Shazam and the Future of Semantic Searches

Because it isn't anywhere else on the interwebs, let me first say that the music track used for the Doctor Who Season 5 DVD set disk 3 extra feature "Monster Files: Weeping Angels" is the song "Angel" from Massive Attack.

(deep inhale after a long sentence)

And the only reason I could possible know that is by either:

1. Being a trip-hop fan in the late nineties
2. Having Shazam on my phone

Shazam is the progenitor of music identification services - just as Massive Attack is the progenitor of trip-hop (thank you Wikipedia).  It is a brilliant app that allows you to hold up your phone, capture live audio, and have the miracle of cloud technology tell you details about the song that you are listening to.

This is a saving grace for music noobs like me who only get the urge to buy a song when I'm at a bar and have to exclaim out loud "this song is awesome - I wonder who makes it".

While the internet is a seemingly endless font of knowledge, there are gaps in getting to information.  There is a strong future in services (like Shazam) that fill in the semantic gap between what you are looking for and the search query that will get you there.

A Year to Build Change

It has been said that we overestimate what we can do in a day, and woefully underestimate what we can do in a year.

This year is a wonderful year to bring about what really matters to you.  And today is a wonderful day to codify what exactly that is.  Over the holidays I've been putting thought into the areas that are meaningful to me - human powered transportation, information organization technology, and communication.

I have goals for this year and beyond - and I look forward to sharing my adventures on the way.  In the mean time... what is important to you?  What do you want to go into 2012 having accomplished?  One day is short, but a year's worth of days can change your life. :)