Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Structured Data

💡 In simple words: "Structured data" means organising information so computers can read it and connect it, like putting a clear label on every box so the right machine can find what is inside. On WikiDeal, some data is private (your identity, your bank details, photos of a flat you want to rent out) and some data is public by design (the content of certain contracts, whether a contract was signed or completed, and overall usage statistics). The goal is to handle both kinds cleanly: private stays private, public is shared on purpose.

⚠️ Not yet approved. This page describes a proposal that is still under community review. It is documented here so it can be discussed, improved and endorsed.

Structured Data (Linked Data)

Innovation: WikiDeal R&D

Concept origin	Linked Data / Semantic Web, Tim Berners-Lee, W3C
Status	Research, early prototype

What this is about

This page describes a research direction, not a delivered feature. WikiDeal aims at expressing its information as structured, linked data (formats such as RDF and JSON-LD, with links to Wikidata) so that the data is machine-readable and can interoperate with other systems. The work is at an early stage and nothing described here is implemented yet.

Which data are we talking about

WikiDeal handles two distinct kinds of data, and the rules differ for each.

Private data. Identities, contact and bank details, personal photographs, the details of a dwelling someone wants to rent out. The design is guided by a simple principle: private data stays private by default, and the user decides whether to share it and with whom.

Public data. Some data is meant to be published on WikiDeal. This includes the content of certain contracts that the parties choose to make public, the state of a contract (for example whether it was signed, completed, or ended in a dispute), and aggregate usage statistics. This data is published on purpose, not collected and resold.

The structured-data work intends to cover both kinds, so each piece of information carries the right status and is handled accordingly, private kept private, public made readable and linkable.

Why structure it

Expressing data as linked resources is intended to make it portable and interoperable, rather than locked inside one provider. For public data such as contract states and aggregate statistics, structure also makes it easier to read trends (for example how many contracts of a given type were signed or completed) without exposing the individuals behind them.

Relation to the Decentralized Web

WikiDeal is following the broader development of the Decentralized Web and is exploring how user-owned, consent-based, portable data could be supported. We stay deliberately technology-neutral and do not commit to any single approach at this stage. Concrete trust-circle mechanics are described separately under Rings of Trust.