The company TextWise has announced that it will pay out a one-million dollar prize to the person or people who are able to come up with the most profitable application for their semantic technology. The company is opening up its API to allow anyone to start working and come up with a killer application.
So what does TextWise’s semantic technology do? Basically, semantic discovery is a way of finding information without knowing explicitly what you are looking for. When text is fed into the system, “Semantic Signatures” are automatically created. What this means is that any body of text that is entered into the system is spat out into categories and also related Wikepedia articles.
Semantichacker.com In Their Own Words
“SemanticHacker.com is home of the TextWise SemanticHacker API and we’re bold enough to call it the world’s first open API for semantic discovery. Semantic discovery is a way to find information without knowing explicitly what you’re looking for BUT ‘you know it when you see it.’ Semantic discovery does not punish you for using the wrong keywords. We built the API for clients and users to actively engage with our core technology – Semantic Signatures.”
Why Semantichacker.com It Might Be A Killer
The technology is powerful and would appear to have limitless possibilities. Opening up their API and offering a big prize should encourage some incredible ideas and ensure that the technology is given some very really useful applications.
Some Questions About Semantichacker.com
Will the one-million dollar prize start a chain reaction of sorts and cause other businesses with great technologies to open up their API’s and offer similar bounties? 
