Last day to vote for SxSWi panels!

Just a reminder – today is the last day to vote for SxSWi panels.  We’re really interested in four of them, so click the links below and vote if you love us!

Scaling the Semantic Web

Big Data, Big Dream

Semantic Search: Life Beyond Ten Blue Links

Semantic Search: Off to a Good Start

Selected as a panelist for SxSWi

I just found out we’ve been selected to speak on a panel at SxSWi!  The panel is called “Big Data, Big Dreams” and is headed by Juan Sequeda of Semantic Web Austin.  The purpose of the panel is to explore how to scale applications that must handle very large amounts of data.  From the panel description:

How can we have applications that can scale with large amounts of data? Are relational databases sufficient? What other technologies are out there that can scale? This panel will talk about existing technologies that manage large amounts of data.

The 80legs crawler uses its own, custom-built data storage system, which has the very original name “Crawler Data Store”, or CDS.  We actually explored various general-purpose data storage systems before deciding to build our own.  At the same time, we do use relational databases to handle other parts of our system.  We really do have a mash-up of data storage technologies, all working together.

By the way – vote up the panel if you haven’t already!

SxSWi PanelPicker is now open

Here are the panels we’re interested in – vote them up!

Go Big or Go Home: Scaling Semantic Apps (http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/3918):  While the Semantic Web has generated excitement, its usefulness is still restricted to a few areas. Efforts to expand the coverage of semantic apps have revealed limitations in performance and technology. We’ll discuss how people are addressing these problems and when semantic apps will provide real value for real people.

Big Data, Big Dream (http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/3453):  How can we have applications that can scale with large amounts of data? Are relational databases sufficient? What other technologies are out there that can scale? This panel will talk about existing technologies that manage large amounts of data.

Semantic Search: Life Beyond Ten Blue Links (http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/3270):  Ten blue links with a title and an abstract have dominated the lives of search users for over a decade now. Semantic technologies have the potential to change the face of search through a deeper understanding of the needs of users and the content on the Web. Will it be a revolution in search?

Semantic Search: Off to a Good Start (http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/3272):  Pursued by a number of search companies both large and small, semantic search turned into one of the hottest trends in search innovation. What’s the benefit for publishers, end-users and developers? This presentation examines the case for semantic search.

Beyond Algorithms: Search and the Semantic Web (http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/4131):  New faceted search engines are emerging that promise smarter and more personalized results that take advantage of the Semantic Web. Do they deliver, and what do these engines mean for traditional search? How can obstacles such as scalability and diverse content provisioning platforms be overcome for Semantic Search to succeed?

Side note:  If you’re interested in some panels by Houstonians (and we always are!), check out these posts: http://www.startuphouston.com/2009/08/17/sxsw-2010-panel-picker-is-open/, http://www.schipul.com/sxsw2010/.