Why we are a web 3.0 company

For a while we were calling Rational Data a web 2.0 company. In some ways what we are doing is like that, because we have mash-ups, integrated application spaces, and so forth that have become the hallmark of web 2.0 lingo. But we are more than this too. What we have is unique and different than the web 2.0 standard storyline out there. What makes us different -- our information technologies are based on proprietary semantic web models and formulas for the intelligent location of information.

Web 3.0 has much more to do with the 'semantic web' than web 2.0 does. It's kind of like the difference between seeing the relationship amidst information, verses a basic mash-up. Since this is a public blog I won't go into detail as to our research and development efforts here.

Now Starting Early Beta Testing

We are now starting early beta testing of "i"! Because the platform has so many components, we are rolling out individual pieces for reaction and comment rather than overwhelming people with everything at once. We will begin with our web 2.0 email program and release more in the coming weeks.

"i" and meta-languages

Some thoughts about knowledge representation:

What is a meta-language? A meta-language allows an individual to ascertain knowledge via a series of intuitive but meaningful visual or auditory cues. Often these things convey ideas that go beyond the traditional word based languages. Some computerized effects that convey information are things like the "star field" effect that we have come to recognize in sci fi movies as a jump to hyper-light speed. Over time this effect has had almost ubiquitous recognition by audiences everywhere, conveying information without written or verbal language.

"i" - First blog

Hello! Thanks for stopping by.

It's Monday morning and back to work on a vast array of things.

I see a lot of software-on-demand sites popping up here and there. What is different about "i" and what differentiates it from a standard ASP model? First of all, "i" is a platform and not a software suite, although we are offering software suites along with "i".

What makes this platform different? One of my first answers would be that it is information centric. We take the view that almost anything anyone would want to do on the platform has something to do with information, whether it's to use an application or convey knowledge in a knowledge representation environment. We look at the Internet as a canvas, a place where web services, information access, utilities and real world services are brought together in one place.

Right now "i" is in late alpha or early beta stage.