Reading Mike Bergman’s posts on making the Semantic Web work tripped a realization that Linked Data and other Semantic Web proposals are about creating a particular degree semantic precision.
And I suspect that is the key to the lack of adoption of Linked Data, etc.
Think about the levels of semantic precision that you use during the day. With family and children, one level of semantic precision; another level of precision with your co-workers; yet another level as you deal with merchants, public servants and others during the day. And you can switch in conversation from one level to another, such as when your child interrupts a conversation with your spouse.
To say nothing of the levels of semantic precision that vary from occupation to occupation, with ontologists/logicians at the top, followed closely by computer scientists, and then doctors, lawyers, computer programmers and a host of others. All of who also use varying degrees of semantic precision during the course of a day.
We communicate with varying degrees of semantic precision and the “semantic” Web reflects that practice.
I say lower-case “semantic” Web because the web had semantics long before current efforts to prescribe only one level of semantic precision.