From the website:
In the 11 February 2011 issue, Science joins with colleagues from Science Signaling, Science Translational Medicine, and Science Careers to provide a broad look at the issues surrounding the increasingly huge influx of research data. This collection of articles highlights both the challenges posed by the data deluge and the opportunities that can be realized if we can better organize and access the data.
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Science is making access to this entire collection FREE (simple registration is required for non-subscribers).
The growing concern over the influx of data represents a golden marketing opportunity for topic maps!
First, the predictions about increasing amounts of data are coming true.
That means impressive numbers to cite and even more impressive predictions about the future.
Second, the coming data deluge represents a range of commercial opportunities.
Opportunities for reuse, comparison, and mining such data abound. And, only increase as more data comes online.
Are you going to be the Facebook of some data area?
Third, and the reason unique to topic maps:
The format that contains data is recognized as composed of subjects.
Subjects that can be identified, placed in associations, have properties added to them,
That one insight is critical to re-use, combination and comparison of data in the data deluge.
If you identify the subjects that compose those structures, as well as the subject thought to be recognized by those data structures, you can then create maps between diverse data sets.
It is the identification of subjects that enables the creation and interchange of maps of where to swim in this vast sea of data.
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PS: I am going to take a slow walk through these articles and will be posting about opportunities that I see for topic maps. Your comments/feedback welcome!