Tim Berners-Lee at TED: The next Web of open, linked data
all and fly is actually he almost twenty years ago
Time flies, It's actually almost twenty years ago when I wanted to reframe the way we use information, the way we work together, I (??) it the World Wide Web.
wanted to be free in believe we use information that we we work together and did the world wide web
Now, twenty years on, TED, I want to ask your help in a new reframement.
So going back to 1989, I wrote a memo suggesting global hypertext system.
text=Tim Berners-Lee's 1989 memo url=http://info.cern.ch/Proposal.html
Nobody really did anything with it very much.
But eighteen months later - this is, you know, this is how innovation happens, eighteen months later my boss said I could do it on-on a side, as a sort of a play(?) project, ehr, (??) on the computer we'd got.
there was is how in the nation happens they cannot say that my false
the night to do it all homicide as the sun about saying projects
And so he gave me the time to code it up.
So, I basically roughed out what HTML looks like, the hypertext protocol, HTTP, the idea if URLs, these names for things which sorted(?) HTTP.
i eat in basically left out with each team else that likely to have had that could call
the key t. t. b. i. director well the these means of things us
Why did I do it? Well, it was basically frustration.
I was frustrated with- I was in this- I was working as a software engineer in this huge very exciting lab. Lots of people coming from all over the world.
and in this or with working as the software engineering this huge very exciting that loss of people coming
They (??) all sorts of different communities(?) with them, they had all sort of different data formats, all sorts of kinds of documentation systems.
So that, in all that diversity, if I wanted to figure out how to build something out of one little bit of this and a bit of this, everything I looked into, I had to connect to some new machine, I had to learn to run some new program.
in school at high prices the fight was the figure out how dole something out of one of a bit of this monday that this
let's around us on new program at the iowa find the the lady the information wanted
I had to- I would find the data may be, the information I wanted, in some new data format and they were all com- incompatible.
I would find the data may be, the information I wanted, in some new data format and they were all incompatible.
new data for my news will come in to capitol
It was just very frustrating, the frustration was on this- all this unlocked potential.
It was just very frustrating, the frustration was on all this unlocked potential.
he was just very frustrated that the frustration with others was on wall but
In fact on all these disks, there were documents.
So, if you just imagine they all being part of some big virtual documentation system in the sky, then- say, on the internet, then life would be so much easier.
So, if you just imagine they all being part of some big virtual documentation system in the sky, say, on the internet, then life would be so much easier.
so the so if you just imagine holding pot of
Well, once you have an idea like that, it kinds of gets under your skin, and even if people don't read your memo (actually he did, it was found after he died, his copy, it was found and he'd written "vague but exciting" in pencil in the corner).
well what he had night you like that the candidates and use d. n.
there was found three died it is copy you found at he didn't
but in general they whose difficult to is moving his moves with
But in general, it was difficult to exp- it's really difficult to explain what the Web was like, you don't- it's difficult to explain to people now, that(?) it was difficult then.
what what was like he's out if the village think people now that was typical that
But then, OK, when TED started, there was no Web.
i'm then okay one test on it but with no way of
So we- things like clicked in(?) have(?) the same meaning.
so we think actually didn't have the same meaning
I could show somebody a piece of hypertext, a page which has got some links, and we click on a link and *bing*, there will be another hypertext page.
like it shows somebody that piece of sight that that
Not impressive, you know, we've seen that, we've got things on the hypertext on CD-ROMs.
things on to hide the taste and see the wrong this
What was difficult was to get them to imagine. So imagine that that link could have gone to virtually any document you could imagine.
what was difficult was to and get them to imagine
imagine that that means crew gone to switch we can the document you could imagine
All right? That is the- that is the leap that was very difficult for people to make. Well, some people did.
That is the leap that was very difficult for people to make. Well, some people did.
there's very good will two people to make well some people
So yes, it was difficult to explain, but it was a grassroots movement.
so yeah it was to fill to explain but was across roots movement
that that this whole lose made it most of
And that is what made it has made it most of- most fun. That was the most exciting thing, not the technology, not the things people'd done with it, but actually the community, the spirit of all these people getting together, sending e-mails.
most modest mean the most exciting thing on the technology novel things
can you see the spirit of police people getting together
That's what it was like, then. Do you know what, it's funny but right now it's kind of like that again.
by now has come like that again i'll say the way more less to put the documents
I asked everybody more or less to put their documents, say "Could you put your documents on this Web thing."
they were given a philosophy and in a has as these are interesting because we found out of thing to happen with the wet the
It were- it's been a blast, hasn't it. I mean, it's- it's been quite interesting because we found out that the things that happened with the Web really blew(?) us away. They're much more than we'd eventually(?) imagined, when we put together the little web- you know, the initial website that we started off with.
so both the way a much more than we the region imagine that meets
so put together though that the wet snow initial that side to be thought off with
Now, I want you to put your data on the Web.
Turns out that there is still huge unlocked potential. There is still a huge frustration that people have because we haven't got data on the Web as data.
shoot on all potential there is still the future frustration
it happens all the shuttle the way those days in
What do you mean, "data", what's the difference, documents, data?
which means the source of defense documents data
More or less, you can read them, you can put a link from them and that's it.
well i think the reason the conflict among them that to
Data, you can do all kinds of stuffs with the computer.
they married couple has a stop the the country to
Who was here or, don't know, has seen Hans Rosling's talk.
When Hans Rosling was at Ted, yeah, one of the- great, yes, a lot of people has seen it, cause it was one of the greatest Ted's talks.
but have lost is with him get one of the great guests who was he the scene it could and when the break that told pat is
text=Hans Rolsing's talk url=http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
Hans put up this presentation in which he shows, for various different countries in various different colours, he shows income level on one axis and he showed infant mortality, and he showed this thing animated from time.
various given time she's in various different car was
he showed income level will want access and he
joe digital dot the and he shot this thing an immediate to try and
So he'd taken this data, made a presentation which just shattered a lot of myths that people have about the economics in the developing world.
that isn't that the the state made a presentation was just
the economics and then something world's
He put up a slide a little bit like this.
they put up a flight little bit like this
OK, data is brown and boxy and boring and all that(?), that's what we think of it, isn't it, data?
if brown and folks the employee another massive we think the that isn't it they to
Cause data you can't naturally use by itself.
that they do you calm that much we used by his cell
But in fact data drives a huge amount of what happens in our lives. It happens because somebody takes that data and does something with it. In this case Hans, he could put the data together, he found from all kinds of United Nation websites and things.
the technique that trying to the huge amount what happens on ice it happens to county think that
pat has put the data to get a he found of smoke has united nations
He put it together, combined it into something more interesting than the original pieces.
i'm going to in this on the more interesting than the original pieces
And then he put it into this software, which I think is Sun developed originally, and produces this wonderful presentation.
And Hans made a point of saying it's really important to have a lot of data, and I'm happy to see, the party last night, that he was still saying very forcibly, it's really important to have a lot of data.
they appointed think that raised william phones
that of the party last night that he was still saying very full swing is fully informed to have a law that take that
So I want us now to think about, not just two pieces of data being connected, or six like he did, but I want to think of about a world where everybody has put data on the Web, and so virtually anything you could imagine is on the Web, and I'm calling that Linked Data.
not just two b. c. the data being connected all six like you get
I want to think of about a world where everybody has put data on the Web, and so virtually anything you could imagine is on the Web, and I'm calling that Linked Data.
aid on the weather service we ever the connection is on the web site calling that think that that
The technology is Linked Data, and it's extremely simple.
technology is late date and it's extremely simple
If you want to put something on the Web, there are three rules.
First thing is, that those HTTP names, those things that start with "http:", we're using them not just for documents, now we're using them for things that the documents are about. We're using them for people, we're using them for places. We're using them for your products. We're using them for events. All kinds of conceptual things they star- they have names now, that start with "http".
First thing is, that those HTTP names, those things that start with "http:", we're using them not just for documents, now we're using them for things that the documents are about.
the key t. names so things about the each t. v. talk
the documents now using them something is a the documents about we have but
and so people we using them to of places we using them to yield brought out
all kinds of his sexual things they stopped they have names now the cell with h. t. v. p.
Second rule: when- if I take one of these "http" names and I look it up, I go and do the Web thing with it, I fetch the data using the HTTP protocol from the Web, I will get back some data in a standard format which is kind of useful data somebody might like to know about that thing, about that event, who's at the event, whatever it is about that person, where they were born, things like that.
Second rule: if I take one of these "http" names and I look it up, I go and do the Web thing with it, I fetch the data using the HTTP protocol from the Web, I will get back some data in a standard format.
if right to twenty days to the names and i'm looking up by going to the web thing within a stretch the
the two you see the heat the broader call from the web
kind of you sold they'd of us on the might like to
but my stomach not my guard to know about that thing about that a that comes out the year to whenever it is about that person when they were born
So, second rule is: I get important information back.
oh second was like it important mission that
Third rule is that when I get back this information, it's not just got somebody's height and weight and when they were born, it's got relationships.
Data is relationships. Interestingly, data is relationships.
It's got this person was born in Berlin, Berlin is in Germany, and when it has relationships, whatever expresses this relationship, then the other thing that it's related to is given a na- one of those names that starts "http".
but with the window and berlin is in germany and when assassination ships
the most thing that is for the key to given
and the one of those names of stocks b. c. d. p. to let him to lead about the health
So I can go ahead and look that thing out. So I look up a Person, I can look up then the city where they were born, then I can look up the region it's in, and the town it's in and the population of it, and so on, so I can browse this stuff.
the city with you born and i can look up the region is in mid how to to them of population of it
So that's it really. That is Linked Data.
i wrote a hostile entitled the data are a couple
I wrote an article entitled "Linked Data" a couple of years ago, and soon after that, things started to happen.
text=Tim Berners-Lee's article "Linked Data" url=http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html
The idea of Linked Data is that we get lots an lots and lots of these boxes that Hans had, and we get lots and lots and lots of things sprouting.
you think you are think they that is that
It's not just an whole lot of other plants, it's not just a root supplying a plant.
and hold all of our looked losses or just groups
But for each of those plants, whatever it is, a presentation, an analysis, somebody's looking for patterns in the data, they get to look at all the data and they get it connected together, and the really important thing about data is that the more things you have to connect together, the more powerful it is.
it each of those laws whenever you the presentation and analysis somebody to keep up to some the data
big get to look at full that they then they get
that's it together really important thing about the the
the more things he had to commit to get a that more powerful is
So, Linked Data, the mean went out there.
And pretty soon Chris Bizer at the Freie Universität in Berlin was one of the first people to put interesting things up.
Chris Bizer at the Freie Universität in Berlin was one of the first people to put interesting things up.
set up there for us is that in their land was one that office people to
interesting things out to notice that we keep the f. you would keep even the online the sites that the new law small some interesting documents in a
He noticed that Wikipedia, you know Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia with lots and lots of interesting documents in it, well in those documents, there are little squares, little boxes and those- in those information boxes, there's data.
i'm susan those the message nation both his
So he wrote a program to take the data, extract it from Wikipedia and put it into a blob of linked data on the Web; which he called dbpedia.
they take that they they stretch if we keep the he is important in trouble all of these data on the lead
Dbpedia is represented by the blue blob in the middle of this slide.
title=Dbpedia is represented by the blue blob in the middle of this slide.
good to buy the dog in the middle of this life
And if you actually go and look at Berlin you'll find that there are other blobs of data which also have stuff about Berlin and they are linked together.
that if jesse helms properly you'll find that little upset that data
which was asked felt about their lives and doing together to if you pulled that they to
So if you pull the data from dbpedia about Berlin, you'll end up pulling up these other things as well. And the exciting thing is: it's starting to grow.
and the beauty about an to end up putting out
although things as well and exciting thing
a team to growth this is just across it's the of thinking that takes notice
This is just a grassroots stuff again, OK?
Data comes in fact in lots and lots of different forms.
comes in fact he lost most of different forms
Think of the diversity of the Web. It's a really important thing that the Web allows you to put all kinds of data up there.
diversity is the latest a really important thing though the way it
So it is with data. I can talk about all kinds of data.
we could talk about government they set and surprise day there is new leads
We can talk about government data, enterprise data is really important.
this scientific data this personal basis
There's scientific data, there's personal data.
There's weather data, there's data about events.
is what looked into that they are about events
There's data about talks, and there's news, and there's all kinds of stuff.
I'm just going to mention a few of them, so that you get the idea of the diversity of it, so that you also see how much unlocked potential.
mention a few of some so the you get the idea all the diversity of that
so that's the room also see how much on law potential
Barak Obama said in a speech that he- the American government data would be available on the internet in accessible formats.
text=Barak Obama's speech url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4yVlPqeZwo
americans don't know they said what the available in on the isn't that it acceptable
And I hope that they will put it out as linked data.
white informed not just that trend found the defense to see them is important
Why is it important? Not just for transparency. Yes, transparency in government's important.
But that data, this is the data from all the government departments. Think about how much of that data is about how life is lived in America. It's actually useful, it's got value. I can use it in my company.
they get from all the government of problems think about
This is the data from all the government departments. Think about how much of that data is about how life is lived in America. It's actually useful, it's got value.
how much is that they her is about how life is lives
in their case actually use list all of you like and use it might company i could use as a kid to do my home work
I could use it as a kid to do my homework.
So we're talking about making the place, making the world run better by making this data available.
making the place making the world one to fight making
In fact if you're responsible, if you know about some data in a government department, often you find that these people, they're very tempted to keep it, to (??) in database hugging.
oh about something to and government of hamas and you find that
to have sold holding the city's hiding it you too hard to data bases or the much they going to leave made a beautiful web site for
You hug your database, you don't want to let it go until you've made a beautiful website for it.
Well I'd like to suggest that rath- before you- yes, make a beautiful website (who am I to say "don't make a beautiful website").
why thank to suggest that well before you just making these web site top who might they don't make it is what sides major new web site
Make a beautiful website, but first, give us the unadulterated data. We want the data.
give us the i'm adults who received a two we will that they to
We have to ask for raw data now, and I'm gonna ask you to practice that, OK?
the test now i'm in off key to practice that it takes to see law
who are pretty safe who are of no your practice that is important because you had no i hear
Practice that, it's important, because you have no idea the number of excuses people come up with to hang on to their data, and not give it to you, even though you've paid for it as a taxpayer.
Practice that, it's important, because you have no idea the number of excuses people come up with to hang on to their data, and not give it to you, even though you've paid for it.
number one excuse is people come up we to hang onto that it an argument she even though you the first as the taxpayer that is notes as americans live of the world
And it's not just America, it's all over the world.
That is not just not just governments, of course it's enterprises as well.
So I'm just going to mention a few other sources of data.
Well here we are, Ted, and all the time we are very conscious of the huge challenges that human society has right now.
Understanding the brain for Alzheimer's.
Understanding economics, making it a little more stable.
honest and economies make it that often you'll understand how will world works the people who are gonna solve those two scientists
The people who are gonna solve those are scientists, they have hard formed ideas in their head.
They try to communicate of those over the Web, but a lot of the state of knowledge of the human race at the moment is on databases, often sitting in their computers and actually commonly not shared.
they try to to new to you lose over the lived all loss of us
they don't knowledge of this u. n. we set the moment you something that they his often city in the computers and ought to the car really not
if you're looking at Alzheimer's for example, drug discovery, there is an whole lot of linked data which is just coming out because scientists in that field realize this is a great way of getting out of those silos.
if you'll see it a sign of sir example drug discovery doesn't hold living they do he's just coming up of this
susan reed way up getting out of those i'm those
Because they had that genomic data in one database and in one building.
a new face and in one building a minute of proceedings and not left now they are speaking out
And they had that protein data in another. Now they are sticking it onto it: Linked data. And now they can ask a question, a question that you probably wouldn't ask, I wouldn't ask, they would:
on to do they say that now they cannot aggressive questioning
you probably would not i would not they would
"What proteins are involved in signal transduction and also are related to pyramidal neurons?"
what perot seems that are involved in single front auction the most of the negative
or missile your own soil you think that now full and he's going to to hold
Well you take that (??) and if you put it to google, of course there is no page on the web which would answer that question because nobody has asked that question before.
close at of page on the web which is also that question does know be a soft that question to follow you get to london for the thousand hits
You get 223,000 hits: no result you can use.
now ourselves to can use your boss that think they to state now put together
You ask the Linked Data which they've now put together: 32 hits, each of which is a protein which has these properties, and you can look at.
for cheaper to assist overseas i you go to
The power of being able to ask those questions of a scientist, those questions which actually bridge across different disciplines is really a complete (??) change.
of being able to office questions of the scientists
practice which actually bridge across the sea
It's very very important. Scientists have totally (??) at the moment there(?).
The power of the data that other scientists have collected is locked up and we need to get it unlocked so we tackle those huge problems.
that little idea still think that will the data comes in huge institutions
Now, if I go on like this you'll think that all the data comes from huge institutions, and it has nothing to do with you.
today it is about our alliance you just you about justice and a look inside you because they want
You just- you logon to your social networking site, you pick your favourite one, you say "this is my friend", *bing*, relationship, data.
You say "this photograph, oh, it's about- it depicts this person", *bing*, that's data.
they split off always about it is to take this doesn't that and
Data data data. Everytime you do things in a social networking site, the social networking site is taking data and using it, repurposing it.
they did it the day to every time you do things in social not looking sites
he's taking data and using it be proposing is
And using it to make other people's lives more interesting on the site.
But when you go to another Linked Data site, and you say this one about travel, and you say "I want to sent this photo to all the people in that group", you can't get over the walls.
when you the the one not willing to fight news that is what about how
and you say unless the and this photo to pull
The Economist wrote an article about it, lots of people blogged about it, tremendous frustration.
text=Article in The Economist url=http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?STORY_ID=10880936
The way to break down the silos to get interoperability between social networking sites, we need to do that with Linked Data.
getting tougher was she to see some celebrities
one last other day old talk about maybe most exciting
One last type of data I will talk about, may be it's the most exciting, before I came down here I looked up on the OpenStreetMap.
for walking down there i don't on the open seat not
OpenStreetMap is a map, but it's also a wiki.
text=OpenStreetMap url=http://openstreetmap.org/
overseas that's not this also we keep him in a and that's clear thing is the face of which ran right now the
Zoom in and that's square thing is the theatre which we're in right now, the Terrace Theatre.
So I could go in Edit mode, I could select the theatre.
like until it n. a. another guy could still isn't like that and on down the boss and the name
I could add on down the bottom the name.
And then I could save it back, and now if you go back to the openstreetmap.org, and you find this place, you will find that the Terrace Theatre's got a name.
and then i consider back and now if you go that the the opening statements on our can you find this but you find it the terrorists used on and a
I just did that, I put that up on there and you know what?
If I- the StreetMap is all about everybody doing their bit, and this creates an incredible resource because everybody else does theirs.
he's although this thing not be to hold on everybody doing that the
The StreetMap is all about everybody doing their bit, and this creates an incredible resource because everybody else does theirs.
And that is what Linked Data is all about.
It's about people doing their bit to produce a little bit, and it all connecting.
But you do your bit, everybody else does this.
You may not have lots of data which you have to- yourself to put on there, but you know to demand it, and we've practiced that.
huge i don't its hold you very small number of things
I've only told you of a very small number of things.
There are data in every aspect of our lives, every aspect of work and pleasure, OK?
and he's not just about number of things us with a promised
And it's not just about the number of places where data comes.
It's about connecting it together, and when you connect data together, you get power in a way that doesn't happen just with the Web, with documents.
but well thank you to get on when you can at davis together
gephardt of leader thousand happened just with the web with documents
You get this really huge power out of it.
So, we're at a stage now where we have to do this.
Those- the people who think it's a great idea. And all the people, and I think there are a lot of people at Ted, who do things, because even though there's not an immediate return on investment, you have- because it will only really pay off when everybody else has done it, they'll do it, because they're the sort of person who just does things which would be good if everybody else did them.
two things that even though is not immediately some investments
at this if only really pay off and everybody else is don as
And I think it's an idea worth spreading.