http://semdl.corrib.org/Book/

“Libraries have always been an inspiration for the standards and
technologies developed by semantic web activities. However, except for
the Dublin Core specification, semantic web and social networking
technologies have not been widely adopted and further developed by
major digital library initiatives and projects. Yet semantic
technologies offer a new level of flexibility, interoperability, and
relationships for digital repositories.

Kruk and McDaniel present semantic web-related aspects of current
digital library activities, and introduce their functionality; they
show examples ranging from general architectural descriptions to
detailed usages of specific ontologies, and thus stimulate the
awareness of researchers, engineers, and potential users of those
technologies. Their presentation is completed by chapters on existing
prototype systems such as JeromeDL, BRICKS, and Greenstone, as well as
a look into the possible future of semantic digital libraries.

This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students in areas like
digital libraries, the semantic web, social networks, and information
retrieval. This audience will benefit from detailed descriptions of
both today’s possibilities and also the shortcomings of applying
semantic web technologies to large digital repositories of often
unstructured data.”

To some extent you’re right; it’ll have to be a hybrid approach, likely from several different groups of developers.

But Facebook and its competitors are already getting people to label their own content. Their users willingly enter their birthdays and addresses and favorite albums and books, and even connect themselves as “friends” to other users with birthdays and addresses and favorite albums and books. All of that is semantic data just aching to be exploited.

So perhaps the breakthrough is closer at hand than we think.

More info at :-

http://www.qrme.co.uk/qrme-dynamic-qr-codes.html

Terence wrote: “I suspect the real breakthrough will come when users are somehow encouraged, through whatever incentive, to label their content according to some generally accepts standard.”

I suspect the breakthrough will come when the computers can take users’ input and make it fit the standards.

Librarianship is in a position to take advantage of a unique opportunity to become a truly user-centered industry. This requires librarians to embrace the task of learning how to collaborate with users on a closer level than ever before, beyond the traditional notion of “outreach,” beyond the basic brand of “books,” to give users more control over the library environment — everything from the functionality of the web site to what types of spaces and programs the library offers — customizing the offerings to fit into the community’s local context. That can’t be done from behind a desk in a passive fashion, and it requires a paradigm shift on many levels.

While the technology is shiny, and can be fun to play with (for some, it’s a nightmare), it’s important to not lose sight of the human aspect here. It’s not just about what programs or sites can draw the lines connecting your network, what people do with that information is key.

I suspect the real breakthrough will come when users are somehow encouraged, through whatever incentive, to label their content according to some generally accepts standard – in essence meeting machines halfway. And that incentive could take any form, from monetary to fun to simple ease of use (we all know what it takes to get us to do something). Furthermore, of course, there’s loads of legacy data that we’ll have to deal with, so automation will play a part if none of it is to be lost.

I also suspect a breakthrough will occur through mobile computing, which is becoming more the norm and demands small packets of richly described data. Depending on how rich that metadata is, our handhelds could conceivably one day become an network of devices that constantly share and flow – but don’t natively store – semantically coded data. For more on this: http://playfullibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/10/evolution-of-machines.html.