***Cross-posted from The Cochrane Collaboration official blog***

Update: I posted my talk to Slideshare here - note: it's not live but recorded audio after-the-fact of  me just talking through slides. Was a really interesting session. David de Roure who writes this blog also spoke in the session on the "Future of the article" and his talk followed his thoughts laid out in this blog post, which I highly recommend. 

Having beein involved for more than a year on a project to explore how semantic technologies, namely linked data, could serve as "enabling" technologies...

• to connect up disparate datasets
• for novel querying
• for re-packaging/publishing of content to make it more "nimble" via better structure, "meaning" and metadata

... I have to say, I'm very excited while retaining a realistic outlook on the ins and outs of actually implementing these technologies in the enterprise. Here are some random observations:

In a previous post, I announced a book give-away for Drupal 7 Mobile Web Development. The contest is now over and winners will be contacted soon. Thanks to all for commenting!

About the book

Drupal 7 Mobile Web Development Beginner's Guide allows readers to implement audio, video, charting and mapping solutions that work on Mobile, Tablet, and Desktop browsers. Written by Tom Stovall, this one of a kind book will enable the reader to set up Domain Access and Drupal Behaviors that redirect mobile and desktop browsers to the version of the website most appropriate for their client.

Here's your chance to win a free copy of the Drupal 7 Mobile Web Development Beginner's Guide, just by commenting!

For the contest we have 2 e-copies of Drupal 7 Mobile Web Development Beginner's Guide, to be given away to 2 lucky winners.

How you can win:

To win your copy of this book, all you need to do is come up with a comment below highlighting the reason "why you would like to win this book”.

Duration of the contest & selection of winners

The contest is valid for 7 days, and is open to everyone. Winners will be selected on the basis of their comment posted (*or at random, whichever suitable*)

About the book

I just picked up my copy of Drupal 7 Mobile Web Development and I must say that from start to finish it's packed full of useful, practical and relevant information. From the first chapter on "When is a Phone not a Phone?" straight through to the final chapter on on "A Home in the Clouds", Stovall writes in a very readable, engaging style with logical headings, pop quizzes and actions.

Just a quick post here on what I think is a major announcement/step forward for both the linked data/semantic web/web of data community and the field of library and info science. LOC recently announced that it will be replacing the 40-year-old MARC format for cataloging and data management structures with a framework based on RDF and linked data principles. Although this is, in some ways, not surprising, it is most-certainly a welcome development. As I mentioned in a previous post where I reviewed a book entitled Facilitating Access to the Web of Data: A guide for librarians, librarians and information professionals are in a unique position to facilitate much of so-called Web 3.0, which encompasses linked data and web of data developments.

The announcement states that:

Facet Publishing's current "Book of the month" is David Stuart's excellent Facilitating Access to the Web of Data: A guide for librarians. From the description: "This book is a wide-ranging introduction to the emerging web of data and the semantic web, exploring technologies including APIs, microformats and Linked Data". And, the book is aimed at individuals exactly like myself: "library and information professionals and for LIS students and researchers [and is also] of value to information architects, web developers and all those interested in making sure that people have access to the information they need." Thus, I'm reviewing it! It's a very readable, but relatively thorough, without going overboard with the details, overview of the topic. I especially admired the use of simple, concrete examples of how linked data works. I always struggle to come up with these when giving presentations or trying to explain the basic concepts.

The book is structured into the following chapters:

This thread in the Semantic Web group on groups.drupal.org now contains a long comment by Steve Macbeth from Bing in which he attempts to clarify some of the issues around the launch of schema.org.