Dutch internet strategy adviser Freek Bijl explains Web 3.0 using simple analogies. This is Part I which explains the basics. A separate presentation goes into the technical details (for those of you who may have an interest in delving into the dark art of the semantic web).

1. Web 3.0
explained with a stamp
(English version)
Part I: the basics
Part II: techniques

2. A presentation from: Freek Bijl
(Dutch) blog: Bijlbrand.nl

3. When the web was in its
early days, we didn’t know
exactly what to show on a
computer screen

4. A company card?

5. A call to action?

6. A button ?

7. A shop?

8. We call this
period web 1.0.

9. Web 1.0 was all
about our search for
online viability.

10. When we got a grip
on the technical part,
the real possibilities
of the web became
more clear.

11. We discovered the
power of networks.

12. The power of links

13. The power of collaboration

14. The power of content and reach

15. The power of friends

16. This is what we
call web 2.0.

17. Web 2.0 is all about the
power of networks.

18. Basically, web 2.0 is a
social change. The
technical part of the web
hasn’t changed very much.

19. But, web 3.0 will be
driven by
technological changes.

20. Web 3.0 - the semantic
web - is about the
meaning of data.

21. ?

22. Suppose, I am a
stamp collector...

23. Over the years I’ve
collected a lot of stamps.

24. About every stamp, I made a
document

25. That’s a lot of
documents

26. But…

27. How will I find that
specific stamp?
?

28. Ah, of course !

29. This is the web we have today:
a huge collection of documents

30. The words of all those documents are
indexed. We can search for
keywords.

31. Now, suppose I search
for all red stamps…

32. What do I get ?
Red stamps
Stamps from Cambodia (Khmer
Rouge)
Stamps from the Red Sea
Stamps from the 140 th anniversary of
the Red Cross
Stamps with red dragons

33. Not very intelligent,
but how can a
computer know what I
mean?

34. Answer: when we structurally
describe that a stamp is a
stamp and red is a color.

35. Describing data in a
structured way can
best be done in a
database.

36. Different databases can
be connected.

37. A database with stamps
A database with countries
A database with colours
A database with stamp traders

38. Web 3.0 creates a big
collection of databases
which can be connected on
demand.

39. Agreements are made on the
structure of data and the way
data is described. Where the
data is located is irrelevant.
Linking data is the power of
web 3.0.

40. So, “I want all the red stamps,
designed in Europe, but used
in the U.S.A., between 1980
and 1990” is a question that
will get a better answer with
web 3.0.

41. (Note)

42. This definition of web 3.0 is
a ‘narrow’ definition. Like
web 2.0, web 3.0 stands for
a range of developments.

43. A broader definition of web 3.0:
A fast broadband connection to the internet, always
and everywhere .
Open source techniques and free data (Data as a
Service)
Open identities
Software as a Service (e.g. Google docs)

44. .end
more (in Dutch), check out:
http://www.bijlbrand.nl

45. Most important references:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_3
• http://www.frankwatching.com/archive/2008/04/
11/de-betekenis-van-web-30-en-het-semantic-
web/
• http://novaspivack.typepad.com/
• http://bekels.blog.com/3038326/