Using FOAF to Support Community Building

The Semantic Web seeks to build a global distributed database through the integration of data from independent communities without the requirement for prior agreement on the structure of this data. This basic concept can be applied to the development of online communities. This paper outlines the potential for the FOAF Semantic Web technology to ensure that resources can be defined in a way that promotes their ability for being shared with third-parties with a minimum of integration effort. The paper outlines FOAF’s potential for community-building in conferences.