Collaborative Mapping on the Semantic Web
The paper presents a Semantic Web location model; an RDF map of
physical spaces and the connections between them. The tools, including
a REST-ful interface and Instant Message bot allow groups of people to
build and annotate collaborative maps, building up a corpus of open
geographical data and providing a group filtering system for
recommendations. The model can be viewed as a MUD-like environment or
as an application for a loose network of services such as an 802.11b
network. A model 'mudlondon' has been developed online for some
months. Various online resources are used to provide cross-references
for different geodata co-ordinate systems. The application has two
complimentary interfaces. There is a REST-ful RDF web interface which
is designed to be crawlable by an RDF spider, provides a uniquely
identifying URI per location, and is designed to deliver and accept
RSS-style XML feeds from other sites such as grubstreet, the
'Open-Source Guide to London' wiki. The primary user interface is an
Instant Message 'bot' which uses Jabber, the XML-based messaging system
which offers 'transports' to most other IM systems. The bot presents
the RDF model to the user like a MUD or multi-user virtual world, where
users can explore, augment and comment on it in conversation. the bot
uses the REST interface as a 'brain'. User metadata is stored in the
FOAF, Friend of a Friend namespace which provides a basis for filtering
trust networks. The model is supported by an ontology expressed in
DAML, the Darpa Agent Markup Language.
jo walsh is a programmer and software artist based in London,
UK, where she has in the past built web systems for the Guardian
Newspaper Group, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and state51. she
works on collaborative development of 'bots' in the perl community, and
likes to call them 'stateful conversation interfaces to the semantic
web'