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Berners-Lee Deconstructs a Bag of Chips
itwbennett writes "At the O'Reilly Gov 2.0 Expo, being held this week in Washington, DC, Tim Berners-Lee compared the concept of linked open data to a bag of Utz Kettle Classics Crunchy Potato chips: 'The outside of the bag contains different sets of information, each using a different vocabulary and coming from a different source, Berners-Lee explained. The front of the package displays the name of the brand and the company's own marketing claim that the chips are crunchy. The back of the package has nutritional information, such as calories and vitamins, defined by terms generated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Finally, there is a Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code on the bottom of the package, which is not understood by humans at all but rather is recognized by scanning machines globally as the moniker for the item. In other words, this single package of information actually is a collection of data and attributes that have been developed by multiple parties, not just Utz.'"
"Oh shit, my speech, I forgot all about it! I shouldn't have stayed out drinking until 2am last night..."
"Must find inspiration, quickly..."
*sees chip bag in garbage*
"Ah, a chip bag! Maybe I can use this somehow..."
*scrawls some notes*
"Hey this might just work..."
*15 minutes of feverish writing*
"YES! An entire speech on linked open data based on a bag of chips. My career is safe!"
"Hey, maybe I'll even get a few cases from Utz as a thank you for mentioning them..."