The Semantic Web – as popularized by Tim-Berners Lee – is developing so rapidly that references to “semantic” and “Web 3.0″ are commonly treated as synonyms. Apart from information discovery and aggregation, not much has been written about how semantic technology can be leveraged to improve user experience as a whole. This is unfortunate for a technology where the “semantic” is often overshadowed by the “web.”

But in reality, machine-readable concept structures – and the rules underlying those concepts – can be used to support any aspect of context-reliant user experience. In fact, because semantic web technologies provide such a powerful way of discovering not just new data, but new types of information, semantic technology could play a key role in managing uncertainty across the entire user experience. Fortunately, new and developing semantic applications are exploring just such an approach.

In this session, you will:

* Gain a brief overview of key technologies, applications and frameworks surrounding semantic technology, and explore their positive and negative impact on user experience.

* Explore specific examples of how semantic technology can support context-appropriate information displays and user work flow.

* See demonstrations of existing semantic implementations that support context-appropriate visualization and interaction.

About Cameron Hunt

Cameron has been working with user-driven information systems since the mid-1990s, and he has designed, built and supported applications for military and law enforcement intelligence, analysis and operational customers. He is currently a semantic knowledge management analyst for the EmergINT team at CommIT Enterprises.