Today I've been working on my company's updated business plan, outlining the features of our two new products, describing their competitive advantages in the current market. I went to Sanibel to determine if we should use Semantic Web technology. I came away with a "Yes" from a technical standpoint, but a "Maybe" from a business point of view. Much of my writing here, particularly the Angela Talk, is motivated by my current need to make the business case for the Semantic Web. I really do believe there's money to be made in this space. The tough part's describing how to do it, then convincing others to believe it.

Jim Hendler says we're at the "knee in the [exponential] curve," and I can see it. My instincts say we're staring at the kind of potential that doesn't come around very often. Somebody's gonna make a few category-defining applications in this space, and when that happens, there's gonna be real money made.

But saying doesn't make it so. Describing these hunches in realistic prose, with numbers to back it up, is the task at hand. The dot-com bust, with it's napkin business plans, and incredibly high expectations, has made my job more difficult, but rightly so. This all just might be wind, as some say.

Time will tell. In the meantime though, I'm waxing my surfboard.