Jumpstarting Calais Powered Applications

What this is About

The Calais initiative provides a very cool web service - but web services in and of themselves don't deliver value to end users. We'd like to jumpstart end-user value by providing an incentive for developers to create innovative applications fast.

How this Works

First, we've set up an area in the forums specifically to discuss the Bounty and Contest program. We're more than open to suggestions on what we're asking for and how we're going about doing it. The forum also provides information on the basics of the bounty process and how you can participate.

Please note that despite a few incorrect blog posting out there - the Bounty is not a race or contest. Please read the forums linked above to understand the Bounty process. This process involves submitting a proposal and being selected for the project. The contests on the other hand are just that - contests with a submission deadline and evaluation process.

We're doing two things to jumpstart Calais powered applications. The first is a bounty program for the development of specific capabilities we'd like to provide to the Calais community. The second is a series of contests where we'll set some general guidelines and any member of the Calais community is free to enter.

Important Notice about the Bounty Program

Please be certain to read the bounty process in the forums. Bounties are not contests. In order to be considered for the bounty you must submit a proposal as described then be selected. On the other hand, our contests (to be announced soon) are open to anyone.

Bounties

WordPress Plugin: $5,000

Here's the basic concept: A highly configurable plugin for WordPress that enriches a blog with several capabilities

  • Tag auto suggestion: Using the content of the blog entry the plugin will provide a list of suggested semantic tags. For example, if the post talks about company "a" buying company "b" the plugin would suggest "Acquisition", "Company A" and "Company B" as potential tags
  • Semantic cloud: We all love tag clouds and we'd like to take it a step further. The plugin should support the generation of a configurable semantic tag cloud of entities and facts derived from the blog's content
  • GUID Incorporation: The Calais web service returns a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) for each document submitted. The plugin should modify the RSS feed for the site to incorporate the GUID in a TBD location.
Bounty 2,3,4....

We're going to wait for a little community input before announcing the second and third bounty projects. Send in those ideas!

Contests

We'll be announcing the details regarding our first contest round in early February.