Semantic Solutions
Yahoo has announced that it intends to implement some of the key standards of the “semantic web.” This move could have major implications for the way we all search in the future, so naturally, we here at Texperts sat up and took notice.
Texperts have a battery of trusted sources to answer most of the questions customers ask, but we also trawl the web for solutions when necessary. Google’s search engine is an enormously powerful tool, and most folks only need to tap a small portion of its potential for their daily search needs. But in addition to those under-used features, there is a whole universe of meta-data out there (some of which Google is already using to compile its page rankings), and more is on the way. All of which has the potential to create a more efficient way of representing and co-ordinating data on the World Wide Web.
The format has struggled a bit, but Yahoo’s endorsement could mean big things for the future of the semantic web. But will it be the glorious solution to all of our searching needs that its boosters promise? Not everyone thinks so. According to one pundit, there are “at least seven insurmountable obstacles between the world as we know it and meta-utopia.” While he goes a little over the top in enumerating the venality, sloth, and self-interest of people and organisations, he’s got some valid points: classification systems are not neutral, and there is an almost infinite potential for ambiguity, error, and “gaming the system.”
In controlled environments, the semantic web can be an enormously powerful tool with the potential to revolutionise the way we search. But as we all know, the web isn’t like that. As these tools emerge, we’ll need to pay closes attention to where the best implementations are emerging, and how to get the most out of them. Appropriately enough, this’ll take some searching…
March 18th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Sadly I can’t see most designers getting meta search right as they can’t even get basic usability and searching within a site correct.
I know Texpert researchers are an extreme example as we work against the clock but I think most people want to get onto a site, extract the info they require and move on as soon as possible.
When designing small business sites I’ve made sure that the address, opening hours, phone number and essentials like that are instantly available. Unfortunately so may companies are only interested in brand image and you have to navigate through a flash introduction then click through several menu options to find basic information.
Store location is always a thorny issue for Texperts - companies have many millions of pounds tied up in their shops but hide away the store listings and make them as hard as possible to search on their websites.
Site surveys are also getting to be a major pain, they are now as common as pop ups in the days before pop up blockers.
If a customer can’t get information within 30 seconds on a normal PC then there isn’t much hope for mobile browsing…that keeps some of us in a job though!