Freebase shifts semantic web into overdrive

The semantic web, a way of describing the interconnectedness of everything in data, has always promised far more than it has delivered. The basic idea is to allow users to define the interconnectedness of the data, and to harness the amazing power of millions of websurfers to make that happen. Good luck. Users are self-serving, and as many have pointed out, the tagging and structure of Web 2.0 style sites only works well because it benefits us personally first, and only benefits us as a whole as a happy side effect.

Freebase may change all that. No, we're not going to get all coked up and go tag the web at super speed -- although, had the Web existed in the 80s, who knows? -- but, Freebase is going to mash up Wiki style data repositories with a more rigid data structure, and then make all that resulting info available under the Creative Commons. Currently in a closed Beta (*cough* I'd love an invite), it's a promising idea but, as with all things, the devil is in the details.

Tags: freebase, news, semantic web, SemanticWeb