In the mood for some “deep” computer-based reading? Well then I suppose it also depends on what you mean by “deep” — after all is it mind blowing or profound? Is it cumbersome or difficult? Is it exciting or uplifting? Yes, I’m just playing semantics with you, and it’s particularly fun because it’s a victimless crime — my favorite kind.
Yesterday I was reading through some of Mark Pilgrim’s blog and by chance came across a rather dystopic view of what could happen when humanity relies more upon computing than… the gubmint.
The story is set in the future (2009) and discusses How Google beat Amazon and Ebay to the Semantic Web. The author, Paul Ford, describes in detail various scenarios, playing each one out to possible conclusions.
Now the question is still nagging you: “What is the Semantic Web?” Put simply, it’s the herein now, where computers (AI more specifically) can read, decipher, organize, transport and communicate data to various sources - whether it be another AI, or ‘Agent’ as they are termed, or to a device (like your Semantic-enabled microwave) or to another human being through a browser of some sort.
Many bloggers are familiar with the concept actually, they are merely unaware with what goes on behind the scenes and the various lingo involved. Blogs that produce an RSS file (more specifically, in the RDF format such as 1.0) create an opportunity for bots & aggregators to grab the defined data (written in XML) and then route the data to an assortment of news readers, databases, indices and spam generators.
RDF stands for Resource Description Framework. It’s a standard for describing and interchanging data, metadata. It’s also the solution to one of the biggest hurdles in creating artificial intelligence that can understand and reproduce results in a manner that human beings can interpret and use.
One of the key ingredients to a successful blog (and one I promote to and educate my clients with) is an RDF-compliant RSS output, as it allows these AI “Agents” to understand what is being said - in fact, I would go as far as to say that this should be the centerpiece of the blog (more on that at a later time).
Why is this important? The RDF standard creates a more accurate description (perfect even) of what your blog is discussing. If thousands of AI-agents understand and interpret the information from your blog correctly, your blog can be more easily transmitted and distributed to that many more channels. As more RSS-specific search-engines appear (or become integrated with existing ones) the more access your blog has to more individuals.
Should you throw away all the blogging software available and build your blog solely around RDF? Fortunately you do not have to do that as you can currently build and use templates (written in XML, of which RSS is an application of) that interpret and parse what you blog about into the proper format.
What’s the bottom line? Your blog is more accessible to others and can therefore receive and attract a larger audience, faster and easier than before.
Note: Chicks also dig compliance, maybe it would be an opportune time for pasty, vitamin-C deprived geeks to learn and integrate Venusian into their every day lives. Maybe the W3C could standarize that too.