LODLAM Australian Style

So what is LODLAM Australian style? Does it mean our linked open data will have a particular twang that we all know and love? Will a fantastic dictionary of Australian slang finally impart to the world of searchers and researchers the cultural subtleties between saying AC/DC or acker dacker; or enable people to understand that when you say someone was wearing bathers, swimmers, budgie smugglers or togs – it meant that they were wearing a swim suit? Oh… the joys and that’s just the slang, of amazing connections linked open data is going to offer. Think about all the different (but almost similar) ways events, places, object, and people are referred to – it’s so spooky possums – it can make a girl dizzy!

Bondi Swimming Club by Tom Holbrook | CC BY NC SA 2.0

In November last year DigitalNZ hosted a LOD-LAM summit in Wellington, New Zealand. There was a small contingent of Aussies over in Wellington for the National Digital Forum that stayed on for a day to attend the summit. It was a day of great exchange and collective understanding, and better, some rattling of chains into action. The word is that WWI and ANZACs are going to drive some Trans-Tasman collaboration around linked open data – and – there are a number of eResearch projects based around Australia that will have linked open data at their core and allied to cultural datasets that are curated by researchers in the scholarly community in Australia. So perhaps in a year’s time there might be both cultural collection and scholarly datasets up and linked… let’s see.

Some of us are keen to run a series of LODLAM events in Australia to build the conversation and wider understanding and also look at opportunities to “do something” together. So here’s what’s happening so far:

Canberra: 5.30pm, 27 March 2012, Fellows Bar, University House, Australian National University campus. Organisers: Liz Holcombe @lizholcombe and Ingrid Mason @1n9r1d

Melbourne: Half day, 17 April 2012. Melbourne Museum. Organisers: Ely Wallis @elyw and Eleanor Whitworth @elewhitworth

Canberra: Semantic Web in Use, BAE Systems Theatre, Australian War Memorial, Monday 23 April 2012 at 12pm. Organisers: Tim Sherratt @wragge, Armin Haller , Laurent Lefort @laurentlefort

Brisbane: Possibly, and possibly 26th August 2012?, somewhere in Brisvegas possibly tied into a THATCamp (The Humanities and Technologies, Camp) and aligned with the International Council on Archives Congress 20th-24th August 2012. Organisers: Anna Gerber @annagerber and Tim Sherratt @wragge

Sydney: Later on in the year. Somewhere. Organisers: Richard Lehane @richardlehane and Ingrid Mason @1n9r1d

You tell us – here’s a short straw poll – even better leave your name and email so we can be in touch.

The more we know of your interest, the better that would be! Murmurs are there may be a lodlam event that slides into the National Digital Forum 2012 in New Zealand in November too.