[xtm-wg] The GPS of the Web

[Steve Pepper <pepper@ontopia.net>]

>Which of the following do you prefer as 
>a marketing tag-line for 
>TopicMaps.org/XTM?
>
>You may vote for one or more choices.
>
>Voting will be concluded at 11:00 AM 
>eastern time on Tuesday, Nov.21. 
>
>   o GPS for the Web 
>...

Jack Park wrote:

 > Well stated, Jim. In fact, if it is true that the GPS metaphor is
 > "owned" by Charles Goldfarb, then we should not be messing with it.

Sorry for the deafening silence on my part. I've been in hibernation
writing an XTM spec...

For the record, the story I have been purveying is as follows:

At an ISO meeting in Granada, Spain, Hans Holger Rath and I were
explaining topic maps to Charles Goldfarb. At one point, he made the
observation, "Oh, I get it, it's kinda like a GPS for the Web..."
Holger and I thought this was very apposite and have been plugging
it mercilessly ever since (always with attribution, I think).

If it matters to anyone, I can document using it for the first time
in public in my presentation entitled "Euler, Topic Maps, and
Revolution" on April 28th 1999 at XML Europe in Granada (in the
form "GPS of the information universe").

Whether or not Charles would go along with this story, I don't
know. (After all, it may only be a myth, and none of you will ever
really know for sure :-) I feel confident, however, that any claims
to ownership he might have, he would happily donate to TopicMaps.Org.
Right, Charles?

Whether or not it is the best tagline for XTM is another matter. It
covers the navigational aspect of topic maps very neatly but, as
others have noted, does not really address the knowledge management
side of things. (Nor a number of other aspects, for that matter.)

On the other hand, finding something short and snappy that really
*does* address all the key aspects of topic maps is impossible.

My suggestion would have been "Knowledge maps for information
management", but it's too late now, so I'm voting for both "The GPS
of the Web" and "Mapping the Web" (though "Charting the Web" might
have been even better).

Steve

--
Steve Pepper, Chief Technology Officer, Ontopia AS. (+47 908 27246)
Ontopia AS, Marcus Thranes gt. 6, N-0473 Oslo, Norway
http://www.ontopia.net/  phone://+47 22704500/  fax://+47 22704501/
direct://+47 22704687/  GSM/cellular://+47 90827246/


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