To all my readers,

Many of you know that I’ve been working with/for OpenLink Software for a while now as a Professional Services Consultant in the realm of Linked Data and particularly in the UK and Europe. Well, I would like to announce the launch of two commercial/business orientated seminars that I will be running for OpenLink Software which will be running in late November 2011 in London (England):

• “Linked Data - Commercial Perspective for Strategic Decision Makers and Executives” is an exciting new seminar for Strategic Decision Makers, Executives, Investors, Directors, Management, CxOs etc. It will cover, in non-technical fashion, how Linked Data is simple, its rich and mature history, its business opportunities, its business challenges and its societal implications.
  • Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/event/2069248177 to register your interest in the “Linked Data - Commercial Perspective for Strategic Decision Makers and Executives” seminar. Late November 2011 in London.
• “Linked Data - Commercial Perspective for Technologists” is also an exciting seminar, which is specifically tailored for technologists of any level (Technical Directors, Senior or Junior Programmers, Analysts, Knowledge Engineers, Knowledge Managers, Information Architects, Web Developers). It will be introductory in style, and will cover the technical areas of the rich historic tapestry of Linked Data, it will cover some of the more technical issues that Linked Data solves and it also covers the simplicity of implementing Linked Data.
  • Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/event/2405888076 to register your interest in the “Linked Data - Commercial Perspective for Technologists” seminar. Late November 2011 in London.

If you are interested in attending then please do register your interest on the eventbrite pages listed above. Once you have registered interest you will receive updates about the date, time, location and the cost of the seminars. Please note that as commercially-orientated seminars, these seminars will cost - registering interest however does not cost and will not commit you to purchasing a standard ticket.

If you would like to get in touch with me directly about these seminars, or any of my work with OpenLink Software, then please do so by email: dlewis@openlinksw.com

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the course, and I hope to see some of you at my seminars in the future.

Daniel Lewis

• Professional Services Consultant for OpenLink Software
• Email: dlewis@openlinksw.com

For the true technologist there is a clear progression from Relational Databases to Objective Databases (OO or ORM) to Graph Databases (including Linked Data Triple/Quad Stores). It is possible to “automatically devolve” (for want of a better phrase) newer data structures into the old data structures… but that’s not what I am trying to get to today.

I’m coming across many technologists who are forming cliques, and their language is becoming restricted to their cliques. This is worrying, because it forms islands which don’t trade (to use business terminology). Not only this, but it also restricts access to the average person in the street, the technologies and tools that these islands create can become more and more distant from their potential users.

The idea of “Whirling Databases” is not to see “Databases” in terms of a specific data structure or data management system, but to see databases as a generic repository for information, capable of inputting and outputting data in different formats and frameworks. In a Linked Data system, data needs to “whirl” around the web using “links” as their travelling routes. We should work together, collaboratively and collectively to achieve this.

As some of you know, I’ve recently been working quite closely with OpenLink Software to help them help others learn about Linked Data. Linked Data, as a generic term, is an incredibly powerful tool - and a tool that should never get bogged down in frameworks (such as RDF) or formats (such as RDF/XML), it should be applicable to all frameworks and formats capable of providing outbound links, and capable of receiving inbound links. I’ve been working with Virtuoso Universal Server solidly for over a year now (not just with OpenLink Software, but with other businesses too), and I truly believe that allows for this travelling via “links” in Linked Data for a variety of frameworks and formats - this is powerful stuff!