Freebase user group meeting September 17, 2008

Freebase is a free database of the world's knowledge, licensed under Creative Commons and providing an API to enable mashups, applications, and all kinds of other uses.

The Freebase User Group meets every second month at Freebase HQ (the Metaweb offices) on Howard St, near Montgomery BART.

Talks:

Flip Kromer of infochimps: I Never Met a data I Didn't Like

We're launching infochimps.org, a comprehensive index of open data sources on the web. Making it easier to find, share and attach meaning to raw datasets will liberate more data, feed the growth of free repositories such as Freebase, and reduce the amount of trained-chimpanzee-level work we're all surely reduplicating.

I'd like to show off the new version of the site and get feedback on its design, and to describe how stuff we learned in philosophy class and data about data about data have each helped solve some thorny engineering problems.

James Levy: Developing apps with Facebook, Google App Engine, and Freebase Acre

James has developed apps on Facebook, Google's App Engine, and now with Freebase's Acre platform. You might have seen his "Shot or Not" app using Freebase data. He'll discuss his experiences with these platforms, talk about the differences (and why he likes Acre), and show us what he's currently working on.

Arthur van Hoff: RSS mashups with Acre

I have build a MQL query to MediaRSS/GeoRSS converter using Acre which can be used to create interesting mash-ups between Freebase, RSS readers, Google Earth, and Piclens.

David Huynh, creator of Parallax: Set to Set

A huge graph database can be hard to navigate around. Thinking in terms of going from one set of topics to another related set of topics within the graph makes navigation conceptually easier. Parallax is a browsing interface designed to bring that idea to users while the Freebase set expression language targets programmers. Both let people formulate a class of complex queries in a linear, straightforward way.

Jamie Taylor: Coming soon: The Freebase GeoSearch API

MQL is great for finding structures by architects who have attended Yale University. Are any of their structures within walking distance of Harvard? The new Freebase GeoSearch API allows you to combine spatial and semantic queries in new and interesting ways.

As usual, beer and pizza will be supplied. Last meeting was huge, and this one's shaping up even better, so don't miss it!

Official Website: http://blog.freebase.com/