Ah, there *IS* hope. It would be good if Tim Berners-Lee would be right with his prediction. :-)

It is a very interesting view from a person who has been there from the start. I can see some valid points here.

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System: The following 7 messages were spliced on to this thread from: http://www.webmasterworld.com/goog/3600206.htm [webmasterworld.com] by tedster - 11:32 pm on Mar. 13, 2008 (EDT -4)

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Google could be superseded, says web inventor [technology.timesonline.co.uk]

Google may eventually be displaced as the pre-eminent brand on the internet by a company that harnesses the power of next-generation web technology, the inventor of the World Wide Web has said.

The search giant had developed an extremely effective way of searching for pages on the internet, Tim Berners-Lee said, but that ability paled in comparison to what could be achieved on the "web of the future", which he said would allow any piece of information — such as a photo or a bank statement — to be linked to any other.

[edited by: encyclo at 12:35 am (utc) on Mar. 14, 2008]
[edit reason] added article quote [/edit]

Do they expect Google will just close their doors when this happens?

One example frequently given is of typing a street address which, if it had "semantic data" built into it, would link directly to a map showing its location, dispensing with the need to go to a site like Google `maps, type in the address, get the link and paste it into a document or e-mail.

Who provides the map and connection in that scenario? Maybe Google.

Tim BL has been talking about the Semantic Web for many years, even before Google became dominant in web search. So far, his predictions have not been realized - and even if they did, there's little doubt that products such as Google Search would evolve to include more semantic elements. The two approaches are not mutually exclusive.

I think Yahoo's announcement to support elements of the semantic web [webmasterworld.com] has some bearing on this discussion.

If Yahoo can demonstrate that such support has commercial advantages, Google will be quick to take notice.

Semantic Search Engine Optimisation will bring Google's expertise to the forefront yet again. We had elements of the semantic web when search engines trusted 'meta keyword' lists and the like. Semantic data is only as reliable as the person who writes it, and until you find a way to enforce fairness and honesty then you'll need Google and the like to determine semantics by the back door.

i think google already is on the way to this;

We're still waiting (after all these years) for TimBL to explain how the Semantic Web will handle spamming, poisoned information and metacrap. He gets annoyed when questioned on this. Which is understandable, since he hasn't actually got an answer [theregister.co.uk]:

TheRegister: "You'll have to figure out something Google can't figure out if your research is going to be worth anything. How will you do that, exactly?"

TimBL: "It's about much more than people defending against abusing the system. There are a huge number of opportunities that will make the industry work more efficiently."

I'm sure TimBL is a lovely chap, and inventing the Web is a remarkable achievement. But let's be honest: he's held back development of the Web for years, in favour of his grand, utopian project despite its obviously questionable practicality. For me, he jumped the shark years ago.

Google already does some semantics on searches, just search for e.g.:
2+2
sqrt(e^pi)
30mpg in liters/100km
0.02 USD in EUR
pizza in chicago
blue widget pictures
Sometimes pushing it into the right direction is still needed today
movie: red pill blue pill
define: widget (or define widget)