Google and Microsoft are already making a play to have a big role in making the Semantic Web mainstream. Google have already started to expose semantic data in search results and with the acquisition of Powerset by Microsoft we can see a clear strategic intent.

In the coming years, we will see a revolution in the ability of machines to access, process, and apply information. This revolution will emerge from distinct areas of activity connected to the web as we currently envisage:

• Web of Data – Making knowledge of data accessible
• Web of Services – Making services available and connectable
• Social Web – Providing an identity to a user or organization

The semantic web delivers on the vision of creating transparency, efficiency, and greater collaboration around information. The objective would be to provide data in an open and standardized manner so that individuals and organizations can mine it, make comparisons, and perform analysis.

Web of Data

Your data space on the Web will be something you will control access to in a variety of ways, and it will include the option to provide licensed access to commercial entities on your terms.

Web of Services

The exponential growth in the Data Web will stimulate the evolution of Data Web Services. Functionality such as; wish-lists, offer-lists and lookup tables will gradually be integrated into mash-ups to create interesting new customizable knowledge.

Social Web

The Social web experience will become a personalized experience, where a user can browse via their profile, across platforms, and engage in communication on a 1-to-1 or 1-to-many basis.