Andrew Newman over at XML.com published some interesting thoughts comparing SPARQL with standard SQL. It's not a friendly read for people who aren't already database geeks. What's nice about SPARQL, for me, is "we define the data, you define the methods". It's much simpler to just get your head around a simple query language like SPARQL than it is to try and learn a new API for each service.2007-04-12T17:00:46Z
Neil McIntosh wrote a while back about syndication and British newspapers. Perhaps they might have more RSS subscribers if they provided full text feeds. And also if they stopped calling people who use the RSS feeds (ie. the "tech literate" people) not real. Here's a way you could get more people to read your RSS (and, by extension, your newspaper) - allow people to make their own feeds, possibly using Pipes. I'd quite like to have articles about technology, articles by Ben Goldacre (who I met last night - I'm surprised he hasn't been bumped off by 'Dr.' Gillian McKeith's PR people) and a few other neat bits. Newspapers ought to let me put together my own newspaper consisting in the bits I like without, say, sport or celebrity rubbish. That would increase both web and RSS usage, methinks. The answer to a lack of RSS subscribers is actually more RSS.2007-04-11T23:08:07Z
I also write for the Citizendium, an online encyclopedia project. If you know about stuff, you should join in. I occasionally produce audio recordings for The Pod Delusion.
2007-04-12T14:02:43Z