2008 proved to a very successful year for technology despite worldwide financial uncertainty. Big advances were achieved by manufacturers of network computers, cloud computing service providers and social networking, all of which moved into mainstream acceptance by business as well as individuals.

As we start the new year, IT-Zone has a list of technology predictions for 2009. Among them is the emergence of the semantic web, also known as web 3.0.

We found a very readable piece in Promotion World by Roger Janik about the semantic web.

His example of searching the web for information on an HDTV graphically illustrates the frustrations of traditional searches.

He sums up the limitations perfectly in the phrase, “the computers and databases that help you conduct a search for HDTV don’t know what an HDTV is.”

Smarter marketing is a must in today’s difficult economic climate. More than ever, organisations need to show their customers how much they value them, before someone else does.

Businesses need to look for new ways to reach customers, who are in turn demanding greater value for money. Every penny that businesses put into marketing campaigns needs to count!

Semantic technology can help take businesses into a new era of the internet, according to Marta Strickland, at her BMF Sticky Blogspot.

Semantic refers to the meaning behind data. At the moment computers are good at sending data back and forth but not great at discerning the meaning of that data. The semantic web aims to change that.

The semantic web refers to all web data, and the meaning of that data, which could be read by machines. The semantic web has been enjoying a commercial revival thanks to marketing companies like us at Eclipse, and is referred to by the new buzzword “Web 3.0”, as it is the third decade of the web (2010 to 2020).

Eclipse Marketing’s own Leighton Morgans demystifies semantic technology in the current issue of Direct Marketing International. In the feature, Leighton reveals how new-generation semantic technology is providing businesses with a competitive edge.  

As the information available on the web grows in volume, he explains, it gets more difficult for companies to access and search it quickly and accurately.  And the problem is getting worse, as our store of knowledge grows. 

Semantic technology – because it can understand the context of words and interpret everyday language – unlocks this wealth of knowledge.  More information on knowledge management tools based on semantic technology can be found here.