Re: Reminder: SysBio Wednesday 11AM ET / 4PM GMT / 5PM CET

Hi,

Just a quick comment. We used to have a Semantic Web / BioPAX workgroup, which probably partially overlaps with the intentions of the W3C Sys Bio Group. The workgroup has been stale for a while, essentially because of a lack of time from who was supposed to organize it... but we just had some discussion at Harmony and things can get moving again soon (suspense element).

If things go as planned, I think it would make sense to at least have some sort of joint sessions with this group.

On the lack of (4), I think it depends on the scope of the group. If there is a focus that touches SysBio people, some may be interested (say, RDF for representing layout information which relates to pathways...). If it's more a hub for Sem Web people interested in Systems Biology, you can get people to present what they are doing, but I doubt much more. If the focus is building proof of concepts of approaches to improve Systems Biology resources, you can get some interested party, but you are addressing a minority (at least to begin with).
Not so different from other ares of Life Sciences in the end.

>From another point of view, it also help to have somebody well known in the Systems Biology community on-board... like Mike for instance ;)

best,
Andrea

Il giorno 24/mag/2012, alle ore 16.18, Mark ha scritto:

> Hi all SysBio'ers!
> 
> I know it isn't really my place to be saying anything, but... when has that ever stopped me ;-)
> 
> The last conference call was... odd?...  and while Jun's extraordinary efforts to keep it moving forward were greatly appreciated (!!  well done !!) I think it might be worth having a very open discussion about what our expectations are from this group, since it was a fairly small group and apparently with a wide range of experience and expertise.
> 
> From what I could hear, there were four "tiers" of expertise in the group.  Starting from the bottom:
> 
> 1)  People like me, who know nothing at all beyond that the SysBio/Modeling community have worked hard on putting together standards and technologies that are bearing fruit; and that I (as a mere potential user of the tech) need to become MUCH more aware of what they're doing in order to successfully pursue my own research interests.  So... I'm the ultimate lurker on the call.
> 
> 2)  People like Erich, who know *a lot* about what's going on in the field (because this is their company's business!) but, as a vendor, isn't going to be the first one to speak in a call like this because it might come-off sounding like a sales-pitch.  He's likely interested in both how the technology is evolving (to ensure their products stay current) as well as listening to the needs of the community (so that their products stay relevant), but I don't expect him to lead the discussion if for no other reason than he's simply too polite to "take-over"  :-)
> 
> 3)  People like Jun, who has put in a lot of time learning what's out there, has a deep and genuine interest, and wants to discuss the pro's and con's of the various pieces at some level of detail with people who have at least tried to use it.  (...but there weren't many! ...so she was speaking to herself most of the time...)
> 
> 4)  The full experts in the domain, most of whom were not able to make the call, unfortunately.  And I don't say that in any way as an accusation, but rather, looking forward, I see a potential "boredom problem", which is what I think needs to be discussed.  At least one of the domain experts who did attend, left the call mid-chat on the basis that it was "too simplistic" (exact quote from IRC)... so if we don't find a way to engage you, the experts, we might be in for some disappointing meetings!
> 
> 
> What I'd like to ask the SysBio community - especially category (4), since it seems to me that they are the critical ones to have on these calls, is:  "what can WE (1), (2), (3) do to make these calls as useful to you as they will be to us?"  I understand that you're probably already talking to each other, since this field is your "baby", and thus these calls have the potential to offer you little benefit beyond your existing email (etc.) chats!  ...So... what can we do, as the broader-community, to provide value/feedback/etc. that would ensure we all - experts and noobs alike - get something useful out of this group and enjoy and value the hour that we spend together every couple of weeks?
> 
> If I'm speaking out-of-turn, please flame me :-)  I can take it!  LOL! I just want to see this group succeed, and I am willing to stick my neck out to see if I can help!
> 
> :-)===={
> 
>   ^^^
>  my neck
> 
> Best wishes all!
> 
> Mark
> 
> 
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Received on Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:08:46 UTC