What could you build if the entire web was your database?

A hackathon has been added to the agenda of the Semantic Technology & Business Conference. Semantic Hack, organized by SemanticWeb.com and Diffbot, will be an opportunity for developers and designers to work with RDF, SPARQL, OWL, entity extraction, natural language processing, sentiment analysis, newly available datasets, and other semantic technologies that help make the web more readable, accessible and dynamic for humans and more interpretable by machines. Semantic Hack is free to attend and prior experience with semantics is NOT required to participate.

Registration is open, but space is limited. Hackathon organizers are currently seeking coaches and sponsors; those interested in either role should contact the organizers.

• Who: Developers, designers, and others interested in semantic technology
• What: A day-long hackathon to build applications that help further expand the semantic web, or demonstrate the power of accessible web data
• Where: Hilton San Francisco Union Square
• When: Saturday, June 1, 2013, 9am – 9pm

Current sponsors include Bosatsu Consulting, The National Center for Biomedical Ontology, Protégé, and Stardog.

http://SemanticHack.eventbrite.com

The preliminary program for the upcoming Semantic Technology & Business Conference (June, 2-5, 2013 in San Francisco) was announced yesterday. Today, we are pleased to add that the second annual “Top Semantic Start-Up Competition” is open for submissions! The contest will take place at the conference venue, the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, on Monday, June 3, 2013. Start-ups who wish to compete should visit http://semtechbizsf2013.semanticweb.com/start-up-comp.cfm for further details.

“It is a very exciting time for start-ups in the Semantic Technology sector. With organizations like Gartner taking note of the importance of these technologies, and companies of all sizes wanting to glean insight from increasingly available data sources, investors and customers are paying attention. Last year, the judges had a difficult time deciding which company would win the prize. This year, we expect that decision will be even harder,” said contest moderator, our own Eric Franzon.

There will be two phases to the contest. In phase one, companies enter a profile of their start-up in an online form (keep reading for details), and ten finalist companies will be selected to present their pitches in person at the Semantic Technology & Business Conference. In phase 2, those ten companies will each deliver a pitch in front of a panel of judges with experience in entrepreneurship and investment. A single company will be selected as the winner. Prizes will be awarded at the completion of each phase.

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The highly-anticipated program for the Semantic Technology and Business Conference (#SemTechBiz), June 2-5, 2013 in San Francisco has been announced. The conference returns to the Hilton Union Square for four comprehensive days of fresh insight and immersive learning from global experts. #SemTechBiz brings together today’s industry thought leaders and practitioners to explore the challenges and opportunities  impacting both corporate business leaders and technologists.

When asked about the program, Conference Co-Chair Eric Franzon said, “When we launched this conference in 2005, the discussion focused around a question: ‘We have this marvelous set of technologies. How can we use them practically?’ Today, we are in a very different place. With impressive case studies demonstrating cost savings, new revenues, and practical implementations, Semantic Technologies have become an important thing for technologists, executives, marketing experts, data professionals, investors, and other stakeholders to pay very close attention to.”

“In June, we will learn from the experience of those who have leveraged Semantic Technologies to make money, save money, gain more value from existing business assets, shorten development times, and solve very real problems. We will hear about how Semantic Technologies are being used to glean insight from ‘Big Data.’ ”

View the program here

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Time is running out, but due to an overwhelming number of requests for “more time,” the organizers of the 2013 Semantic Technology & Business Conference – San Francisco, have decided to extend the Call For Presentations deadline for submissions until the end of Monday, January 21.

Important Links:

• Submission guidelines and complete instructions
• Submission form
• Information on sponsorship opportunities

You can also take advantage of our super early bird rates by registering before February 7.

There’s still time to make a speaking proposal for the Semantic Technology & Business Conference, June 2-5 in San Francisco.

Once again, we plan to make it the biggest and most comprehensive educational conference on the business of semantic technologies. Contribute to this event by sharing the practical experience you have gained in your own semantic projects. Speaking offers numerous benefits including an unparalleled platform to gain exposure for your institution; increased credibility for your business, project or team; and the opportunity to convey your goals and vision with an audience of attendees from around the world.

We are looking for case studies big and small – whether you’re building a semantic start-up, a large enterprise implementation, or you’ve done semantic annotation on a local business web site. They are all relevant, because the curiosity of the audience is so rich and diverse. We are looking for 3-hour tutorials, 45-minute breakout sessions and panels, and 5 minute lightning talks.

The Call for Presentations ends this Friday, January 18, so get your abstract together now. All the information you need and the links to submit your presentation proposal, are HERE.

Proposals will be reviewed by our outstanding Program Advisory Committee.

Conference registration is also open. Register by February 7 and save with substantial early bird discounts.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at Eric[ at ]SemanticWeb.com

Thanks,

Eric Franzon & Stewart Quealy
Conference Co-Chairs

Following successful runs in London and New York City, the Semantic Technology & Business Conference (#SemTechBiz) is returning to San Francisco June 2-5, 2013. Today, we are pleased to announce that the Call For Presentations is open for submissions.

The deadline to enter is January 18, 2013, and we are currently seeking proposals for:

• Conference Sessions – 45 minutes
• Panel Sessions – 45 minutes (must propose moderator and panelists, even if not finalized)
• Tutorials – 3 hours
• Lightning Talks – 5 minutes

What are we looking for?

We are interested in a wide variety of presentations, from business and consumer applications through to fundamental technology discussions.  Over the years, the emphasis of the program has gradually shifted more towards practical experience as Semantic Technologies have matured and gained adoption both on the web and in enterprise systems, so we’re very much looking for semantic case studies and project experience. If you are developing a tool, or using semantics to create an exciting new start-up company, we want to hear from you as well.  Keep in mind that precedence will be given to sessions that offer an interactive element and are designed to provide actionable ideas (get to the heart of the matter!). And having said all that, we still keep time-slots available for cutting edge research and thought-leadership.  So SemTechBiz really is an all-inclusive program for the community.

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[Updated October 5, 2012, 10:02 am ET]

SemanticWeb.com is pleased to announce that Andrew Nicklin, manager of New York City’s Open Data portal, and best-selling author David Weinberger will both deliver keynote speeches at this month’s Semantic Technology and Business Conference, October 15-17 in New York City. Nicklin and Weinberger will deliver their highly anticipated keynotes amidst a full program of presentations covering the role semantic technology know plays in the healthcare, finance, business, technology, and publishing industries.

New York – The Digital City of the Future by Andrew Nicklin, Office of Strategic Technology and Development – NYC DoITT

New York City is leading numerous technology and entrepreneurially-driven initiatives, from the Mayor’s “Digital City of the Future” vision, to the Open Data Law, and the new CornellNYC Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. NYC intends to be the first “City in the Linked Open Data cloud.” This presentation sets the scene for the conference by putting all of these plans into context and demonstrating how New York’s industries can participate in this quintessentially data-driven future.

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Next month’s SemTechBiz UK in London will explore how Semantic Technologies have moved well beyond the theoretical to practical applications that allow users to interact with semantic systems in tangible ways. The conference will be held 19-20 September in London and will feature real-world case studies, dynamic presentations, and innovative keynotes from some of the most forward-thinking minds in the world of Semantic Technology.

Early bird rates end tomorrow, so register today and save.

Featured Presentations

Tangible Semantics with Christian Doegl, CEO & Founder – Uma Information Technology GmbH

Uma is the marriage of semantic technology with interactive signage and multi-touch displays, RFID technology, audience metrics, and social media integration. Uma has its own semantic content curator engine that can contextualize data from additional repositories, such as a vendor’s internal product database, to deliver appropriate accompanying information. This presentation will demonstrate UMA touchscreen displays and show the power of a very easy to use interface where users can simply connect different databases or social channels, the content gets aggregated and semantically annotated, and then is brought into context and presented automatically on the wall. From there users approaching the display wall can touch their way through the content.

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The Semantic Technology and Business Conference is heading back to the Big Apple in October. The conference — which will take place October 15-17 in New York City — will feature keynote speeches from top movers and shakers in the fields of Semantic Web Technology, Big Data, Enterprise Semantics, and more. Registration for the event is now open.

Keynote Presentations

Watson Goes Back to School – And what it tells us about the evolving role of semantic technology
by Christopher Welty, Research Scientist – IBM Research

In the traditional vision of AI, understanding flowed from perception through language to knowledge… This is the root of all semantic technology today. However, over time, the failure of the AI community to achieve this end-to-end vision made many, especially those in NLP, question the endpoint. In this talk, we show that it was the vision, not the technology, that deserved to be doubted. Semantic technology has significant value in accomplishing tasks that require understanding, but it is not the endpoint. Read more

Rising Media and WebMediaBrands, producers of the Semantic Technology and Business Conference – UK (#SemTechBiz), have announced details of this year’s event, the foremost conference series on semantic technologies.

This year’s line-up of speakers includes Professor Nigel Shadbolt, Co-Director, Open Data Institute. A former President of the British Computer Society, Professor Shadbolt has been involved in a wide range of entrepreneurial activities.  In 2009, together with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, he was appointed as information advisor by the Prime Minister to help transform public access to Government information. Professor Shadbolt will be delivering a keynote presentation on day 1 of the conference.

The 2012 Semantic Technology and Business Conference – UK will be held on 19-20 September at The Millennium Gloucester Hotel, 4-18 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4HL.

Semantic Technology and Business Conference – UK brings together today’s industry thought leaders and practitioners to explore the challenges and opportunities impacting both corporate business leaders and technologists. The two day conference is packed with case studies and real-world perspectives, with insight and learning from global experts in technology, financial services, insurance, healthcare, publishing, government, automotive and enterprise data.

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