The Second Screen concept has been with us for a while but interestingly the idea still seems to be largely associated with TV. And largely as a means of adding a social dimension to the on-screen events. But there are many ways in which a second screen could potentially enrich other forms of media. Whether its via … Continue reading Second Screens, Asymmetric Gaming and the New Multiplayer
Author: Leigh Dodds
CTO at EnergySparks (https://energysparks.uk), previously Director of Delivery at the Open Data Institute. Proud Dad.
Not Just Legislation: Sustainable Open Data Curation Projects
Francis Irving recently wrote an excited blog post about the open curation model that now backs legislation.gov.uk. It's hard not to get excited about legislation.gov.uk. There's been so much good work done on the project and everyone involved has achieved a great deal of which they can be proud. If you're not familiar with the … Continue reading Not Just Legislation: Sustainable Open Data Curation Projects
Getting that learning fix
I've been doing some domain-modelling with an arts organisation recently. The domain model that we're working on will help underpin a new version of their website. We gathered some domain experts across the business and ran some workshops to start capturing how they think about their domain, what they do, what the outputs are, etc. … Continue reading Getting that learning fix
Data is Potential
Jeni Tennison asked an interesting question on twitter last week: Question: aside from personally identifiable data, is there any data that *should not* be open? The question prompted some interesting discussion which included examples of data that might be sensitive, suggestions about data that would be useful to open up, and the need for better … Continue reading Data is Potential
UK & EU Linked Data Consultant Network?
As I explained in that announcement that I'm leaving Talis, I'm going to be exploring freelance consulting opportunities.While I'm not limiting that to Linked Data work, its an area in which I have a lot invested and which there is still lots of activity. Perhaps not enough to support Talis Systems, but there certainly seems … Continue reading UK & EU Linked Data Consultant Network?
Leaving Talis
Earlier today I hit the publish buttons on the blog posts announcing the shutdown of Kasabi and the end of Talis's semantic web activities. Neither of those were easy to write. My time at Talis -- which will have been four years in September -- has been a fantastic experience. I've worked with some incredibly talented people on … Continue reading Leaving Talis
Four Links Good, Two Links Bad?
Having reviewed a number of Linked Data papers and projects I've noticed a recurring argument which goes something like this: "there are billions of triples available as Linked Data but the number of links, either within or between datasets, is still a small fraction of that total number. This is bad, and hence here is … Continue reading Four Links Good, Two Links Bad?
The Science of Alien
I've been digging through some old files and papers recently, partly prompted by sorting out the loft and also various hard disks with backups of documents and photos. Amongst the papers I found this fun piece that I wrote back in 1994: A Speculative Paper on Xenomorph Biology. I wrote it whilst watching a re-run … Continue reading The Science of Alien
Principled use of RDF/XML
Everyone loves to hate RDF/XML. Indeed many have argued that RDF/XML is responsible for holding back semantic web adoption. I'm not sure that I fully agree with that (there's a lot of other issues to consider) but its certainly awkward to work with if you're trying to integrate both RDF and XML tools into your … Continue reading Principled use of RDF/XML
Open Data for (Big) Kids?
This afternoon Emma Mulqueeny asked on twitter if anyone had any ideas about fun, exciting datasets to inspire kids new to Open Data hacking. I asked whether she was interested in downloadable datasets or just APIs, or both. The answer was both. So below you'll find a few suggestions from me about datasets that kids … Continue reading Open Data for (Big) Kids?
Lost Boy 