Big Fractal Tangle: graphs and usability

Yesterday, I wrote about the need for new user interface metaphors, so more people can better visualize interconnectedness. There are several examples of the semantic graph approach, particularly the ThinkMap prototypes (such as the Visual Thesaurus), the TouchGraph browsers, and the IdeaGraph effort. Even demos such as foafcorp are a step in the right direction, but they're just a step.

The goal, I think, is to create a semantic browser similiar to these efforts, but one that non-technical people can use immediately without much orientation. I'm hoping there's a point where interconnected semantic graph navigation becomes extremely usable, where exploration becomes fluid and natural, where it doesn't feel like some high-brow exercise, but something as easy as playing computer Solitaire.

Twenty years from now, I fully expect we'll be looking back on the days of windows and hierarchy trees with nostalgic disbelief, for we'll have graduated to three-dimensional interconnected interfaces. The first clues are already arriving in the new console games made for kids like Super Mario Sunshine and the new Zelda. These interfaces are more flexible, more powerful, more usable, than anything available in mainstream computing. Take the power of these game interfaces and marry it with semantic web content that people care about, and then we'll have something.

Hi Timothy, thanks for the reference. Extreme usability is very much a goal for IdeaGraph, although I'm still a way off even basic usability...
From the SemWeb point I am pretty sure that the RDF model can be presented in a way that coincides well with intuitive understanding of what's going on.
For now, as well as the graph view I am including a lot of traditional explorer-like tree widgets, along with conventional forms. It's not a good fit with the underlying data, even less so with the real-world stuff that data's about, but anyone that's been near a computer knows how to use.
I recommend you check out Squeak Smalltalk - most of the ideas go back many years, but UI/environment-wise it seems quite revolutionary after spending time in MS Windows and/or Linux environments. (hmm, must do a blog post on that ;-)

posted by Danny at February 11, 2004 06:44 AM

I'd like to see more effort using Formal Concept Analysis like Docco:
http://tockit.sourceforge.net/docco/screenshots.html

A lot of the current graphs fail to represent some of the more deeper set relationships that are present in a lot of RDF data.

That mainly because most graphs based UIs have an inherent scalability problem. Having hundreds or evens tens of items of the screen often make the UI unusable. Roll-overs that increase the magnification help but I don't think they are sufficient.

I agree with Danny that ideas from Squeak (and for a Java framework based on that work something like NakedObjects) where you have functionally complete objects and direct manipulation of them in a UI maybe a better approach.

posted by Andrew at February 11, 2004 03:08 PM