I'm glad to have the opportunity to talk to Ontolog
today, and I have two points that I want to leave with
you, together with some supporting details:
- The Topic Maps saga, which began in 1993, teaches
that powerful subject-based indexing of
information is so compelling that it sells
itself. In subject-based indexing, entries in
indexes are designed to be findable, and, once
found, each listing has all that's known about
that particular subject. Customers typically
react quickly and positively to subject-based
indexes of their complex information resources.
They see the value proposition intuitively; it
speaks for itself. The selling power of it is
awesome. Among other things, it compels
customers to acknowledge the importance of
careful thinking about ontologies. It compels
them to buy ontological services. It's good
business for people like us.
- I have a special message for you if you must
maintain a specialized ontology and, at the same
time, you must demonstrate that there is a
straightforward way to integrate your knowledge
with diverse other knowledge resources whose
ontologies, if any, are not under your control.
My message is that there is a useful approach,
that not only provides political cover, but also
happens to work.
This talk has 2 take-aways:
- Topic Maps powerfully sell ontological services.
- The Topic Maps Reference Model provides a way to make the integration of diverse knowledge, expressed in terms of diverse ontologies, straightforward.
Consultants and ontological engineers, take note!
The rest is detail. Here are some details.
