Abstract

In a few years we have evolved from bibliographic reference managers that only worked offline to management systems on the Web as a research tool. They make it easy to share, add and tag references. They support scientific discovery through the networks that are created between researchers’ personal bibliographies on related topics.

Abstract

In last years, many archives, libraries and museums are exploring, participating in, or simply using resources that social networks offer on the internet. The so-called web 2.0 has enabled a new context for these institutions to present their collections and activities to new users. The social networks have also allowed the exploration of new strategies for dissemination and communication. Flickr: The Commons  project, jointly developed by the Library of Congress and Flickr ’s photosharing and hosting platform, offers an attractive perspective for many of these institutions to enlarge the possibilities of indexing and of online communities research. This article presents the characteristics of the project, the strategies outlined by each participating institution and an evaluation of the results.

Abstract

The internet’s evolution toward a scenario of greater potential, with users increasingly involved in its development and management, demands a lower level of semantic ambiguity in the documents that are provided. The proposed semantic web, a concept that appeared almost a decade ago, has had only modest impact. On the other hand, web 2.0, an autonomous evolution of the web toward a collaborative environment, has met with enormous success. The solution devised by web 2.0 has exceeded the limitations of natural language processing tools and statistical approaches. For that reason, it seems logical to analyze the potential contributions that web 2.0 concepts could make to further the development of the semantic web. Some ways of making the leap from a social web to a social semantic web are discussed.