SMWCon Spring 2015/2nd Announcement

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(Apologies in advance for the cross-post)

I’d like to let you know that tickets are now available for SMWCon Spring 2015. Get them here: http://smwcons2015.eventbrite.com

SMWCon (http://semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/SMWCon_Spring_2015), the twice-yearly conference about Semantic MediaWiki, is coming to St. Louis this Spring.

The event, organized by local volunteers, will be hosted at T-Rex May 6-8. Attendance is open to anyone wanting to learn about the intersection of the semantic web and collaborative wikis.

What is Semantic MediaWiki?
Semantic MediaWiki (https://semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Semantic_MediaWiki) (SMW) is a free, open-source extension to MediaWiki – the wiki software that powers Wikipedia – that lets you store and query data within the wiki's pages.

Semantic MediaWiki is also a full-fledged framework, in conjunction with many spinoff extensions, that can turn a wiki into a powerful and flexible knowledge management system. All data created within SMW can easily be published via the Semantic Web, allowing other systems to use this data seamlessly.

Semantic MediaWiki is used on sites like Gamepedia’s League of Legends wiki (http://lol.gamepedia.com/League_of_Legends_Wiki), the W3C’s WebPlatform.org (https://docs.webplatform.org/wiki/Main_Page) and Practical Plants (http://practicalplants.org). It’s also used by numerous organizations internally to document and share information. At past SMWCon’s we’ve had folks from NATO, NASA, MITRE, and Cirque du Soleil talking about how they use a wiki within their organizations.

What is SMWCon?
SMWCon is a twice annual gathering of SMW administrators, developers, and users who come together to discuss the latest in SMW developments, share what they’re working on, and learn how others are using SMW in various industries.

SMWCon Spring 2015 is a 3-day event. The first day focuses on tutorials and introductions to Semantic MediaWiki. The second day is a traditional single-track series of presentations from various folks within the community. The third day is a continuation of talks, and breakout sessions for groups to discuss project work - planning for new development, documentation, or other SMW-related efforts.

The conference is May 6-8, 2015 and will be at T-Rex, a local tech incubator and co-working space. We’ll have breakfast for all three days, lunch for two, and a social night out at a local venue.

If you’re thinking about attending, visit the conference page (http://semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/SMWCon_Spring_2015) and add your name to the list. That’s right, just edit the page. It’s a wiki after all.

Formal registration and tickets can be found at http://smwcons2015.eventbrite.com We have Early-bird and Academic pricing available.

Speakers Wanted
We’re looking for folks to share their experience using wikis - from the technology and administration to the community building and philosophy behind open collaborative sharing platforms like Semantic MediaWiki. If you’d like to present, you guessed it, just edit the conference page (http://semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/SMWCon_Spring_2015) with your proposed talk.

I hope you’ll attend this year and please help spread the word to anyone you think might be interested.

For more information or questions, contact the local chair, Chris Koerner, at Chris.Koerner@Mercy.Net.