Day 1: Track 2 - Breathing new life into search

Q: Which are the most important topics, for you personally, due to be discussed at the Online Information Conference 2008 and why?
Chris: The sessions discussing the semantic web. After years of hearing that "it's almost here," I've been seeing solid evidence that the semantic web has in fact, arrived, and is set to dramatically change the way information professionals work on the web. This isn't incremental change - it's truly a new paradigm (as much as I hate to use a cliche), and I find the whole area very exciting.

Q: Which tracks would you recommend to delegates attending the conference?
Chris: I'm biased - the Breathing New Life into Search and Order out of
Chaos- Creating Structure in Our Information Universe tracks.

Q: What are you looking forward to most about participating in Online Information 2008?
Chris: Meeting with my UK and European information professional colleagues.
It's always a pleasure to get the perspectives of info pros throughout the world, to compare and contrast their issues and concerns.

Q: If you had to choose only one - which social network would you recommend to colleagues?
Chris: LinkedIn. While I am a member of other social networks, LinkedIn is the only one I find truly valuable, primarily because it has a professional focus, and the people who participate are more interested in sharing useful information than playing games or dithering away on trivial topics (heh - sorry I don't have a stronger opinion about this... :-)

Q: And finally, just out of interest - where are you planning to spend Christmas this year?
Chris: With my wife's family in the Northern Neck area of Virginia. The community they live in is the oldest settled area in the U.S., and the local dialect has more in common with Elizabethean English than contemporary U.S. or U.K. English, so it's always a special treat to be there.

About Chris Sherman
Chris Sherman is President of Searchwise, a web consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado. He is also Executive Editor of SearchEngineWatch.com, penning a daily newsletter and serving as chair and organiser of Incisive Media's international Search Engine Strategies conferences. Chris writes regularly for Information Today, ONLINE, and other information industry journals.
Email: info@searchwise.net

For more information, or to view the conference programme in full, please visit:
www.online-information.co.uk/conference