Bob DuCharme recently wrote on his blog, “I think I’ve figured it out… Here’s how to sell the Semantic Web and Linked Data visions to the Big Data folk: don’t. Sell them on RDF technology. The process of selling a set of technologies usually means selling a vision, getting people psyched about that vision, and then telling them about the technology that implements that vision. For RDF technology (by which I mean RDF, SPARQL, and optionally, RDFS and OWL), the vision for many years was the Semantic Web. Some people in that community eventually decided that an easier vision to sell was Linked Data. (Linked Data may not always include RDF technology—when Tim Berners-Lee added ‘(RDF*, SPARQL)’ to his list of Linked Data principles, it became the filioque controversy of the Linked Data community—but the boundaries of this or other sets of technologies I’m discussing are not the issue here. The point is, it’s very common to use the Linked Data vision to sell people on the value of using URIs, triples, and SPARQL together.)” Read more

Last week, SemanticWeb.com put out a challenge to our readership to answer the questrion, “What is the Semantic Web?” in the form of a 90-second elevator pitch.  Read the original challenge and watch the video here.

This week, we are pleased to feature this entry from Sandro Hawke of the World Wide Web Consortium.  It’s a good one, and Sandro gets extra points for actually shooting his video in an elevator (at MIT’s Stata Center, no less)! 

What is the Semantic Web? (for a general, non-technical audience)

Shortly after we published the initial request for pitches, Sandro reached out asking if a better question might not be, “What is the Semantic Web good for?” addressing the value proposition.  It’s a good point, and I expect that many pitches will answer this question as well.  Certainly, if you feel that’s a stronger angle, feel free to pitch accordingly.

As Sandro’s video shows, a pitch doesn’t have to be complicated.  In fact, it should not be.  It does not need to explain the many nuances of semantic technology.  The main goal of these pitches should be to grab a listener’s interest such that the listener says, “Tell me more.”

So, Semantic Web community, “Tell me more!” keep those pitches coming!

See how to submit your own pitch here.

–Eric Franzon
VP Community
SemanticWeb.com