Semantic Web

My research on Semantic web and possibilities of 'Linked data' continues...

The more I tried figuring it out, my understanding got fuzzier in the the myriad complexities of Ontology's, RDFs, OWLs and SPARQLs.. that is untill I came across this nice introduction on youtube.

Recommended Introduction on Semantic web for all those uninitiated, like me..



Welcome to the world of Semantics..

Linked Data - new paradigm of Information Management

I work in 'Professional Services' Industry. Out here Information is 'vital' and making structural inferences out of disorganized information is 'Money' ($$). In my current organization, we have information stored in multiple data sources such as warehouse, wikis, blogs, document management systems, lotus notes based collaboration systems etc. The key challenge we are facing is how to find information ranked by relevance. How to link data from different sources to make meaningful inferences?

I heard Sir Tim Berners Lee, outlining the concept of Linked Data, and was greatly moved by it. Can Semantic web bring about the next revolution in the way we see, perceive and interpret data? Let's find out..

Try out the following steps.
1. Check out the Ontology viewer on Yago (a semantic knowledge base developed by Max-Plank Institute, Saarbrucken). NOTE - This would require Java applet enabled on your viewer
2. You should see an entity 'India' and it's relationships with other entities.
3. Click on other entities and browse through the semantic web (of course limited to the 2 million entities that Yago has put up so far)..

Hope this primer gets you initiated on Semantic web..more to follow on future posts.

10 habits of highly effective IT professionals

Just completed reading Simon Stapleton's ebook titled '10 habits of highly effective IT professionals'. Here are the habits Simon propounds

1. Openly share knowledge
2. Coach Others
3. Learn by reviewing
4. Focus on strengths and strive to avoid weaknesses
5. Remember that "everybody is a resource"
6. Effectively deliver value
7. Delegate effectively
8. Escalate at the right time
9. Actively participate in a value chain
10. Create the right work-life balance

My take - it's a nice refresher of habits we know but at times ignore. Good news it's available for free download at SimonStapleton.com after a quick registration.

Recommended reading.

The Technical debt

In the world of agile development, refactoring of code is an essential practice.

Watch Ward Cunningham reflecting on the history and common misunderstanding of the 'debt metaphor', as he presents the case for continuous refactoring.