Re: [xtm-wg] The GPS of the Web

[Charles F. Goldfarb <Charles@XMLbooks.com>]

Hi,

Please feel free to use my "the GPS for the Web" tagline to promote the topic
map concept. You also have my permission to attribute it to me if that will help
the cause.

Steve's recollection of how I came to coin the phrase is correct, except for one
detail. Where he says:

|At one point, he made the
|observation, "Oh, I get it, it's kinda like a GPS for the Web..."

I recall the tenor of my remark as more of a diplomatic suggestion, like:

"Maybe you inarticulate techno-babblers could finally get earth people to
understand what you are talking about if you call it 'the GPS for the Web'".

Either way, I still think it's the right think to do ... you can explain the
deeper implications after you've got 'em hooked.

Best regards,

Charles


On Tue, 21 Nov 2000 14:14:19 +0100, Steve Pepper <pepper@ontopia.net> wrote:

|
|>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

--
©2000 Charles F. Goldfarb * 13075 Paramount Court * Saratoga CA 95070 * USA
   Websites: www.XMLTimes.com, www.XMLbooks.com * Tel: +1(408)867-5553
     Co-author of The XML Handbook® Third Edition ISBN 0-13-055068-X
  International Standards Editor * ISO 8879 SGML * ISO/IEC 10744 HyTime
Prentice-Hall Series Editor * Definitive XML * Open Information Management
--

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