This blog will certainly not be the one that will win the prize for the highest number of posts or the highest frequency of posting. But while quantity is not the aim, I would love to make this a quality blog, where the few posts that you will find here are perceived a little more thoughtful than the usual diet you’ll find on the Internet, which is now click-bait land.
What’s the meaning behind “semantopia”, by the way?
Semantopia is an artificial word, containing the Ancient Greek words sema (sign, mark, token) and topos (place, but also: literary theme or motif). So its meaning, or should I better say its semantics, is that of the “place of signs” or the “place of meaning”. An allusion to this blog (hopefully) not being a place of empty words (like buzzfeed, Huffington Post, or — in parts — medium.com).
Topics this blog will cover, hopefully
I don’t have a strict regime in terms of the topics. Basically, everything I find interesting and which catches my interest will be eligible. The tag line “Digital Products, Philosophy, and Pure Love of Words” is quite a decent description, but let’s be a little more precise on what you can expect. My favorite topics are:
- Digital business models, venture capital, startups — of course, this is my daily business. And there is a reason this is my daily business. I just love what I do!
- Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining (or rather: data science; which is essentially the same but rather the term that the cool kids of today use)
- Social network analysis and game theory. These topics have always been among my favorite fields of research. And it is amazing to see how much you can use of this in a very practical context, too.
- The impact of technology on society, which I don’t see as purely beneficial, even though I love tech. As a matter of fact, I’m growing increasingly worried — not so much for myself, but for our daughter and the generations that come of age right now. Which world will they live in?
- Philosophy; plus a twist of social psychology. Philosophy lies a lot more at the intersection of computer science than most people think. And I don’t mean bullshit topics like “Why Artificial Ethics Can’t Wait Until the Singularity”. When you read stuff like this, stop trusting the source.
Let’s see if I can live up to my own expectations. The will is there.
No blog or website is complete without disclaimers of any kind. This is one is no exception:
All opinions and statements made here represent my own subjective view and nothing else. It is a personal blog.