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BEST PRACTICE AND ExAMPLES
LINKED OPEN DATA: THE ESSENTIALS
Returning the favor
Linked Data on OpenEI is about more than just developing informative
pages that leverage multiple sources to provide a comprehensive user
experience. By properly attributing definitions with the appropriate
semantic properties, OpenEI can be sure that each piece of leveraged
content points back to its original source. Furthermore, the OpenEI
definition for each term is also published by assigning the value of the
semantic property foaf:page to the same Wikipedia URI. In the case of
OpenEI, properties assigned to definitions and other semantic content
are automatically published to OpenEI’s SPARQL and RDF endpoints.
This completes the semantic relationship so that anyone looking to
explore the meaning behind a concept will find the OpenEI definition
alongside DBpedia’s and reegle’s in the LOD cloud.
Benefits of using Linked Data
Linking multiple definitions to the same concept strengthens the
understanding of that concept and enables both human and machine
inquirers to confirm that they are, in fact, defining the same thing. But
what about the business benefits? By linking OpenEI data to others,
OpenEI can essentially outsource select content and information,
allowing those portions of the site to be actively maintained by the
appropriate subject matter experts. This allows the OpenEI team to
focus their efforts on areas of unique expertise. Plus, being a resource
for other sites, such as reegle, has led to a marked increase in web traffic
on OpenEI. In October 2011, OpenEI saw an additional 1,200 unique
visitors referred from sites like reegle as a result of sharing Linked Data.
Text by: Jon Weers, NREL (Jon.Weers@nrel.gov)
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under
Contract No. DE-AC36-08-GO28308 with the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory.
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