Synaptic Web > Semantic Web
It is a good sign that people are beginning to realize that the Internet provides more value to users by connecting them to others of like minds, then simply for the purposes of extracting data points. Although the semantic web has had it’s time in the spotlight, the very theme of semantics in itself do not provide value when we do not funnel anything through the chambers of semantics. The objects that stand on the platform of the semantic web are things and data points rather then people and relationships. This is hurtful to us as a progressing society and very anti-social in that egos and leader board mentalities begin to surface and takes the the focus off of the people and places them on self-proclaimed experts who insist they have insider secrets to relevant information.
Enter the synaptic web.
Plain and simple, the synaptic web is about people.
It is the collective, intelligent brain of the Internet that provides value to people who desire to interact with people and not just things. Synaptics in itself is the connections of living brain cells and neurons that formulate equations of intelligent thoughts and brick-lay corridors of those thought processes within our minds.
The Synaptic web implies that the traffic of user flows are the patterns that bring value to other users by the quality of nodes that are linked together under the interest of common users. These fixed links within the “human-computer-brain” are the ever evolving intellect of user input that is not only open and up to date, but is also a very promising compass that points the way to future predictions.
Kris Loux does an excellent job of explaining the Synaptic Web here:
By harnessing the power of the Internet which is to simply connect people to people, those same people are now able to harvest data points or better yet, information that is encompassed by that specific online community.
One way at looking at the Synaptic Web vs the Semantic Web can be seen in the fight scenes below from the movie The Matrix- a tragic tale of man vs machine. Starring Keanu Reeves, Agent Smith and the getalongs.
Semantic Neo
In this scene, we see the result of Neo’s fighting skills after being trained by Morpheus and having to adapt to his surroundings. The real world would not have allowed Neo (or the Agents) to have fought like this. Neo had to adjust his style and mind to become relevant to the Matrix. Neo address’ the fight in context and defeats the agents according to their own virtual world semantics. However, a lot of work here is involved on his behalf.
Synaptic Agents
On the other hand, here we see in Matrix Revolutions that instead of adapting to Neo’s new enlightenment, they unite together under a synaptic call of mind power, there are no ear plugs, they just engage the battle and will the purposes of the people (the Agents). As they unite together under a common purpose they use each other to address the issue at hand, gaining the upper hand and forcing Neo to flee.
Now obviously, these scenarios are a little geeky, stretched and entertaining, but you get the point. When the people unite together, more progress is accomplished and greater results are achieved.
Long live the synaptic web.
Brett,
Nice post. I like the comparison to the matrix.
The synaptic web really is about the people. It’s taking the strengths of machine search and applying the collective intelligence of people sharing tags, links, ideas, and connections through social media. Most people don’t realize the immense value they add to the web simply by tagging content and it just grows from there.
-Chris
I find the Matrix parallel very intriguing as an idea but it misses the point in the semantic web versus synaptic web context. The synaptic web heavily relies on the variety of nodes therefore interlinked agents resemble it much more than numerous copies of the same one. Hive mind versus one mind. Neo is defeated by Smith in Reloaded not by being outsmarted but by being outnumbered.
On the other hand I’m having trouble understanding how the semantic Neo is semantic. As far as Matrix examples go, I think the Construct versus Matrix comparison would demonstrate the gist of the semantic web more faithfully. In the Construct, things exist with no apparent context. The same object in the Construct may pop out of nothing, and obey arbitrary rules, while in the Matrix it must follow strict rules and interact with the environment. The object telling the Matrix about itself is the same as content telling the search engine about itself, which is the point of the semantic web in the first place.
Hi Dan, thank you for your comment, but you sound like someone who loves to hear himself speak.
A few things…
1. You have not stated anything that I don’t already know.
2. Everything you said about the nodes is already represented in the blog.
3. Hive mind & one mind is the ultimate goal of the synaptic web, not one or the other
4. The whole Construct/ Matrix thing sounds too fan-boyish.
5. Read the first sentence under the second matrix movie…the part where I state “stretched and entertaining”.
You read this article as someone who watched the Matrix 50 times and missed the whole point.
You didn’t even address my actual written piece, you got hung up on the movies.
If you had never seen the Matrix before, it would have made perfect sense to you as the movies were to be taking at face value.
Instead of chewing the meat and spitting out the bones, you threw out the meat and tried to digest the bones.
The meat is my written piece that reflects my thoughts on the synaptic web, the movies were there to be entertaining.
Don’t major on the minors, hills are made into mountains when there’s nothing else better to do
I will say though, that you are right in regards to the context of the movie within itself.
But as stated in point #1, I already knew this
Wow, seems like a hot topic. You kids play nicely now. The synaptic web is most definitely on the rise. I like Brett when you say
“These fixed links within the “human-computer-brain” are the ever evolving intellect of user input that is not only open and up to date, but is also a very promising compass that points the way to future predictions.”
I just recently started to get involved into futuristic cell meetings and really like the idea of using the synaptic web to pave the possible way for predictions. I will looking into the synaptic thing more closely.
Like the Matrix idea, as you state, it’s a stretched sample of your thesis. Good idea.
this blog post simply amazes me. I personally never heard of the synapitc web. I really enjoyed the comparison of the two matrix movies. As a newcomer to this topic, the movies actually helped me to better understand the idea of the semantic web vs the synaptic web. thanks for an educational, entertaining blog post.