Megan Geyer in Attributes of Innovation dives into the details behind the call:
“Be innovative!”
You may have heard this from your boss or colleagues. Everyone wants to be ahead of the curve and lead their industry—to set an example for others to follow. In the digital sphere, customer- and service-oriented products are in the midst of a great many innovations right now, with the emergence of elements like cloud computing, tablets, mobile location services, and social media integration. Now is a fertile time for innovation. But what does it take to be innovative? What does an innovative product look like?
There are attributes that materialize differently depending on the product or service, but they are attributes that all innovations have in common. When these attributes of innovation are combined, the resulting product or service often exceeds the expectations of current user experiences and pushes the field of UX design forward. In particular scenarios such as enterprise IT or the public sector, these common attributes can seem daunting. They can sometimes even seem irrelevant. But in successful and innovative ideas, they are always present. (emphasis added)
All of the points she makes are relevant to topic maps but none more than:
Innovation is Simple
Think about some of the most innovative ideas and products you’ve seen in the last 20 years. What’s a common factor they all share? They make your life easier. They do not add complexity or confusion. They simplify things, make things more accessible, or bring comfort to your life. You may have to spend some time learning to use the new product or service. It may take a while for it to become ingrained in your everyday life. But when you use it, the innovation makes your life easier. (emphasis added)
Ask yourself: Are topic maps making your life simpler?
If you answer is no, that signals a problem that needs to be addressed in marketing topic maps. (The same argument applies to RDF, which after $billion in funding, puff pieces in SciAM, etc., is still struggling.)
My answer to: “What can I do with topic maps?” of “Anything that you want.” is about as helpful as a poke with a sharp stick.
Users aren’t interested in doing “anything” or even “everything.” They have a particular “something” they want to do.
Promoting topic maps requires finding “somethings” with have value for users.
Let the “somethings” be what sells topic maps.