W3C has published a report from the Workshop on the Future of Social Networking. Observations from the fifty-five organizations that participated (and submitted 72 position papers) include:

• By enabling users to share profiles and data across networks, social networking sites can grow further and open possibilities for a decentralized architecture for the Social Web.
• Contextual information, especially for mobile device users, can significantly enrich the social networking user experience.
• Many users remain unaware of the impact of social networking on their privacy.

The report highlights the need for an interoperable distributed social Web framework and suggests concrete next steps for W3C. W3C now welcomes interested parties to contribute to public discussion. See also video highlights from the Workshop or read the press release.

SemTechBiz is Less Than 2 Weeks Away

The Semantic Tech & Business Conference (SemTechBiz) is coming to San Francisco on June 3-7! Join us for case studies, innovative panels, tutorials, and keynotes that will provide you with practical advice, hands-on guidance, and breakthrough approaches to solving business problems with semantic technology. Passes go up $200 at the door. Sign up now and save !