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Leigh DoddsProgramme Manager, Talis PlatformTalis25th June 2009

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/

An Introduction to Linked Data

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Overview

• What is RDF?• Historical Issues with the Semantic Web• Linked Data• The Linking Open Data Project• Practical Steps• Closing Points

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What Is RDF?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/-bast-/349497988/

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Apollo 11 was launched from Cape Canaveral

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Apollo 11 was launched from Cape Canaveral

Subject Predicate Object

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<http://nasa.dataincubator.org/spacecraft/apollo-11> <http://purl.org/net/schemas/space/launchsite>

<http://nasa.dataincubator.org/launchsite/capecanaveral>.

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Why has it taken so long?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caitlinator/3009659704/

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The Technology Problem

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The Babel Problem

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The AI Problem

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Linked Data

A grass roots approach

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66164549@N00/2800038473

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“Linked Data is the Web done right”

– Tim Berners-Lee

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The Web of Documents

Links Between Documents, not Things

Data only loosely structured

Meaning of links is implicit

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Web 2.0Web 2.0

Increasingly structured data

Little linking between sites

No standardization across APIs

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Linked Data

Standard Data Model

Link together datasets across the web

Add value through network effects

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabiovenni/478239267/

The Linking Open Data Project

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The LOD "Cloud" - May 2007

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The LOD "Cloud" - July 2007

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The LOD "Cloud" - August 2007

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The LOD "Cloud" - November 2007

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The LOD "Cloud" – Feb 2008

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The LOD "Cloud" – Sept 2008

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Practical Pointers

A step-by-step approach to publishing Linked Data

http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualpanic/2422742902

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/941699149

Identify Your Data

• What might you usefully publish?• Where is it stored?• How is maintained?

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/tillwe/603936954

Identify Objects of Collective Interest

• Assign them a unique URL• Ensure those URLs are stable• Think about more than just “content”• At this stage don't think about the user experience

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilhei/109404222/

Publish Human & Machine Readable Data

A page for each object with human and machine-readable viewsRDFa can be used to embed data into HTML Provide links between objects

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncommondepth/3204094812/

Ensure Licensing is Clear

• Creative Commons• Open Data Licenses• Attach licenses to content and data

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http://flickr.com/photos/bekathwia/2170338717

Link into the Web of Data

Stitch your data into the Linked Data CloudUse DbPedia as a linking hub

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Additional Benefits

• Produces flexible, well-structured sites• Search engine optimised• Encourages reuse, linking

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Closing Points

Linked Data is a natural evolution of the web

Web of data is growing rapidly

Need for more authoritative and quality sources

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vshioshvili/2093112220

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Further Reading

• Linked Datahttp://linkeddata.org

• Building coherence at bbc.co.ukhttp://derivadow.com/2009/01/30/building-coherence-at-bbccouk/

• Your Website is Your API: Quick Wins for Government Data

http://www.jenitennison.com/blog/node/100

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