The biggest problem with technology is complexity. A technology is only as valuable as its ability to be used to provide value. When any technology is too complex it creates barriers to use. Even if a technology has great value, it will see little interest if it’s too complex. And even if the value of the technology is greater than, or commensurate with, its complexity, the lack of use (aka adoption) will be apparent. There may be a general lack of interest to a technology, however if interest is high, and adoption is low, there’s a high probability that complexity is the cause. This can be summed up in a simple equation:

technology adoption is inversely proportional to its complexity / unit value

One technology that fits this complexity equation is the Semantic Web. If you look at the initiatives such as standards, notations, reference implementations, technologies, and even products, a few obvious observations can be made:

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