SiocLog: Providing IRC discussion logs as Linked Data

The SiocLog software application supports social networking and online collaboration by observing the instant messaging (IM) discussions on some public IRC channels, archiving the discussion logs, and publishing them as Linked Data on the Web. The application provides Web addresses (http URIs) for information from the discussion channels, including the daily discussions and the participants. Linked Data practices and the SIOC vocabulary provide a standard way to ensure that all parties can easily access the raw data, e.g., to create mash-ups. The chat participants can further provide their Web ID to link to their FOAF personal profile, and the FOAF profile can confirm this link in return, creating trust. Consuming FOAF data helps to avoid re-entry of personal data and searching for friends on yet another social site. The profile can also link to the person's accounts on other social forums, thus connecting their divided social presence on the Web. We present how the software is being used on some IRC channels, and describe how this work connects IRC to the greater Web of Data.