Today's video comes from last week's Computers in Libraries conference where the Archivist of the United States presented one of the keynote addresses in the form of an interview. It's an interesting look not just at the intersections of information and technology but at the intersections of archives and libraries as well.
Also, it's kind of funny.
Showing posts with label impress your professor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label impress your professor. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Everybody's Doin' It
Two huge news items this week concern two of the most popular and most hyped things in the digital world: Twitter and the Apple iPad.
The big news of the week was the Library of Congress's decision to archive Twitter. Many questions about this surprisingly (to me) controversial decision are answered in this interview with the LC's Martha Anderson at the American Spectator. This is an interesting move in the history of digital preservation and seems to move even closer toward legitimizing digital publishing well beyond Twitter's 140 character limit.
It would also be hard to ignore the inevitable arrival of Apple's iPad. On the topic of digital publishing, however, more interesting is the backlash against its policies toward publishers and app developers. In addition to widespread discontent over Apple's decision not to support Flash, Cory Doctorow writes the iPad off because it is glued shut and there is no way to get in the box: "if you can't open it, you don't own it." Further commentary come from Jim Stogdill at O'Reilly who condemns the device for being a glorified distribution channel and a limited one at that.
But if we look at the machine simply as what it was initially hyped as - an electronic reader - its biggest flaw in this writer's eyes is the lack of a keyboard.
Time will tell if Apple will bend to publisher and developer demands or if creators and consumers will finally wedge themselves into Apple's mold.
The big news of the week was the Library of Congress's decision to archive Twitter. Many questions about this surprisingly (to me) controversial decision are answered in this interview with the LC's Martha Anderson at the American Spectator. This is an interesting move in the history of digital preservation and seems to move even closer toward legitimizing digital publishing well beyond Twitter's 140 character limit.
It would also be hard to ignore the inevitable arrival of Apple's iPad. On the topic of digital publishing, however, more interesting is the backlash against its policies toward publishers and app developers. In addition to widespread discontent over Apple's decision not to support Flash, Cory Doctorow writes the iPad off because it is glued shut and there is no way to get in the box: "if you can't open it, you don't own it." Further commentary come from Jim Stogdill at O'Reilly who condemns the device for being a glorified distribution channel and a limited one at that.
But if we look at the machine simply as what it was initially hyped as - an electronic reader - its biggest flaw in this writer's eyes is the lack of a keyboard.
Time will tell if Apple will bend to publisher and developer demands or if creators and consumers will finally wedge themselves into Apple's mold.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Legal Woes
A quick roundup of some of the week's biggest library tech news:
The fight over "net neutrality" continues, and not in a direction that will benefit end users. This week courts ruled against the FCC's efforts to prevent Internet service providers from charging certain clients extra to deliver their content to users.
Meanwhile, Google's legal woes over its Books project continue, this time over visual art in digitized books. According to the New York Times, visual artists were mostly excluded from the company's settlement with book authors and publishers.
In potentially less litigious news, the Library of Congress Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room installed a unique new scanner for patron use. The only one of its kind in the United States, the machine was originally produced by the company book2net for the British Library, and it can scan an entire newspaper page in 0.3 seconds. From photos on the site linked above, the color scans look gorgeous.
The fight over "net neutrality" continues, and not in a direction that will benefit end users. This week courts ruled against the FCC's efforts to prevent Internet service providers from charging certain clients extra to deliver their content to users.
Meanwhile, Google's legal woes over its Books project continue, this time over visual art in digitized books. According to the New York Times, visual artists were mostly excluded from the company's settlement with book authors and publishers.
In potentially less litigious news, the Library of Congress Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room installed a unique new scanner for patron use. The only one of its kind in the United States, the machine was originally produced by the company book2net for the British Library, and it can scan an entire newspaper page in 0.3 seconds. From photos on the site linked above, the color scans look gorgeous.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Virtual Supermarkets
We often talk here about emerging technologies that a few, fortunate libraries are able to take advantage of, but even the technology we have now can still give libraries the power to uplift entire communities.
Entire neighborhoods of East and West Baltimore are considered "food deserts" because grocery stores in these areas have left town, and there are even precious few restaurtants save the worst sort of fast food. This leaves poorer residents who don't have cars without access to nutritious food options.
Thus the Enoch Pratt Free Library has teamed up with the city Health Department in the "Virtual Supermarket Project." Laptops are provided at the library where residents can order groceries, which are then delivered the next day to two branch libraries for pick-up.
This takes the phrase "third place" to a whole new meaning. What other vital services might library technology provide to a library's community that we're just not seeing?
Entire neighborhoods of East and West Baltimore are considered "food deserts" because grocery stores in these areas have left town, and there are even precious few restaurtants save the worst sort of fast food. This leaves poorer residents who don't have cars without access to nutritious food options.
Thus the Enoch Pratt Free Library has teamed up with the city Health Department in the "Virtual Supermarket Project." Laptops are provided at the library where residents can order groceries, which are then delivered the next day to two branch libraries for pick-up.
This takes the phrase "third place" to a whole new meaning. What other vital services might library technology provide to a library's community that we're just not seeing?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Impress Your Professor: ACTA - Potential Impact on Libraries?
It may seem unlikely that an international treaty called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) would have much to do with libraries, but certain provisions regarding "Internet distribution and information technology" have given many (even even librarians) cause for concern.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that one of the treaty's goals is "to create a new standard of intellectual property enforcement, above the current internationally-agreed standards in the TRIPs Agreement." Part of the controversy is that the treaty is being written and discussed in extreme secrecy by a handful of nations with only occasional, unofficial leaks regarding the proceedings. The results of the treaty, however, would most likely apply to other nations who have no say in its drafting and cannot currently even find out what's being discussed.
One of the loudest outcries over ACTA involves what is described as a "three strikes" rule that would pressure ISPs to terminate current service and ban users (either individuals or entire businesses) from Internet access over copyright law infringement and illegal repeated downloads.
Writer Cory Doctorow published an article last week where he discussed recent ACTA developments and the overarching shroud of secrecy. In a live chat on February 26, Doctorow also said that FOIA requests for more information had been denied.
Food for thought for libraries already struggling over the degree to which they should or should not police patrons' Internet use in their facilities.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that one of the treaty's goals is "to create a new standard of intellectual property enforcement, above the current internationally-agreed standards in the TRIPs Agreement." Part of the controversy is that the treaty is being written and discussed in extreme secrecy by a handful of nations with only occasional, unofficial leaks regarding the proceedings. The results of the treaty, however, would most likely apply to other nations who have no say in its drafting and cannot currently even find out what's being discussed.
One of the loudest outcries over ACTA involves what is described as a "three strikes" rule that would pressure ISPs to terminate current service and ban users (either individuals or entire businesses) from Internet access over copyright law infringement and illegal repeated downloads.
Writer Cory Doctorow published an article last week where he discussed recent ACTA developments and the overarching shroud of secrecy. In a live chat on February 26, Doctorow also said that FOIA requests for more information had been denied.
Food for thought for libraries already struggling over the degree to which they should or should not police patrons' Internet use in their facilities.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Open Access Education
It seems the academic Internet is abuzz this week over free student resource access or the desire for it.
The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) released a brief this week on the legality of professors streaming entire films to students outside of a physical classroom. Things still seem very much up in the air, but things look promising if professors, schools, and libraries can successfully limit who has access and how long that access lasts.
Meanwhile, Wired Campus has posted two stories on free access to textbooks and print materials online for students. Physics students in certain lower-level courses at North Carolina State University have the choice whether to buy a print copy of their textbook or use it online for free. The University purchased a site license for the textbook in order to defray textbook costs for its students.
Students pushing for free texts elsewhere are finding that their professors are proving the biggest obstacle to their efforts. Also cited was UCLA's recent decision to stop professors from posting copyrighted videos on course Web sites after pressure from an educational-media trade group. Recent successful efforts at Georgetown University are highlighted.
The root of the controversy over all this boils down to one question: Can Universities provide their students free access to course resources in such a way that still allows the scholars and writers who produced it to be properly compensated? Thoughts?
The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) released a brief this week on the legality of professors streaming entire films to students outside of a physical classroom. Things still seem very much up in the air, but things look promising if professors, schools, and libraries can successfully limit who has access and how long that access lasts.
Meanwhile, Wired Campus has posted two stories on free access to textbooks and print materials online for students. Physics students in certain lower-level courses at North Carolina State University have the choice whether to buy a print copy of their textbook or use it online for free. The University purchased a site license for the textbook in order to defray textbook costs for its students.
Students pushing for free texts elsewhere are finding that their professors are proving the biggest obstacle to their efforts. Also cited was UCLA's recent decision to stop professors from posting copyrighted videos on course Web sites after pressure from an educational-media trade group. Recent successful efforts at Georgetown University are highlighted.
The root of the controversy over all this boils down to one question: Can Universities provide their students free access to course resources in such a way that still allows the scholars and writers who produced it to be properly compensated? Thoughts?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Impress Your Professor: A blizard of news
A quick rundown this very snowy week:
Digital Libraries: NARA joins its neighbors the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress in the Flickr commons. The Archives' efforts began on Feb. 4 with a set of Ansel Adams's photos of the American West.
Information Literacy: eSchool News suggests a few points that educators make sure students learn in the age of Web 2.0 (and laments that they're not being taught).
eBooks: LibraryThing's Thingology blog contemplates eBooks' effect on the First Sale doctrine (which means that, when you buy something, you own it and can give it to a friend or, in the case of a library, check it out to patrons).
And that's all for now, folks. Too much snow plus the beginnings of some kind of cold are cutting things short. Stay warm wherever you are.
Digital Libraries: NARA joins its neighbors the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress in the Flickr commons. The Archives' efforts began on Feb. 4 with a set of Ansel Adams's photos of the American West.
Information Literacy: eSchool News suggests a few points that educators make sure students learn in the age of Web 2.0 (and laments that they're not being taught).
eBooks: LibraryThing's Thingology blog contemplates eBooks' effect on the First Sale doctrine (which means that, when you buy something, you own it and can give it to a friend or, in the case of a library, check it out to patrons).
And that's all for now, folks. Too much snow plus the beginnings of some kind of cold are cutting things short. Stay warm wherever you are.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Elsewhere in the Tech World
Tired of iPad news? Your faithful blogger has scoured the Internet for news of anything but Apple's unfortunately-named new release.
* Lest Steve Jobs get all the spotlight this week, Bill Gates and the foundation he shares with wife Melinda have made improving online learning a priority. In his annual letter, Bill Gates ponders the future of e-Learning at every level and wonders who will shape it.
* Before you completely write off the Amazon Kindle, you might want to know that tech company Qualcomm released a video-capable, color screen at the recent CES show, and the buzz is that the next Kindle will use this technology.
* In the midst of all this e-reader insanity, one content format seems uniquely suited to take advantage of it: the comic and graphic novel. eComic reader software Graphic.ly and Longbox recently went into public beta. Some publishers like Marvel, the home of Spider-Man and Captain America, already have their own in-house, subscription-based digital comics readers but nothing yet allows readers (or libraries) to purchase and keep individual volumes.
Sorry! Not entirely iPad-free, but it's still interesting to see how its ripples affect other realms of media technology.
* Lest Steve Jobs get all the spotlight this week, Bill Gates and the foundation he shares with wife Melinda have made improving online learning a priority. In his annual letter, Bill Gates ponders the future of e-Learning at every level and wonders who will shape it.
* Before you completely write off the Amazon Kindle, you might want to know that tech company Qualcomm released a video-capable, color screen at the recent CES show, and the buzz is that the next Kindle will use this technology.
* In the midst of all this e-reader insanity, one content format seems uniquely suited to take advantage of it: the comic and graphic novel. eComic reader software Graphic.ly and Longbox recently went into public beta. Some publishers like Marvel, the home of Spider-Man and Captain America, already have their own in-house, subscription-based digital comics readers but nothing yet allows readers (or libraries) to purchase and keep individual volumes.
Sorry! Not entirely iPad-free, but it's still interesting to see how its ripples affect other realms of media technology.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Bookbinding 101
How do you treat your textbooks? Penciled notes in the margins, easily erased? Dog-eared pages, highlighting, and inkblotted underlining? Crumpled corners from daily transport to campus or a pristine cover (likely from lack of use)?
Or do you download it? PDF it? eRead it? Could you if you wanted to?
The state of California has given its colleges and universities until 2020 to make their textbooks available electronically "to the extent practicable." Some of the rationalization given is that it will put more technology in the classroom and teach students valuable technological skills.
This is, of course, doable for bloated freshman and 100-level textbooks constantly in publication, but what about smaller texts with smaller print runs for upper level and graduate courses? What if the book isn't even in print anymore?
This is reasoning behind the "extent practicable" clause, which has led some to question the usefulness of such a law that doesn't seem to mandate anything. Still others question the idea that textbook vendors will encourage or require students to rent their textbooks, not buy them. Again, this may be fine for required courses outside a student's major, but the theory behind a text is that it should serve as a reference throughout a student's career. Many will want to keep their texts, and some observe that students still buy hard copies more often than electronic when given the choice.
I guess they like to highlight!
In my experience, professors have already been assigning electronic texts. Prior graduate courses required downloading digitized primary source texts that were several hundred years old and several hundred pages long from digital libraries. A great use of technology, but I spent as long printing and assembling my "book" as I did reading it.
Will such laws give students the technological skills promised, or will it just give them a lesson in printing and bookmaking?
Or do you download it? PDF it? eRead it? Could you if you wanted to?
The state of California has given its colleges and universities until 2020 to make their textbooks available electronically "to the extent practicable." Some of the rationalization given is that it will put more technology in the classroom and teach students valuable technological skills.
This is, of course, doable for bloated freshman and 100-level textbooks constantly in publication, but what about smaller texts with smaller print runs for upper level and graduate courses? What if the book isn't even in print anymore?
This is reasoning behind the "extent practicable" clause, which has led some to question the usefulness of such a law that doesn't seem to mandate anything. Still others question the idea that textbook vendors will encourage or require students to rent their textbooks, not buy them. Again, this may be fine for required courses outside a student's major, but the theory behind a text is that it should serve as a reference throughout a student's career. Many will want to keep their texts, and some observe that students still buy hard copies more often than electronic when given the choice.
I guess they like to highlight!
In my experience, professors have already been assigning electronic texts. Prior graduate courses required downloading digitized primary source texts that were several hundred years old and several hundred pages long from digital libraries. A great use of technology, but I spent as long printing and assembling my "book" as I did reading it.
Will such laws give students the technological skills promised, or will it just give them a lesson in printing and bookmaking?
Friday, December 11, 2009
Impress Your Professor: Study
There is no regular Impress Your Professor this week - just a hearty shout of GOOD LUCK with all your finals, papers, and projects.
We'll see you all next semester.
We'll see you all next semester.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Impress Your Professor: Lose the Books
NPR has a rather interesting story posted on its website about how a school library is saying goodbye to its print collection. It seems to me like this yet another tipped domino in an increasing move towards digital collections and e-books.
NPR quotes the schools Academic Dean as stating, "Part of our desire to move in this direction is to meet the students where they are most comfortable... And it's our responsibility as well to help students understand the emerging technologies that they are going to be faced with."
But with great new power comes great responsibility. (Oh, Spiderman.) This week, NPR also posted a story about a Vision Group requesting that a school stop buying Kindles until Amazon comes up with better way to turn on the vocal reading option.
So, my question to everyone is, how do we continue to move forward with our digital and electronic tools without leaving people behind?
NPR quotes the schools Academic Dean as stating, "Part of our desire to move in this direction is to meet the students where they are most comfortable... And it's our responsibility as well to help students understand the emerging technologies that they are going to be faced with."
But with great new power comes great responsibility. (Oh, Spiderman.) This week, NPR also posted a story about a Vision Group requesting that a school stop buying Kindles until Amazon comes up with better way to turn on the vocal reading option.
So, my question to everyone is, how do we continue to move forward with our digital and electronic tools without leaving people behind?
Friday, November 6, 2009
Impress Your Professor: Unprepared
I was not prepared to post anything on the blog today. No stories stuck out in my mind. I didn't come across any incredibly interesting articles. Frankly, I was drained of all my energy because I had to teach two courses of library instruction / information literacy yesterday. (After 3 hours, I have a new found respect for teachers who stand up and talk all day.)
So, here I sit, blanking on any information to type. I could discuss more about Google Wave (named after a communications method from my beloved and bygone space cowboy show Firefly), but it's been done and will continue to be done. I could peruse the ASIST journal and bulletin for articles, but I'm not in the mood. Ultimately, I've decided to do what most people do when they're stuck: procrastinate.
(1 hour later)
Success! In my procrastination, I decided to clean out my e-mail files. Look what I came across: Library101.
A large part of working in an academic library is teaching to undergraduates. We have to make the library look all sorts of awesome while still teaching them how to use all our (awesome!) tools and resources. Library101 offers a (somewhat hokey) crash course in what it means to remain relevant in a changing and technologically innovative society.
So, here I sit, blanking on any information to type. I could discuss more about Google Wave (named after a communications method from my beloved and bygone space cowboy show Firefly), but it's been done and will continue to be done. I could peruse the ASIST journal and bulletin for articles, but I'm not in the mood. Ultimately, I've decided to do what most people do when they're stuck: procrastinate.
(1 hour later)
Success! In my procrastination, I decided to clean out my e-mail files. Look what I came across: Library101.
A large part of working in an academic library is teaching to undergraduates. We have to make the library look all sorts of awesome while still teaching them how to use all our (awesome!) tools and resources. Library101 offers a (somewhat hokey) crash course in what it means to remain relevant in a changing and technologically innovative society.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Hey, at least they're saving trees!
It's not news that libraries are considering digital alternatives to print, but to replace an entire collection with Amazon's proprietary Kindle reader? Today? In the Fall of 2009? Is the future really here, or has Cushing Academy jumped the gun?
USA Today reports that the Massachusetts school began removing its print collection entirely last summer and replaced it with a fully digital collection accessible through Kindle readers and through databases on student laptops. A few books still remain, but those are also slated to be removed.
Format may be less important than content, and getting reliable resources into the hands of the patron is goal number one, but is putting faith in a proprietary system this early in a very competitive game really wise? It's a question for the accountants. Is it cheaper to upgrade this technology if and when it gets outpaced by its (possibly open source) competitors than it is to wait? And from a research standpoint, has content been recreated digitally, or has it simply been replaced by something more palatable to high schoolers?
Whether or not it helps the school's bottom line, it does show that libraries are willing to grow with the culture and embrace technologies that will expand the information and services they are able to offer. It's a bold step forward by a boarding school that, USA Today tells us, was the first in the US to admit both boys and girls.
USA Today reports that the Massachusetts school began removing its print collection entirely last summer and replaced it with a fully digital collection accessible through Kindle readers and through databases on student laptops. A few books still remain, but those are also slated to be removed.
Format may be less important than content, and getting reliable resources into the hands of the patron is goal number one, but is putting faith in a proprietary system this early in a very competitive game really wise? It's a question for the accountants. Is it cheaper to upgrade this technology if and when it gets outpaced by its (possibly open source) competitors than it is to wait? And from a research standpoint, has content been recreated digitally, or has it simply been replaced by something more palatable to high schoolers?
Whether or not it helps the school's bottom line, it does show that libraries are willing to grow with the culture and embrace technologies that will expand the information and services they are able to offer. It's a bold step forward by a boarding school that, USA Today tells us, was the first in the US to admit both boys and girls.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Impress Your Professor: Search Me
Just how nerdy are you? If you're like me, very, very nerdy. So nerdy in fact that you find the most recent ASIST Bulletin to be awesome. It's all abouts searching. In their article, "An Evolution of Search," authors John D. Holt and David J. Miller give an overview of how searching (Boolean, Relevance ranking, etc.) developed and evolved over time. It's utterly fascinating.
What's your preferred search style?
What's your preferred search style?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Impress Your Professor: Google vs. Amazon, Sunday Sunday Sunday!
While the media was drowning in Google Wave's backwash this week, the information behemoth more quietly announced its intent to enter the e-reader market in 2010 with "Google Editions."
An article in Wired magazine details the announcement made Thursday at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. Five years after launching Google Books, the company plans to start selling e-books and put itself in direct competition with Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader. Editions users could buy e-books from Google directly or from other booksellers such as Barnes and Noble or Amazon and read them on any device with a Web browser, including smartphones.
Will Google Editions books on your phone be the Kindle killer that some expect?
An article in Wired magazine details the announcement made Thursday at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. Five years after launching Google Books, the company plans to start selling e-books and put itself in direct competition with Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader. Editions users could buy e-books from Google directly or from other booksellers such as Barnes and Noble or Amazon and read them on any device with a Web browser, including smartphones.
Will Google Editions books on your phone be the Kindle killer that some expect?
Friday, October 2, 2009
Impress Your Professor: You want books? Go to Barnes and Noble!
I see a future. A future where there are libraries. (Hurrah!) A future where people go to libraries to read. (Huzzah!) A future where libraries don't have books! (Hurr... wait, what?)
CNN posted an interesting article a few weeks back about Library 2.0. Yeah, yeah, I know this topic has been widely covered in academic and library circles, but this was the first time I had seen a story of this type in the mainstream media. CNN covers a story that we are already aware of and have heard before, but it does it in such a way that our users can understand.
So - in this age of 2.0 - how do we rebrand ourselves as tech enthusiasts in a way that excites both ourselves and our users?
CNN posted an interesting article a few weeks back about Library 2.0. Yeah, yeah, I know this topic has been widely covered in academic and library circles, but this was the first time I had seen a story of this type in the mainstream media. CNN covers a story that we are already aware of and have heard before, but it does it in such a way that our users can understand.
So - in this age of 2.0 - how do we rebrand ourselves as tech enthusiasts in a way that excites both ourselves and our users?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Impress Your Professor: Technical Flu
Warning: This entry will not cause dizzines, dry mouth, or fever. It will, however, possibly cause you to spend large amounts of time playing on Google.
With the pig sickness cause great panic (thank you local television news) and the seasonal flu about to kick in, I thought it was about to time show you all the procrastination tool that is Google Flu Trends. While you all go check to see if the illness is lurking on your block, I'll point out that Google has just created a brilliant use of information search technology. This website employs an algorithm that tracks people searching for terms that match flu symptoms. Google then works their magic to extrapolate the data to create charts determining how the flu is striking specific geographic areas.
Cool. I know.
But there is a bigger picture to be seen here, beyond Google and beyond the flu. In putting together their colorful charts and graphs, Google is not only showing that information can be useful, they are also showing that information can be beautiful.
To check out more information displayed in helpful and gorgeous ways, I highly recommend checking out the website Information is Beautiful.
Stay well everybody, the semester has just begun.
With the pig sickness cause great panic (thank you local television news) and the seasonal flu about to kick in, I thought it was about to time show you all the procrastination tool that is Google Flu Trends. While you all go check to see if the illness is lurking on your block, I'll point out that Google has just created a brilliant use of information search technology. This website employs an algorithm that tracks people searching for terms that match flu symptoms. Google then works their magic to extrapolate the data to create charts determining how the flu is striking specific geographic areas.
Cool. I know.
But there is a bigger picture to be seen here, beyond Google and beyond the flu. In putting together their colorful charts and graphs, Google is not only showing that information can be useful, they are also showing that information can be beautiful.
To check out more information displayed in helpful and gorgeous ways, I highly recommend checking out the website Information is Beautiful.
Stay well everybody, the semester has just begun.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Impress Your Professor: Google Books Settlement
I apologize for this post being late (and short)! This week, NPR had a long interview involving several people about who should control the virtual library. They brought on authors, a person from google books, and callers from libraries. It was a very interesting conversation and I highly recommend it.
Who do you think should control the digital library?
Who do you think should control the digital library?
Friday, September 11, 2009
Impress Your Professor: The Web and Us
The first edition of this semester's Impress Your Professor series comes from the 2009 August/September issue of the ASIST bulletin. As many of you have noticed, information is becoming more social. By social, I mean we are interacting more and more with each other through networking, commenting, tagging, etc. Not all social websites are successful (Re: the ongoing Facebook v. MySpace debate, among others). In his article, "The Information Architecture of Social Experience Design: Five Principles, Five Anti-Patterns and 96 Patterns (in Three Buckets)," Christian Crumlish attempts to lay out a successful plan for drafting a successful social website.
While Crumlish lays out a structured list of dos, donts, and shoulds, I was struck most by the philosophical tone of parts of the article. Social media is not just an application, people use it discover concepts of self-identity. On the web, we can personalize anything and everything. The web is no longer a "thing" we visit. It's become a place where we create extensions of our personal selves. We form new communities that reflect back on our lives outside of the social web.
Crumlish's article is chock-full of good stuff - take a look!
While Crumlish lays out a structured list of dos, donts, and shoulds, I was struck most by the philosophical tone of parts of the article. Social media is not just an application, people use it discover concepts of self-identity. On the web, we can personalize anything and everything. The web is no longer a "thing" we visit. It's become a place where we create extensions of our personal selves. We form new communities that reflect back on our lives outside of the social web.
Crumlish's article is chock-full of good stuff - take a look!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Impress Your Professor: The Changing Net
The latest ASIST Bulletin has an interesting review of a discussion/panel at the recent Annual Meeting. At the meeting, Genevieve Bell gave a talk about how the Internet is more than just technology or a series or webpages. It's, in a way, a philosophy. The author states:
I for one, find the idea of the Internet as cultural is too often overlooked. What say you?
Bell’s final pivot point involves new and old anxieties. There are concerns about privacy, trust, security, and now, reliability. There are also concerns about access, reputation/image, participation, sustainability, responsibility, authenticity, authorship, ownership, surveillance and control, cultural health (digital literacy), dumbing down and distinctiveness. The list of things we need to worry about, she says, is expanding quickly.If you were unable to make the Annual Meeting, I suggest checking the story out. Heck, even if you didn't miss the meeting, this review is still a good read.
I for one, find the idea of the Internet as cultural is too often overlooked. What say you?
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