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The Return of the Prodigal Web

Manchester is proud host to the 2007 Hypertext Conference, the 18th in an international series of conferences which has seen the birth and revolutionary impact of the hypertext system that has changed our lives - the World Wide Web.

The Conference will be opened by Prof Carole Goble, the pioneer of hypertext and the Semantic Web, whose work also embraces the emerging social web known as Web 2.0. "As the Web has evolved we have seen exciting developments in different parts of the research community", said Prof Goble, "It's now time for everyone to bring these back together".

Prof Goble is uniquely qualified to tell this story. Building on Manchester's world-leading Semantic Web expertise and the principles of Web 2.0, her team has designed and delivered software which is used by scientists worldwide on an everyday basis. "We have shown that the Semantic Web gives us the infrastructure to enable new scientific discoveries, but ultimately it's about people and this is the power of Web 2.0".

Prof Goble believes that we are now ready to realise - and transcend - the original visions of hypertext and hopes that her talk will act as a call to arms. "Let's grasp the opportunity, embrace the returning son and celebrate."

Labels: Carole Goble, HT07, keynote

posted by: Publicity Chair on Thursday, September 06, 2007

Call For Participation

Hypertext 2007 celebrates its 20th anniversary trying to fight the last years' flux and overshadowing by Web. Trying to keep Hypertext's identity as an interesting and interdisciplinary conference, we offer more than 40 different research areas ranging from Web Design to Literature and Philosophy. I agree with the Registration Chair's comments about how important is to bring people from different disciplines in order to produce more dynamically diverse discussions and hence better results. As a Publicity Chair, I have to let the world know about the conference but also inform them about the diverse range that Hypertext 2007 tries to cover. Five distinctive programs will be offered to show how unique this conference is. We are seeking participants focusing, but not limited to:

Scholarly, Structural, Dynamic and Adaptive Models and Theory of hypertext.
Applications of hypertext including The Web, Semantic Web, Web Engineering, and Web Design.
The effect of hypertext on Developing Regions, Social Tagging and Annotation, Blogs, and eLearning.
Human Centred hypertext including Browsers and Interfaces, Web Accessibility, Usability, Evaluation and Observational Studies.
Culture and Communication, Art, Literature, Philosophy, and the hypertext tools to support them.

In addition, we provide the opportunity to participants to submit:

Hypertexts in order for others within the community to read and interact with them through the Hypertext Reading Room
Posters and Demonstrations to test new ideas, generate interest in a research area, or describe useful or interesting work.
For the Student Research Competition, so that students can participate in an ACM conference and get visibility for their research by displaying a poster and making a brief presentation to a panel of judges and
For a community discussion forum where people with similar interests can flock together and discuss their research.

Looking through the list of subjects covered one can easily notice that not only this conference is of interest to people from Computer Science background but also from Engineering, Humanities, HCI, Arts, Literature, even Philosophy! So, in this post I am calling you to participate in an interdisciplinary, diverse and exciting conference but also seeking your help:

Do let me know of any community mailing list or discussion groups that are relevant to hypertext! and
Let your colleagues know about HT07 and ask them to pass the information.

The more participants the better understanding we will get about hypertext and its applications. I am looking forward to hear from you!

Labels: Arts, call for papers, HCI, HT07, humanities, Hypertext 2007, interdisciplinary conference

posted by: Publicity Chair on Monday, April 02, 2007

Humanities Honour Scheme

In the first Hypertext conference (HT87), it was highlighted that ``the Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia brings together scholars, researchers, and practitioners from diverse disciplines to consider the form, role and impact of hypertext and hypermedia in a forum of discussion of ideas, design and use of hypertext and hypermedia in a variety of domains''. This shows that from the beginning the Hypertext conference was established as an interdisciplinary conference. I believe for better discussions and outcomes it is important to organise a conference in an international and interdisciplinary fashion. To me the former means bringing people together from different cultures and the latter means bringing people from different backgrounds and diverse disciplines. These are important features for cross-pollinating ideas; having different insights; sharing and transferring experiences; having applications in different domains; having better discussions and most importantly for producing better results. Hypertext conferences have always been among the few that have managed to be true interdisciplinary conferences. They have always brought together computer scientists, writers, sociologists, psychologists, designers, ethnographers, engineers and many others. That's why HT conferences have always been interesting and fun to attend.

In order to continue and strengthen this, this year we are introducing a new "Humanities Honour Scheme". With this scheme we would like to ensure that attendees from Humanities get as much discounts as Computer Scientists. Hence we would like to support and continue with the interdisciplinary aspect of the Hypertext conferences. We hope that this scheme will encourage researchers, artists and designers in Humanities to continue to contribute to the success of Hypertext research. This was demonstrated by the Web and hopefully Hypertext research will produce many more such successful examples. This year, as it was emphasised in HT01, HT07 ``will continue to provide a forum where attendees can exchange and discuss ideas on hypermedia, as well as its design and use in a variety of domains, while also considering the transformative power of hypermedia and its ability to potentially alter the way we read, write, argue, work, exchange information, or entertain ourselves''. See you all in Manchester!

Labels: HT07, Humanities, Hypertext 2007, Manchester, registration

posted by: Registration Chair on Monday, March 12, 2007

Inspirations for a Media Chair

When I was originally asked to design the Hypertext 2007 Website, I sought as my inspiration the works of L. S. Lowry, a Manchester based artist who painted urban landscapes populated with "match-stick" human figures depicting life in an industrialised city. After all, Hypertext 2007 is being held in Manchester and it seemed appropriate to have a theme that reflected its industrial heritage. However, while Lowry accurately represented the host city of the conference, he didn't capture the essence of hypertext, which for me is the browsing of information linked together by nothing more than the thoughts and associations of the author. The real beauty of hypertext is not only the exploration and acquisition of knowledge, but also the joy and surprise of discovering the new; found through following a link to an unfamiliar piece of information that you had never before associated with the piece of information you are currently looking at.

In many ways this mirrors real life. How often have colleagues made associations between two concepts that initially seem bizarre but after some thought seem perfectly logical? Or how many times have friends suggested places to visit that you have never before considered but then upon going, wonder why you have never been before? It was one of these seemingly strange associations that led me to taking the photograph that was the basis for the picture that sits at the top of every page on this Website.

A friend was visiting from Sweden and so we did all the tourist stuff. We walked around the city, poked around the Roman Ruins in Castlefield and then spent the afternoon sat in a pub. As we were sat there, my Swedish companion made an association between UK fashions and winter, which I had never before considered. This link led us on a trip to a popular department store, which by coincidence was hosting a free food & drink sampling session. And, it was whilst tasting our fragments of Goat's Cheese and New Zealand Chardonnay that we looked out of the window and saw the vista that sits above this page.

In a similar fashion that following links and trails of thoughts in hyperspace brings us the thrill of stumbling upon new and mysterious views of knowledge, so too following the links and trails of a visiting friend brought an unexpected view of Manchester.

As a native of Greater Manchester I feel that I should not only welcome you to Hypertext 2007 but also to The City. HT07 promises to be a diverse fusion of research, people and art. Manchester too is a thriving multicultural metropolis with a reputation for academia, the arts and sports. In this respect both HT07 and Manchester compliment each other quite nicely.

Labels: HT07, Hypertext 2007, Links, Lowry, Manchester, Website Design

posted by: Media Chair on Thursday, March 01, 2007