Software Toolmakers Announce Semantic Web Advance

Chances are, you still haven't stopped complaining about the imprecision of the term Web 2.0, so you're really going to hate this next sentence. InfoWorld reports that just in time for the Web 2.0 Expo, software toolmakers have announced new developments that herald the advance of Web 3.0.

TopQuadrant and Franz are announcing products that look to make computers smarter, execs at the companies told InfoWorld. Their advances could help make the semantic Web a reality.

The semantic Web refers to a movement to make the meaning of online documents and data more accessible to computers. "Computers are very dumb unless you tell them," said Sheng-Chuan Wu, VP of corporate development at Franz. "That's where semantic technology comes into play."

We have pointed to work about semantic Web before -- touting the views of both proponents and critics -- and posted an original interview with Dr. Mark Butler, senior lecturer in Information Architecture at the University of the West of England in November.

Fellow IT Business Edge blogger Loraine Lawson predicted last week that the recent coverage of the semantic Web in BusinessWeek would lead to a tsunami of questions by enterprise shops wanting to know how it will impact them.

In that sense, the announcement by TopQuadrant and Franz is likely a preview of coming attractions, as more and more businesses seek to take advantage of the technology (whatever it may actually be), and to exploit the following it is developing among those who think it will transform the Web.