Edwin Black’s IBM and the Holocaust reports that one aspect of the use of IBM punch card technology by the Nazis (and others) was the monopoly that IBM maintained on the manufacture of the punch cards.
The IBM machines could only use IBM punch cards.
The IBM machines could only use IBM punch cards.
The repetition was intentional. Think about that statement in a more modern context.
When we talk about Linked Data, or OWL, or Cyc, or SUMO, etc. (yes, I am aware that I am mixing formats and ontologies), isn’t that the same thing?
They are not physical monopolies like IBM punch cards but rather are intellectual monopolies.
Say it this way (insert your favorite format/ontology) or you don’t get to play.
I am sure that meets the needs of software designed to work on with particular formats or ontologies.
But that isn’t the same thing as representing user semantics.
Note: Representing user semantics.
Not semantics as seen by the W3C or SUMO or Cyc or (insert your favorite group) or even XTM Topic Maps.
All of those quite usefully represent some user semantics.
None of them represent all user semantics.
No, I am not going to argue there is a non-monopoly solution.
To successfully integrate (or even represent) data, choices have to be made and those will result in a monopoly.
My caution it is to not mistake the lip of the teacup that is your monopoly for the horizon of the world.
Very different things.
*****
PS: Economic analysis of monopolies could be useful when discussing intellectual monopolies. The “products” are freely available but the practices have other characteristics of monopolies. (I have added a couple of antitrust books to my Amazon.com wish list should anyone feel moved to contribute.)
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