Re: natural language visual interface for SPARQL

When you move into the area of search you are talking big business
interests and this really high lights the whole problem that confronts the
public data semantic community.
First of all there are a number of search start ups and some are using
semantics more obviously. I don't have references to hand, you will have to
use google!! 'start up search companies'?

The problem two fold, privacy of data/data ownership and business model.
You know this all depends on politics.
If one's politics are that people should be able to make the best informed
choices for themselves then one should also think about choices in relation
to what?
Buying a washing machine is very different to thinking generally about
global warming.
The internet at the moment seems to be more skewed to immediate consumption
than providing the ground for informed debate and this is a paradoxical
thing given the rise of social media.
The truth is that we don't quite know how to do social media intelligently
- the most intelligent conversation I see or take part in are through
special interest groups by email like this.
Meanwhile social media is glammed up and fed by information gathered from
individuals that goes to creating that environment through the filter of
the provision of an income stream for the service provider.
This inhibits a certain type of innovation.

Contemplating alternatives is difficult. What if there were some BBC type
alternative? In this country the BBC are very influential on the hearts and
minds of the public. Aside from their revenue model they have for instance
in their news rooms highly professional editors who introduce items and
carefully word the presentation.
It is true they have broad trust world wide, but this still does not mean
there is no bias or modelling going on that influences people, perhaps
unduly.
In my opinion it is not so much what is said as what is left out that is
the problem. But a more negative reflection of the true state of the world
would be dangerous (cause unrest) so those highly trained editors would
never allow it.
Thinking about the content reflected in search results I think that the
internet does allow this debate in the form of mailing list type forum - it
is just that I may not have explored as much as I might - so the question
about semantic search might be how results would more intelligently reflect
some of this public debate - if that is what someone is looking for?
Something along those lines?
That is a more intelligent understanding of topics.

Adam



On 19 August 2012 11:30, Paola Di Maio <paola.dimaio@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hellew Hugh
>
> >>I can sort of begin to imagine how it might be done, but it would >>be
> >>quite hard work.
>
> any search agorithm hides extreme complexity-
>
> a search engine is a simple interface that covers it up (for my luck)
> and allows the user to dig
>
> standard search brings up a  blanket result, while
> advance search allows the search algorithm to be modified
> according to more defined criteria
>
> I annot possibly understand why there isnt such a thing as a semantic
> search public engine yet
>  (or is there?? give  now please :-)
>
>
> >>>And so I can't make the business case to do it -
> lots in public funding spent to develop the SW, i would have thought
> this kind of feature would be a priority for research?
> when something works a business model can be built around it
>
> have a good Sunday
> :-)
>
> P
>
>