The Semantic Web

This is a great video that shows an introduction to the semantic web. It reminds me of the recommended video on the syllabus about the history of BI. Both videos are very easy to understand and have a light, comical feel to them.

The video clearly explains the difference between semantics and syntax. Syntax is how you say something and semantics is the meaning. The difference between these terms plays a big role in the current limitation of the web. The internet let users communicate with each other and exchange information. The World Wide Web led to quick and easy retrieval of documents and the html language. The problem was that the computers only understood the html language and just mimicked the info for retrieval. The computers could not realize the syntax (or the meaning) of the information being presented.

The semantic web helps computers understand the meanings of things on the web. They can also learn relationships between items. This helps the end user because if the computer can understand the meaning of what you are looking for, it won’t have to rely completely on key words to search for it. If it can understand what you looking for, the web and search engines can be more beneficial and successful in finding the best information. This can greatly save time for the end-user.