From the very beginning I was wondering, what Reuters is going to do with all that data generated by OpenCalais. So I took a moment and browsed through the Privacy Statement (formerly their Terms Of Use), stepping over an enlightning paragraph:
We may build a search capability in the future. This capability would allow users to search the metadata repository and receive back a list of entries that match that search criteria. Unless you have authorized it via an API parameter, this list would not include the original metadata contained in the document but would expose the URL and description of the original document if you have provided it to us. If you do not want your content included in the search functionality you should indicate so in the appropriate area of the API. If you want to maximize the exposure of your content on the web you should not opt out of inclusion in the search functionality.
Hypothetical in wording this paragraph states it very clear: engagement in the search market is definitely an option. But they even go one step further.
We may build a syndication capability in the future. This capability would allow us to generate feeds of content that match certain selection criteria based on the metadata. As with search, unless you have authorized it via an API parameter, these feeds will not expose the original metadata contained in the document but would expose the URL and description of the original document if you have provided it to us. If you do not want your content included in the syndication functionality you should indicate so in the appropriate area of the API. If you want to maximize the exposure of your content on the web you should not opt out of inclusion in the syndication functionality.
This sounds to me like content reselling business. In this regard it might be interesting to take a look at the latest developments from IPTC: a policy standard called ACAP, which stands for Automated Content Access Protocol. Its designed to express access policies for robots on content items. Coupling ACAP with (hypothetical) search capabilities of OpenCalais could result in a major commercial distribution engine especially for traditional media content owners. Especially with the following marketing capabilities in mind:
We may build other products in the future based on statistical or other analysis of the metadata, such as trend analysis, emerging topics or others. In no case will these products expose the original document’s metadata.
Finally a business model for the Semantic Web? Whatever … smart guys, great service!
