Thinkbase

Thinkbase.

I ask that you be patient with this, since it does take a minute to load and launch the Java platform, but it's well worth it.

This was in one of my news feeds tonight: Thinkbase.

What is Thinkbase?

Thinkbase is a new way to navigate and explore information on the web. It is what we call a 'Visual Wiki'. It is based on Freebase, an open, shared database of the world's knowledge - in other words a Semantic Wiki. Thinkbase uses a visualization tool (Thinkmap) to create an interactive visual representation of the semantic relationships in Freebase.

Thinkbase was developed by Christian Hirsch at the University of Auckland.

I've seen a lot of interesting interfaces over the years, but this is one of the slickest, best implemented methods I've ever seen.



The basic concept is so simple. You've got two panes. The left features a Thinkmap powered chart, similar to a 'mind map' in it's design, which centers around your primary theme and branches out into all the different relevant articles. The right pane is simply a Freebase window, which is an open wiki, although much prettier than most.

You can then move around information, and branch out to other articles, you can also see interesting relationships between different articles.

It's pretty cool... especially considering that it was developed by a kiwi... ;)

Goodnight everybody!