For the 7th time, I-SEMANTICS, the International Conference on Semantic Systems, took place in GrazGraz is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria. It has a population of 291,890 as of 2010 (of which 258.605 have principal residence status). Graz has a long tradition as a student city: its six universities have more than 44,000 students. ..., presenting latest research outcomes and industry-ready applications to the wider public. Co-located with I-KNOW, the 11th International Conference on Knowledge Technologies, the event proved once again that the interest in semantic informationMetadata created for information (files, documents ...) following the Semantic Web recommendations. processing is high and of increasing practical relevance.

More than 70 scientific and 40 industry presentations provided a valid overview over current technological and organisational trends in various areas of semantic computing like text miningText mining, sometimes alternately referred to as text data mining, roughly equivalent to text analytics, refers to the process of deriving high-quality information from text. High-quality information is typically derived through the divining of patterns and trends through means such as ..., information retrieval, visual analytics, semantic content engineering, social semantic web and linked data. Especially the last topic appeared in many different contexts, showing that the linked data paradigm is gaining traction as a horizontal topic that crosses domains and communities.

One of the conference’s unique characteristics is the high amount of attendees from industrial domains, searching for inspiration and solutions for practical problems on the one side, but also for diversification potentials of their business on the other side. In this respect the applied scientific approach of I-SEMANTICS / I-KNOW has proven to be a valid approach to scrutinize academic research against its reusability in industrial settings, transfer knowledge and skills between both communities and provide incentives for cooperative research and project engagement.

This cooperative spirit was also represented by the four key note speakers, who took a deliberate practical approach to show how high level research fertilizes organizational reflexivity and triggers change for sustainability on a societal, cultural and economic level. Hence, Daniel A. Heim, Professor at the Computer Science Department of the University of Konstanz, Germany, showed how visual analytics have a stake in solving organizational problems. Gloria Mark, Professor at the University of CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil. It is located on the West Coast of the United States, and is bordered by Oregon to the north, ..., Irvine, USA, talked about the challenges that derive from informational multi-tasking. Stefan Rueger, Professor at the Knowledge Media InstituteSet up in 1995 and dedicated to research and development in Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Artificial Intelligence and Semantic Technologies, and Multimedia ('Knowledge Media'). (http://kmi.open.ac.uk/) of The Open University, United Kingdom, gave a talk about “potential, automation and limits of knowledge discovery in the web” and Christian Dirschl, Head of Content Strategy Department at Wolters KluwerWolters Kluwer N.V. is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2008) of €3.374 ... Germany, gave an insight in how one of the global players in legal publishing is utilizing linked data and semantic web technologies to prepare for the next step in web-based business diversification.
The next I-SEMANTICS will take place from September 5-7, 2012 in Graz again. Hope to see you there and enjoy the impressions …

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