Semantic Email Addressing: The Semantic Web Killer App?

by Michael Kassoff, Charles Petrie, Lee-Ming Zen, and Michael Genesereth

Email addresses are a means to an end. The goal is usually not to send an email to a particular address, but to a particular person. You want to say hello to your friend Steve or send a message to the VP of marketing at Microsoft or to the head caterer for your wedding. Ideally, you could send a message to a person just by entering his or her name, position, or some other descriptive attribute. If a person’s email address changes, the email system should send to the new address automatically. If the person matching a description differs over time, the email system should send to the person currently matching that description.

Read more ...

Share this article

Article comments

What else is new?

Just Added!  Build a Smarter Government, Build a Smarter Federal IT Operation
Inspired by the new US president's call to "build a smart federal government," this article offers one viewpoint on how to build a better federal IT operation.

Just Added!  Putting a Slug to Work
Although novel architectures are growing in popularity, conventional microprocessor designs pack a punch in a small footprint and are widely supported by commodity operating system and development tools.

Just Added!  Magic Beyond the Screen
In this article, the authors look at advances and trends in pervasive computing and speculate about the future of multimedia.

Just Added!  Progress on AI, Robotics, and Automation in Space: A Report from i-SAIRAS 08
This article summarizes notable results and trends from the 2008 International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Automation in Space.

Just Added!  A VR Playground for Learning Abstract Mathematics Concepts
Researchers created a virtual environment that simulates a playground to teach mathematical concepts and evaluated it through empirical studies with primary school students.

Just Added!  To Game or Not to Game?
This column looks at the empirical evidence for one such method, game-based learning, and reports on a literature review that looked at what games are available as well as the degree to which their efficacy has been studied.

Server Designs for Warehouse-Computing Environments
The enormous scale of warehouse-computing environments leads to unique requirements in which cost and power figure prominently.

Understanding Android Security
The next generation of of mobile devices must provide a comprehensive and usable security infrastructure.

The Credit Crunch and the Digital Bite
Did use of digital technology cause the present financial turmoil?

Semantic Email Addressing: The Semantic Web Killer App?
SEA lets users send email to a semantically specified group of recipients and maintain their own profiles.

The Challenges of Nanotechnology and Gigacomplexity
Learn about evolving computing trends, challenges of nanoscale device integration, gigascale complexity, and the implications of all this for test.

Pervasive Computing Approaches to Environmental Sustainability
This Works in Progress department looks at eight projects that focus on environmental sustainability.