Freebase
Freebase
Overview
Freebase (http://www.freebase.com) is an open database of information built by people around the world. Freebase's free and open license allows anyone to contribute and edit the information contained in Freebase, and ensures the information is available under public domain or fair use guidelines (http://www.freebase.com/view/en/content_guidelines_and_policies). Each Freebase topic (e.g., a bird species) has its own web page that serves as an information hub for that topic. Freebase topics are described as belonging to "types", which are structured ways of describing collections of things.
Strengths
Freebase already contains a wealth of information compiled from open datasets. Freebase is unique among online databases because each of its topics can be described in many different ways, including links to web pages outside of Freebase. There are many ways to use Freebase metadata. They can be viewed through Freebase's user interface in the form of tables, timelines, and maps. They can be imported into Freebase as lists and exported as spreadsheets. Histories are maintained when changes are made to topics and types, and webfeeds can be established to provide email notifications when these changes are made. Assistance is available through topic discussions and email lists. Querying, import, and export of information in Freebase is also highly customizable by programmers.
Weaknesses
Freebase is still in alpha stage development which means that it frequently undergoes substantial changes. While the underlying database structure is well established, the means for viewing and entering data in Freebase are not. This means that even the web link to specific content may change. Community members need to invest time to learn about the interface and existing data structures if they want to contribute. There are some cases where different people will want to describe the same topic using different names (e.g., American Ornithologists’ Union versus European naming of the same species concept) or fill in properties of the same type in different ways. The Freebase community is still establishing guidelines for mediating these conflicts.
Examples
The Appalachian Joint Venture is using Freebase to organize information about one of its priority species, the golden-winged warbler (http://www.freebase.com/edit/topic/en/golden-winged_warbler). This species is currently described in Freebase as an "Organism classification" (with links to its genus, ITIS and NCBI numbers), a "Book subject" (with links to journal articles on this species), a "Focal taxa" (with links to conservation projects, survey protocols, etc. specific to this bird), and a "Checklist bird" (with summaries of locations where this bird has been seen). Additionally, weblinks are established to the species' pages at the websites of Cornell, Patuxent, Wikipedia, and Audubon.
Tutorials
A good place to start is: http://www.freebase.com/view/en/getting_started_with_freebase
More details can be found through the Help Center: http://www.freebase.com/help
This publication is dynamic in that it will continue to be improved, updated, and expanded over time. Suggestions for improving the content, organization, and scope of this publication are encouraged and can be contributed here (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NP3Y772).