. A platform built using OpenLink Virtuoso, architected to deliver: open, platform independent, multi-model, data access and data management across heterogeneous data sources. All you need to remember is your URI when seeking to interact with your data space. Related Get Yourself a URI (Web ID) in 5 Minutes or Less! Various posts over the years about Data Spaces Future of Desktop Post Simplify My Life Post by Bengee Nowack Problem:

Your Life, Profession, Web, and Internet do not need to become mutually exclusive due to "information overload".

Solution:

A platform or service that delivers a point of online presence that embodies the fundamental separation of: Identity, Data Access, Data Representation, Data Presentation, by adhering to Web and Internet protocols.

How:

Typical post installation (Local or Cloud) task sequence:

  1. Identify myself (happens automatically by way of registration)
  2. If in an LDAP environment, import accounts or associate system with LDAP for account lookup and authentication
  3. Identify Online Accounts (by fleshing out profile) which also connects system to online accounts and their data
  4. Use Profile for granular description (Biography, Interests, WishList, OfferList, etc.)
  5. Optionally upstream or downstream data to and from my online accounts
  6. Create content Tagging Rules
  7. Create rules for associating Tags with formal URIs
  8. Create automatic Hyperlinking Rules for reuse when new content is created (e.g. Blog posts)
  9. Exploit Data Portability virtues of RSS, Atom, OPML, RDFa, RDF/XML, and other formats for imports and exports
  10. Automatically tag imported content
  11. Use function-specific helper application UIs for domain specific data generation e.g. AddressBook (optionally use vCard import), Calendar (optionally use iCalendar import), Email, File Storage (use WebDAV mount with copy and paste or HTTP GET), Feed Subscriptions (optionally import RSS/Atom/OPML feeds), Bookmarking (optionally import bookmark.html or XBEL) etc..
  12. Optionally enable "Conversation" feature (today: Social Media feature) across the relevant application domains (manage conversations under covers using NNTP, the standard for this functionality realm)
  13. Generate HTTP based Entity IDs (URIs) for every piece of data in this burgeoning data space
  14. Use REST based APIs to perform CRUD tasks against my data (local and remote) (SPARQL, GData, Ubiquity Commands, Atom Publishing)
  15. Use OpenID, OAuth, FOAF+SSL, FOAF+SSL+OpenID for accessing data elsewhere
  16. Use OpenID, OAuth, FOAF+SSL, FOAF+SSL+OpenID for Controlling access to my data (Self Signed Certificate Generation, Browser Import of said Certificate & associated Private Key, plus persistence of Certificate to FOAF based profile data space in "one click")
  17. Have a simple UI for Entity-Attribute-Value or Subject-Predicate-Object arbitrary data annotations and creation since you can't pre model an "Open World" where the only constant is data flow
  18. Have my Personal URI (Web ID) as the single entry point for controlled access to my HTTP accessible data space

I've just outlined a snippet of the capabilities of the OpenLink Data Spaces platform. A platform built using OpenLink Virtuoso, architected to deliver: open, platform independent, multi-model, data access and data management across heterogeneous data sources.

All you need to remember is your URI when seeking to interact with your data space.

Related

  1. Get Yourself a URI (Web ID) in 5 Minutes or Less!
  2. Various posts over the years about Data Spaces
  3. Future of Desktop Post
  4. Simplify My Life Post by Bengee Nowack
]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> Live Virtuoso instance hosting Linked Open Data (LOD) Cloud http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1539 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1539 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1539 2009-03-30T16:27:26Z We have reached a beachead re. the Virtuoso instance hosting the Linked Open Data (LOD) Cloud; meaning, we are not going to be performing any major updates and deletions short-term, bar incorporation of fresh data sets from the Freebase and Bio2RDF projects (both communities a prepping new RDF data sets). At the current time we have loaded 100% of all the very large data sets from the LOD Cloud. As result, we can start the process of exposing Linked Data virtues in a manner that's palatable to users, developers, and database professionals across the Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 spectrums. What does this mean? You can use the "Search & Find" or"URI Lookup" or SPARQL endpoint associated with the LOD cloud hosting instance to perform the following tasks: Find entities associated with full text search patterns -- Google Style, but with Entity & Text proximity Rank instead of Page Rank, since we are dealing with Entities rather than documents about entities Find and Lookup entities by Identifier (URI) -- which is helpful when locating URIs to use for identify entities in your own linked data spaces on the Web View entity descriptions via a variety of representation formats (HTML, RDFa, RDF/XML, N3, Turtle etc.) Determine uses of entity identifiers across the LOD cloud -- which helps you select preferred URIs based on usage statistics. What does it offer Web 1.0 and 2.0 developers? If you don't want to use the SPARQL based Web Service, or other Linked Data Web oriented APIs for interacting with the LOD cloud programmatically, you can simply use the powerful REST style Web Service that provides URL parameters for performing full text oriented "Search", entity oriented "Find" queries, and faceted navigation over the huge data corpus with results data returned in JSON and XML formats. Next Steps: Amazon have agreed to add all the LOD Cloud data sets to their existing public data sets collective. Thus, the data sets we are loading will be available in "raw data" (RDF) format on the public data sets page via Named Elastic Block Storage (EBS) Snapshots); meaning, you can make an EC2 AMI (e.g. a Linux, Windows, Solaris) and install an RDF quad or triple store of choice into your AMI, then simply load data from the LOD cloud based on your needs. In addition to the above, we are also going to offer a Virtuoso 6.0 Cluster Edition based LOD Cloud AMI (as we've already done with DBpedia, MusicBrainz, NeuroCommons, and Bio2Rdf) that will enable you to simply instantiate a personal and service specific edition of Virtuoso with all the LOD data in place and fully tuned for performance and scalability; basically, you will simply press "Instantiate AMI" and a LOD cloud data space, in true Linked Data from, will be at your disposal within minutes (i.e. the time it takes the DB to start). Work on the migration of the LOD data to EC2 starts this week. Thus, if you are interested in contributing an RDF based data set to the LOD cloud now is the time to get your archive links in place on the (see: ESW Wiki page for LOD Data Sets). We have reached a beachead re. the Virtuoso instance hosting the Linked Open Data (LOD) Cloud; meaning, we are not going to be performing any major updates and deletions short-term, bar incorporation of fresh data sets from the Freebase and Bio2RDF projects (both communities a prepping new RDF data sets).

At the current time we have loaded 100% of all the very large data sets from the LOD Cloud. As result, we can start the process of exposing Linked Data virtues in a manner that's palatable to users, developers, and database professionals across the Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 spectrums.

What does this mean?

You can use the "Search & Find" or"URI Lookup" or SPARQL endpoint associated with the LOD cloud hosting instance to perform the following tasks:

  1. Find entities associated with full text search patterns -- Google Style, but with Entity & Text proximity Rank instead of Page Rank, since we are dealing with Entities rather than documents about entities
  2. Find and Lookup entities by Identifier (URI) -- which is helpful when locating URIs to use for identify entities in your own linked data spaces on the Web
  3. View entity descriptions via a variety of representation formats (HTML, RDFa, RDF/XML, N3, Turtle etc.)
  4. Determine uses of entity identifiers across the LOD cloud -- which helps you select preferred URIs based on usage statistics.

What does it offer Web 1.0 and 2.0 developers?

If you don't want to use the SPARQL based Web Service, or other Linked Data Web oriented APIs for interacting with the LOD cloud programmatically, you can simply use the powerful REST style Web Service that provides URL parameters for performing full text oriented "Search", entity oriented "Find" queries, and faceted navigation over the huge data corpus with results data returned in JSON and XML formats.

Next Steps:

Amazon have agreed to add all the LOD Cloud data sets to their existing public data sets collective. Thus, the data sets we are loading will be available in "raw data" (RDF) format on the public data sets page via Named Elastic Block Storage (EBS) Snapshots); meaning, you can make an EC2 AMI (e.g. a Linux, Windows, Solaris) and install an RDF quad or triple store of choice into your AMI, then simply load data from the LOD cloud based on your needs.

In addition to the above, we are also going to offer a Virtuoso 6.0 Cluster Edition based LOD Cloud AMI (as we've already done with DBpedia, MusicBrainz, NeuroCommons, and Bio2Rdf) that will enable you to simply instantiate a personal and service specific edition of Virtuoso with all the LOD data in place and fully tuned for performance and scalability; basically, you will simply press "Instantiate AMI" and a LOD cloud data space, in true Linked Data from, will be at your disposal within minutes (i.e. the time it takes the DB to start).

Work on the migration of the LOD data to EC2 starts this week. Thus, if you are interested in contributing an RDF based data set to the LOD cloud now is the time to get your archive links in place on the (see: ESW Wiki page for LOD Data Sets).

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> How Linked Data will change Advertising http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/?id=1534 http://www.openlinksw.com/mt-tb/Http/comments?id=1534 http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/kidehen@openlinksw.com/blog/gems/rsscomment.xml?:id=1534 2009-03-23T04:39:49Z This post is a reply to Jason Kolb's post titled: Using Advertising to Take Over the World. Jason's post is a response to Robert Scoble's post titled: Why Facebook has never listened and why it definitely won’t start now. Jason: Scoble is sensing what comes next, but in my opinion, describes it using an old obtrusive advertising model anecdote. I've penned a post or two about the "Magic of You" which is all about the new Web power broker (Entity: "You"). Personally, I've long envisaged a complete overhaul of advertising where obtrusive advertising simply withers away; ultimately replaced by an unobtrusive model that is driven by individualized relevance and high doses of serendipity. Basically, this is ultimately about "taking the Ad out of item placement in Web pages". The fundamental ingredients of an unobtrusive advertising landscape would include the following Human facts: We are social beings and need stuff from time to time We know what we need and would like to "Find stuff" when we are in "I Need Stuff" mode. Ideally, we would like to be able to simply state the following, via a Web accessible profile: Here are my "Wants" or "Needs" (my Wish-List) Here are the products and services that I "Offer" (my Offer-List). Now put the above into the context of an evolving Web where data items are becoming more visible by the second, courtesy of the "Linked Data" meme. Thus, things that weren't discernable via the Web: "People", "Places", "Music", "Books", "Products", etc., become much easier to identify and describe. Assuming the comments above hold true re. the Web's evolution into a collection of Linked Data Spaces, and the following occur: Structured profile pages become the basic units of Web presence Wish-Lists and Offer-Lists are exposed by profile pages Wish-Lists and Offer-Lists will gradually start bonding with increasing degrees of serendipity courtesy of exponential growth in Linked Data Web density. So based on what I've stated so far, Scoble would simply browse the Web or visit his profile page, and in either scenario enjoy a "minority report" style of experience albeit all under his control (since he is the one driving his Web user agent). What I describe above simply comes down to "Wish-lists" and associated recommendations becoming the norm outside the confines of Amazon's data space on the Web. Serendipitous discovery, intelligent lookups, and linkages are going to be the fundamental essence of Linked Data Web oriented applications, services, agents. Beyond Scoble, it's also important to note that access to data will be controlled by entity "You". Your data space on the Web will be something you will controll access to in a myriad of ways, and it will include the option to provide licensed access to commercial entities on your terms. Naturally, you will also determine the currency that facilitates the value exchange :-) Related The Numerati & The Magic of You! Serendipitous Discovery Quotient (SDQ) Explained Minority Report Clip This post is a reply to Jason Kolb's post titled: Using Advertising to Take Over the World. Jason's post is a response to Robert Scoble's post titled: Why Facebook has never listened and why it definitely won’t start now.

Jason:

Scoble is sensing what comes next, but in my opinion, describes it using an old obtrusive advertising model anecdote.

I've penned a post or two about the "Magic of You" which is all about the new Web power broker (Entity: "You").

Personally, I've long envisaged a complete overhaul of advertising where obtrusive advertising simply withers away; ultimately replaced by an unobtrusive model that is driven by individualized relevance and high doses of serendipity. Basically, this is ultimately about "taking the Ad out of item placement in Web pages".

The fundamental ingredients of an unobtrusive advertising landscape would include the following Human facts:

  1. We are social beings and need stuff from time to time
  2. We know what we need and would like to "Find stuff" when we are in "I Need Stuff" mode.

Ideally, we would like to be able to simply state the following, via a Web accessible profile:

  1. Here are my "Wants" or "Needs" (my Wish-List)
  2. Here are the products and services that I "Offer" (my Offer-List).

Now put the above into the context of an evolving Web where data items are becoming more visible by the second, courtesy of the "Linked Data" meme. Thus, things that weren't discernable via the Web: "People", "Places", "Music", "Books", "Products", etc., become much easier to identify and describe.

Assuming the comments above hold true re. the Web's evolution into a collection of Linked Data Spaces, and the following occur:

  1. Structured profile pages become the basic units of Web presence
  2. Wish-Lists and Offer-Lists are exposed by profile pages

Wish-Lists and Offer-Lists will gradually start bonding with increasing degrees of serendipity courtesy of exponential growth in Linked Data Web density.

So based on what I've stated so far, Scoble would simply browse the Web or visit his profile page, and in either scenario enjoy a "minority report" style of experience albeit all under his control (since he is the one driving his Web user agent).

What I describe above simply comes down to "Wish-lists" and associated recommendations becoming the norm outside the confines of Amazon's data space on the Web. Serendipitous discovery, intelligent lookups, and linkages are going to be the fundamental essence of Linked Data Web oriented applications, services, agents.

Beyond Scoble, it's also important to note that access to data will be controlled by entity "You". Your data space on the Web will be something you will controll access to in a myriad of ways, and it will include the option to provide licensed access to commercial entities on your terms. Naturally, you will also determine the currency that facilitates the value exchange :-)

Related

]]> Kingsley Uyi Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com>