Semantic Technologies

Semantics ( the study of meaning) and its application to information systems is another new tool for the information professional. This evolving field focuses on the study of the way we encapsulate and express meaning in our systems. Controlled vocabulary, taxonomy, and ontology comprise key areas within this discipline. The phrase "semantic technologies" has appeared to refer to the software standards and methodologies aimed at providing more explicit meaning for the information at our disposal.

Semantic technologies is a byproduct of the work done by W3C on the Semantic Web concept of Tim Berners-Lee. In the spring of 2004 the W3C recommended RDF and OWL as the primary standards for expressing meaning on the Internet.

The first conference on semantic technologies was held in in 2005 with a follow-up Semantic Technology Conference scheduled for San Jose, California in March, 2006. On the conference site you can read a summary of what is involved in semantic technologies - "The CIO's Guide to Semantics" by Dave McComb, Semantic Arts, Inc.