Strong opinion on Web 2.0
“They have taken an encyclopaedic definition of meaning, by which, for example, Anyone can call themselves a French speaker if they can use words like Paris or Marseilles, when, of course, actually knowing French is far more complicated”
The above quote, aimed at pointing out weaknesses of the semantic web, probably strikes a chord with anyone who has seen an English tourist in a quaint little French bakery ordering, with the most British of tongues, “un jambon sandwich s’il vous plait”. In this case, the argument is quite correct. Knowing a couple of words does not mean you've mastered a language.
Let’s face it, the tourist ordering from the bakery is not kidding anybody. They clearly haven’t been raised in the chateau down the road, they obviously don’t see the beret as the right fashion statement for them and they evidently wouldn’t know that 1974 was a cracking year for Cote Rotie.
But then the objective never was to convince the locals they were French. The objective was to get lunch and therefore, knowing what to say, no matter how simplistic the language, is surely better than going hungry? (Or worse still, ending up with the tripe baguette, that was otherwise destined to remain untouched until its inevitable arrival at the bin outback.)
In business terms, this makes the above statement on web 2.0 look rather brutal. It is of course true that saying a French word doesn’t mean you speak French; to understand the language and its many ins and outs would take years of study and dedicated practise. But in the business world that is not always possible, time never appears to be on your side. Sometimes you need to know solid facts fast and to get as much knowledge as possible on any given subject in order to successfully and efficiently execute the job in hand. It’s not always about knowing a company inside out; it’s about knowing what you need to know to achieve your aim.
In this sense the semantic web is an exciting concept for almost any industry. It may not be able to teach you French yet, but it can act as the perfect tour guide, enabling you to find the best French attractions, eat at the finest French restaurants and sleep at the comfiest of French hotels. In other words, you may not be a local but you’ll certainly be an expert on everything local.
People are always quick to put down innovative ideas and dismiss them as impossible aspirations (everyone remembers the genius who confidently predicted the world would only ever need six computers) but these people fail to recognise that pioneering initiatives develop with practise. Right now it is surely better to be a tourist in the know, than a tourist lost at the airport.
----------------------------------------
Next week - Artesian Solutions’ CEO Andrew Yates will be jetting off to San Francisco for ‘Web Mission 2009’ an event to support the best new web 2.0 companies. Follow his progress with the Web Mission diary.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment