Re: Linked Data Business Models?

On 7/29/12 9:37 AM, Members Fusepool wrote:
> When reading through this list (not just this thread), where a naive 
> observer would locate LOD's most vocal enthusiasts, I get the 
> impression that LOD is in the midst of the Valley of Death.

But, Linked Data != Linked Open Data (LOD).

Conflating them is part of a general problem in this realm. Basically, 
conflation is everywhere and the net effect is confusion and misconception.

> So before you sell your fortune, note that clever investors are just 
> waiting for the Valley of Death to buy at lowest valuations...

Maybe, who doesn't want acquire value and opportunity at rock bottom 
prices?

>
> More seriously: standardized, open, non-proprietary approaches for 
> adding value to data will win because interoperable and 
> interchangeable methods and parts significantly decrease the cost of 
> production and the network effects of new adopters make these 
> approaches increasingly more valuable to all. The question is not 
> whether, but when (remember Keynes: in the long-term we're all dead).

Yes.

>
> As to the when, when is the right time, NEVER listen to the majority 
> of existing customers when pursuing real innovations.

You make a great point. I might articulate it a little differently 
though. Basically, do listen to the pains of your customers en route to 
alignment with current and future product and services portfolios. Ditto 
product development prioritization etc..

> In this (admittedly rare) case, existing customers are the millstone 
> around your neck. They bother you with their reality, the status quo, 
> and can get quite demanding. But the reality of today can never be the 
> reality of the future, it never has been and it will never be that way.

Correct!

>
> As long-term observer of the Semantic Web world, I'm scratching my 
> head because more than 10 years in the internet age ARE very 
> long-term. So what's going on here? My impression is that the initial 
> deep mismatch/mistrust of business and open advocates (remember when 
> open-source was seen as something communist? ... remember Sun CEO 
> O'Neilly?) has never been resolved really in the semweb world, which 
> it definitely has in open-source software (oss).
>
> So what went wrong? A single answer would not serve a complex problem 
> but one reason why semweb and oss developed differently regarding 
> business impact may be that the former was too reliant on academic 
> institutions and their funding, which made it possible to sustain a 
> semweb world relatively independent from business requirements.

Sorta. In my experience, as stated at the top of the post, we have 
conflation as a problem on the technical, product, and marketing ends. 
There has been a tendency to position Linked Data and (by association) 
the Semantic Web as silver bullet technologies with an underlying "rip 
and replace" narrative. When the aforementioned isn't the case, the 
tendency is to pitch the technology as being devoid of any do-it-your 
(DIY) exploitation patterns, all with the pursuit of development and 
consulting contracts in mind etc..

>
> Anyway, what is needed now are real business or societal use cases 
> that have a lasting impact, the ones that I read in the Sunday morning 
> newspaper about as I do about oss.

Yes, and they exist, but we do have a bit of a cognitive dissonance 
issue to address before this becomes the norm.
>
> So, let's drop the demo, and another demo, and yet another demo of 
> cool or not-so-cool things and plan for real usage scenarios that 
> offer a SOLUTION.

Speaking for myself, a Linked Data demo should be  a live link to a real 
application use-case. I follow this rule of thumb because after all, 
this is about Linked Data where Hyperlinks are the alpha and omega. 
Every ounce of value starts with a Hyperlink.

Kingsley
>
> It's just a rainy Sunday afternoon...
>
> Michael Kaschesky
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 12:08 AM, Kingsley Idehen 
> <kidehen@openlinksw.com <mailto:kidehen@openlinksw.com>> wrote:
>
>     All,
>
>     There is a tendency assume an eternal lack of functional and
>     scalable business models with regards to Linked Data. I think its
>     time for an open discussion about this matter.
>
>     It's no secret, I've never seen business models as challenging
>     Linked Data. Quite the contrary. That said, instead of a dump from
>     me about my viewpoints on Linked Data models, how about starting
>     this discussion by identifying any non "Advertising based business
>     model" that have actually worked on the Web to date.
>
>     As far as I know, "Advertising" and "Surreptitious Personal
>     Profile Data Wholesale" are the only models that have made a
>     difference to the bottom lines of: Google, Facebook, Twitter,
>     Yahoo! and other non eCommerce oriented behemoths.
>
>     Based on the above, let's have a serious and frank discussion
>     about business models with the understanding agreement that one
>     size will never fit all, ever, so this rule cannot be overlooked
>     re. Linked Data. Also remember, Business models aren't silver
>     bullets, they are typically aligned with markets (qualified and
>     quantified pain points) and the evolving nature of tangible and
>     monetizable value.
>
>     Hopefully, the floor is now open to everyone that has a vested
>     interest in this very important matter :-)
>
>     -- 
>
>     Regards,
>
>     Kingsley Idehen
>     Founder & CEO
>     OpenLink Software
>     Company Web: http://www.openlinksw.com
>     Personal Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen
>     <http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/%7Ekidehen>
>     Twitter/Identi.ca handle: @kidehen
>     Google+ Profile: https://plus.google.com/112399767740508618350/about
>     LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kidehen
>
>
>
>
>
>


-- 

Regards,

Kingsley Idehen	
Founder & CEO
OpenLink Software
Company Web: http://www.openlinksw.com
Personal Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen
Twitter/Identi.ca handle: @kidehen
Google+ Profile: https://plus.google.com/112399767740508618350/about
LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kidehen