Event News

At midnight Eastern US Time on October 31, 2011, the Call For Presentations ends for the first Berlin Semantic Technology & Business (#SemTechBiz) Conference.

About the Conference

The 2012 Semantic Tech & Business Conference (#SemTechBiz) will be held at the Seminaris CampusHotel Berlin in Berlin, Germany on 6-7 February 2012.

The conference is two days of presentations, panels, case studies and conversations. The conference is designed for business and technology executives who need to learn what semantic technologies are and how to take advantage of semantics in their enterprise and web-based systems. Attendees will further their technical understanding in introductory sessions and learn from our expert Keynote speakers how to integrate the technology into their organization and how to benefit from it. Discovering all the latest tools while providing an unprecedented opportunity to network, talk shop and share ideas among like-minded industry peers and influencers is what the conference is all about.

If you have not yet submitted a proposal and have a good story to tell about a business application of Semantic Technologies, now is your chance. Begin the submission process here:

http://semtechbizberlin2012.semanticweb.com/cfp.cfm?pgid=40

Along with our partners at Mediabistro.com, we’ve released the complete conference schedule for the upcoming SemTechBiz DC Conference. The conference — which will take place from November 29 through December 1, 2011 in Washington, DC — is set to feature the latest innovations in Semantic Web and linked data technologies. With sessions ranging from introductory discussions to advanced technical lectures, speakers from around the country will offer business cases, product demonstrations, and insights relating to the hottest trends and greatest advances of the Semantic Web. Read more

The Environmental Protection Agency is facing some tough challenges in the run-up to the presidential elections. The House wants to cut its funding by 18 percent, and it’s dealing with criticism from some corners that new regulatory proposals could impose another burden on businesses that may hurt economic recovery efforts.

Hands up if you think this makes an even stronger case for investigating the role of semantic technology and Linked Data projects in the government sector. Semantic technology doesn’t favor any political parties’ agendas, of course. But Linked Data approaches do help the government (and the citizenry) do more with and get more out of data for less money, as Bernadette Hyland, co-chair W3C Government Linked Data Working Group and CEO of 3 Round Stones, explains here.

Add to that that its application could some day have a softening impact on regulatory requirements, too. While it’s too early in the government’s exploration of Linked Data for such scenarios to have been played out yet, the idea seems to have merit. “I’m part of the EPA’s IT organization so I’m not really involved in policy work, but there’s huge potential there,” says  David G. Smith, Information Management Specialist at the U.S. EPA. Smith will be speaking at the upcoming Semantic Tech & Business Conference in Washington D.C. about the work the EPA has underway related to Linked Data.

Consider, for example, that modeling and publishing and mashing linked government data sets – the EPA’s but other agencies’, too – could lead to new understandings into the cumulative regulatory burden on companies.

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The first Semantic Technology and Business Conference in the United Kingdom (#semtechbiz) wrapped up in London this week, and there are some themes that emerged from the presentations and networking conversations.

We heard a lot about the benefits of using Semantic Technology solutions. There were strong case studies and experiences shared, and we will be diving deeper into some of these in coming weeks here at SemanticWeb.com.  Sometimes these solutions were in place of — and sometimes in conjunction with — RDBMS databases, spreadsheets, XML files, and other data management systems.  While there was a nice diversity of companies, industries, and products represented, there seemed to be consensus around some of the following benefits of using Semantic Tech for business applications:

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The Semantic Web Media Summit on September 14 in New York was a great success, a recent article reports. This review of the event covers several sessions including Michael Dunn’s keynote and Mike Petit’s “call to action.” According to the article, Petit noted that “(1) The Semantic Web and its associated technology have become tangible and effective tools for publishers, and (2) Social media have complicated the publishing model and have become indispensable.” Read more

Learn the conceptual framework and principles required to apply
semantic technologies to various domains

Semsphere is offering a three-module, distance-learning course called, “Intro to Semantic Technologies, Linked Data, and Ontologies,” and SemanticWeb.com is pleased to announce that our readers get a 10% discount on course fees.  The course will take place over four weeks and is designed for researchers, evangelists, and hobbyists who want to use semantic technologies.

It features live, weekly webcasts, guided tutorials, course materials, interaction with the instructor, and access to recorded instructional sessions. The modules cover three core topics: semantic technologies, linked data, and ontologies.

WHEN: 4 weeks (October 17 - November 7)
WHERE: Online
LEVEL: Introductory
WHO: Researchers, evangelists, and hobbyists who want to use semantic technologies
PRICE: $1,278
(SemanticWeb readers receive a 10% discount off the regular price of $1,420.)

SYLLABUS

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The SemTechBiz family of events continues to grow. The latest addition is a two-day event in Berlin from February 6-7, 2012. According to the announcement, “The Berlin Semantic Tech & Business Conference is two days of presentations, panels, case studies and conversations. The conference is designed for business and technology executives who need to learn what semantic technologies are and how to take advantage of semantics in their enterprise and web-based systems. Attendees will further their technical understanding in introductory sessions and learn from our expert Keynote speakers how to integrate the technology into their organizations and how to benefit from it. Discovering all the latest tools while providing an unprecedented opportunity to network, talk shop, and share ideas among like-minded industry peers and influencers is what the conference is all about.”

Read more

Date:	Thursday, August 25, 2011
Time:	2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT
Cost:	FREE
[NOTE: The first block of tickets for this webcast sold out within 24 hours. A new block is now available, but going fast! Additionally, the webcast will be recorded and archived here at SemanticWeb.com]

Description:
Semantic web and linked data technologies are built around a simple data model that makes it easy to share and combine data from disparate sources across the public internet or across silos on a private intranet. SPARQL is the query language standard from the W3C (the same standards body that brought us HTML, CSS, and XML) for querying this data. A variety of free and commercial software implementations have made it easy for people to get started with SPARQL and to incorporate it into applications that take advantage of the growing availability of linked data on the web.
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I hate to even mention how quickly Summer is passing, but as we head into August, it’s time to start making plans for the busy Fall event season. September is particularly full of Semantic Tech events.

September 14, in New York City, the Semantic Web Media Summit will take place. A half-day meeting focused on uses of Semantic Web in media, advertising, and publishing, the event is produced by SemanticWeb.com, Lotico.com and our parent company, MediaBistro. With a keynote by Mike Dunn, CTO of Hearst Interactive, and contributions from a stellar group of presenters, the program promises to be a must-attend event for anyone in the New York area interested in how Semantic Technology is changing the media world.  OpenAmplify is sponsoring the conference.

September 21-23, DC-2011, the eleventh International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications, will take place at the National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague.

Also on Sept. 21, the folks at Schema.org are planning a workshop in Silicon Valley. There are still few details available about this event.

September 26-27, The London Semantic Technology and Business Conference (#SemTechBiz) takes place at the Hotel Russell. This two-day executive conference is designed for business and technology executives who need to learn what semantic technologies are and how to take advantage of semantics in their enterprise and web-based systems. Attendees will further their technical understanding in introductory sessions and learn from the Keynote speakers John O’Donovan (Press Association), Martin Hepp (Hepp Research), Steve Harris (Garlik), and Dennis E. Wisnosky, U.S. Department of Defense.

On Monday, June 20, a group of Semantic thought leaders from around the globe met with their host and colleague, Paul Miller, for the seventh installment of the Semantic Link, a monthly podcast covering the world of Semantic Technologies. This episode includes a discussion about schema.org and a review of some of the goings-on at the recent SemTech: Semantic Technology Conference. Read more