Google Chrome Upgraded and Even Faster…05.22.09

I’ve been using Google Chrome since it came out in beta and have generally used it more than other browers due to it’s increased speed.

Pope Benedict XVI Now on Facebook…05.22.09

Mashable! today noted that Pope Benedict XVI now has a presence on Facebook and more:

“…The Pope launched a YouTube channel last year, and now, he’s getting onto Facebook, with the launch of his own application, called Pope2You.

Pope2You actually encompasses more than just a Facebook app. There’s now a website that links followers to the existing YouTube Channel, the new Facebook application, and an iPhone app as well…”

Data.Gov Launched…05.22.09

The U.S. government has launched Data.Gov:

“Data.gov includes a searchable data catalog that includes access to data in two ways: through the ‘raw; data catalog and using tools. Please note that by accessing datasets or tools offered on Data.gov, you agree to the Data Policy, which you should read before accessing any dataset or tool. If there are additional datasets that you would like to see included on this site, please suggest more datasets here. For more information on how to use Data.gov, view our tutorial…”

78 Videos for Technology & Media Literacy…05.22.09

Here is a source for teaching from a post 80+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy from the Open Thinking blog:

“…Conversation Starters:

1. Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy – …sets the stage for discussing societal changes due to the progress of technology.

2. Trendspotting: Social Networking – …useful in deconstructing concepts of friendship and interaction in the age of social networks.

3. Did You Know 3.0 – …gives light to the changes imminent in our emerging knowledge-based society…for framing and introducing the the new reality to students, teachers, faculty, and administrators.

4. Introducing the Book – …portrayal of a medieval helpdesk relays the point that each new technology will bring with it challenges of user adoption and a steep learning curve.

5. Mr. Winkle Wakes – …retelling a classic story about the resistance of schools to change.

6. The Human Network – …projects a connected world that is likely only several years away…

7. The Essay – …helps us to understand how far technology has come.

8. Web Crash 2007 – …describes the horrible Internet crash of 2007.

21st Century Learning:

9. An Anthropological Introduction to Youtube – …The video is over 55 minutes long but is informative and engaging throughout.

10. The Machine is Us/ing Us – …helps to illustrate important changes brought by Web 2.0 (read/write web, social web) as content and form became separated.

11. A Vision of Students Today – …summarizes some of the most important characteristics of students today.

12. The Networked Student – …describes an emerging learning environment for the connected student…

13. We Think – …stresses and acknowledges the importance of social networks in developing shared knowledge.

14. A Vision of K12 Students Today – …approaches the subject of 21st Century Learning from a K12 approach…

15. 21st Century Schools – …gives a vision for the 21st Century School…

16. Brave New World-Wide Web – …journey to become a connected teacher.

17. A Portal To Media Literacy – “…breaks down his attempts to integrate Facebook, Netvibes, Diigo, Google Apps, Jott, Twitter, and other emerging technologies to create an education portal of the future.”

Copyright, Copyleft & Remix/Mashup Culture:

18. RiP: A Remix Manifesto – …explores copyright and remix culture…

19. Laws That Choke Creativity – Larry Lessig’s must-see TED Talk verifies the dire need for thoughtful copyright reform…

20. The Most Important 6-Sec Drum Loop – …the story of this drum loop informs our emerging notions of the nature creativity and the ownership of culture.

21. The Wilhelm Scream – This is short compilation of the Wilhelm Scream in popular movies…

22. Wanna Work Together? – …explain copyright, copyleft, and details reasons why one would choose a Creative Commons license.

Influence of Media on Society:

23. Killing Us Softly 3 – Jean Kilbourne’s popular presentation on women in advertising.

24. Dove Evolution – This is a popular advertisement from Dove’s ‘Campaign For Real Beauty’….

25. Dove Onslaught – …this video illustrates the incredible impact of advertising on adolescent girls.

26. Birth Control: Current – Comedian Sarah Haskins has developed an excellent series of videos that take a humorous look at ads targeting women…

27. Video Games & Sex – …the place of sex and sexuality in video games as a media genre…. (Note: this video may not be suitable for minors.)

28. Boys Beware – anti-homosexual propaganda film from the 1950’s…

History of Technology & Media:

29. The Growing Phenomenon of Internet – …1993 CBC report on the emergence of the Internet…

30. A Communications Primer – …an instructional film created in 1953… presents communications theory that is remarkably accurate, even before the age of the Internet.

31. Internet Power – … a 1995 educational video about the entertainment value of the Internet…

32. How the News Works – …anti-corporate explanation of how the mainstream media functions.

33. The Internet in 1969 – …1960’s video describing futuristic technologies that resemble today’s Internet affordances.

34. Television Delivers People – … “a seminal work in the now well-established critique of popular media as an instrument of social control that asserts itself subtly on the populace through ‘entertainments’, for the benefit of those in power-the corporations that maintain and profit from the status quo.” …

Social Networks & Identity:

35. Digital Dossier – …fictional story of Andy demonstrates the importance of understanding one’s digital identity.

36. Identity 2.0 – …a brilliant introduction to the concept of digital identity, and what this may mean in the future.

37. Social Networks in Plain English – …explaining digital social networks to those unfamiliar.

38. Tweenbots – …challenges the techno-determinist mindset that society has had for at least a century, and reflects an emerging emphasis; the power of humans in human networks.

39. Ze Frank: The Show – …discusses the effects of environment (open, closed, rules) on interactions of participants and perceived security/safety.

40. Rocketboom: …discusses Twitter and the produced thoughtstream of its users, and how this phenomenon will effect the development and understanding of search.

41. Behind Every Tweet – …describe how Twitter can be used by educators for solving problems or asking questions…

Mashups, Stop Motion, Animations & Short Films

42. Mother of All Funk Chords – …consists of dozens of youtube clips aligned together to create original music.

43. Shining: Recut – What if The Shining were set as a romantic comedy? This was one of the first movie trailer remixes I had ever seen, and now there have been many excellent productions in the style. It also inspired the trailer for my Grad course.

44. Forest Gump, 1 Minute, 1 Take – There would be a lot of skill that goes into taking a movie, condensing it into one minute, one take. I think this video, and others like it, would be a great inspiration for similar student project… .

45. Tony vs. Paul – … inspired by Mclaren’s work more than 50 years previous, and is very well done.

46. We Didn’t Start the Viral – …Understanding media means being able to recognize and identify much of what are youth are consuming and producing.

47. Amateur – …new digital literacies occur where new skills allow one to compensate for the lack of the old.

48. Big Mac Rap – …Creativity is everywhere, even at your local fast-food restaurant.

49. Firekites – …certain elements of old forms can not easily be replicated through new media… .

50. The Story of a Sign – … an excellent piece for studying film grammar, it also portrays a wonderful message about the importance of carefully framing and designing one’s message.

51. Free Hugs – …loving message for humanity.

52. Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out – …creates an important point regarding deception possibilities within democratic media….

53. Sorry I’m Late – …excellent for students who want to understand some of the complexities involved in doing stop-motion.

Public Service Announcements and Political Messages

54. Top Chef – …gruesome safety ads that really pushed the boundaries of the PSA…

55. U.N. Landmine Commercial – …brings home the reality of landmines. .

56. Belt Up In the Back – A surprising and horrendous seat belt safety commercial…

57. Doubt -…produced by the Israeli AIDS Task Force.

58. Children See, Children Do – …PSA regarding the imitation of behaviors by children of their parents.

59. Clean House: Meth – …meth prevention PSA, typical of those provided by A Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

60. Beware the Fridge – …PSA from the 1970’s attempts to make parents aware of the danger of old refrigerators.

61. VD Is For Everybody – …venereal disease PSA from 1969.

62. Child-Swinging – …anti-alcohol PSA….

Cyberbullying and Internet Safety

63. Star Wars Kid – …leaked video spawned dozens of users on the web to create parodies, seen by millions, which ultimately resulted in the boy featured in the videos to quit school and enter a psychiatric ward.

64. ABC on Bullying – This ABC news report looks at the occurrences of bullying that led to the suicide of a young boy.

65. Let’s Fight It Together – …video by digizen.org detailing student bullying and possible outcomes.

66. Talent Show – …similar anti-bullying messages from the Ad Council.

67. Think Before You Post – …Internet safety PSA from Ad Council…

68. Virtual Global Task Force – … promotional video for the Virtual Global Task Force, made up of police forces and agencies around the world working to prevent child abuse.

69. Duck & Cover – …a generation of children (and adults) were taught that the ‘duck and cover’ would really protect them from a nuclear blast… This is from the makers of “Our Cities Must Fight“, another famous propaganda film from the era.

70. Terrible Truth, Addicted, Pit of Despair – …three early PSAs regarding drug and alcohol addiction.

Documentaries

71. Century of the Self – …backgrounder for teachers of media.

72. The World According to Monsanto – ……deals closely with the control and shaping of information, messages, and media, and would fit into many areas of a school curriculum.

73. Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey – …documentary on the history and progression of heavy metal music…. Language warning ….

74. The World According to Sesame Street -…serves to answer the question, ‘with today’s global landscape dominated by such pressing issues as poverty, human rights, AIDS and ethnic genocide, how can the world’s most-watched children’s television show bridge cultures while remaining socially relevant?’…

75. Manufacturing Consent – …explores the propaganda model of media.

76. Steal This Film – …a series of short videos documenting the movement against intellectual property…

77. Orwell Rolls In His Grave – …explores the relationship between corporations, government, and the media… .

78. Good Copy, Bad Copy – …describes the current state of copyright, piracy, and free culture…

Simple Use of QR Codes in Libraries…05.21.09

Bath University library has added QR codes to their OPAC search results. “…One click of the QR code will result in a text based QR code which will display the resource title, author and the exact location of the book in the library. Scan the QR code and keep the information displayed on your mobile while you to navigative those unweilding pathways.”

Good Tricks and Tips from BeeTag:

“In theory a QR-Code can store up to 4296 characters.  For Mobile Tagging 40-60 characters are feasible (depends on the physical size of the QR-Code). Otherwise average phones will not be able to detect them anymore…

Most problems arise because the tester has a good phone (like Nokia’s N95) with a high quality camera, but the actual user has an average phone with an average camera.

Whitespace / Quitezone
Make sure you leave an empty space (marked in red) of around 4 modules on each side.

Amount of data
You should not encode more than 60 characters in a QR-Code. Otherwise detection will be too bad with average phones …

Color
You should always use black and white. If contrast is too low code detection will be impossible.

Design
Some people add logos in the middle or change colors. You should not do that (although it looks very cool) as detectability goes down and people will have difficulties to recognize it as a QR-Code.

Size
The code should never be smaller than 2cm (with ~40 characters encoded). The more characters you encode the larger the code has to be. But you should never encode more than 80 characters…”

QR Code for this blog (Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian):

Warning to Libraries With Facebook Pages…05.21.09

The Librarian By Day has an especially important post today titled Libraries Think Twice about a Facebook Page:

“Facebook ties a page to the account of the person who originally created it and I quote

however the original creator of the Page may never be removed by other Page admins.

Why does this matter?  Because if the original creator leaves the organization for any reason, there is no way to remove them.  (You could try to contact Facebook, but if you’ve ever done that you know how that works.)  Do you really want someone who no longer works for you to have control over your page?  What if they were fired, or quit in a huff?  I know, in an ideal world no one would ever leave and we’d all live happily everafter, but it does happen sometimes.

Groups on the other hand at least allow the creator to promote other admins and remove themselves.  No need to contact Facebook…”

Librarians – Building Your Personal Brand on Twitter…05.21.09

Here is a very useful excerpt for librarians, libraries and others from Mashable! from the post HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Twitter by Dan Schawbel:

“..By leveraging the Twitter platform to build your brand you can showcase yourself to a huge and growing audience.

1. Claim Your Twitter Handle

…By not reserving your domain name, your business or personal brand is at risk and you may never be able to reclaim it once you’ve lost it…

…claim the Twitter handle for your full name, as well as any products and/or companies that you currently own or you have plans to create in the future. You can’t truly own your personal brand if you don’t even own your Twitter handle.

2. Decide How You Want to Brand Yourself

Before you start actively using Twitter, you need a strategy, and the first step in developing that strategy is to completely fill out your user profile. One of the goals of having a Twitter account is to gain followers and few people want to follow an account that doesn’t look legitimate (i.e. the profile hasn’t been filled out and there’s no avatar).

Take a good look at your other websites and profiles and draft a Twitter bio to match the rest of your online branding. This is how people will find you and recognize you now and in the future, so be honest…

Once you have everything filled out, you should spend some time focusing on your Twitter background, which gives you an opportunity to extend your brand image onto Twitter and create a more cohesive experience for your followers. There are many sites that you can use to help you develop a custom background, such as Twitpaper and Twitterimage…

Three techniques for branding yourself on Twitter:

1. Lead with your company…

2. Mutual branding…

3. 100% personal branding…

3. Become Known as an Expert or Resource

Essentially, Twitter is a shorter and more viral form of blogging, so the same rules actually still apply, and by constantly writing or tweeting about your expertise on a specific topic, you’ll become known for it and people will gravitate to you and follow you. If you already have a blog, then I recommend using Twitterfeed, so you can syndicate your posts on Twitter automatically…

4. Establish a Twitter Marketing Plan…

Elements of a Twitter marketing plan:

• Email signature…

• Personal/corporate website…

• Blog homepage + posts…

• Email newsletter…

• Presentations…

• Business Card…

• Article writing / guest blog posting…

• Networking on Twitter…

• Promotional products…

5. Utilize Third Party Applications

There are literally thousands of Twitter applications out there, but only a few that can really help you build your personal brand…

• Twellow: Find people in your industry to follow and connect with using this Twitter yellow pages guide…

• Tweetbeep: Keep track of your brand reputation by getting alerts through email when your brand is mentioned on Twitter.

• Tweetmeme: Put a button on your blog that allows your readers to more easily retweet your posts.

• Hashdictionary: Keep track of conversations that include hashtags on Twitter.

• Ping.fm: Save time by sending messages to all of your social networks at once.

• Twitter Grader: A site that ranks your influence in the Twitter world based on an algorithm…

• Tweetlater: Schedule tweets so that they are published automatically in the future. It’s a real time saver.

6. Form a Twitter “MasterMind Group”

As you may suspect, certain groups of people on Twitter constantly promote and retweet each other. Some of them are in what are called ‘mastermind groups’ — groups of individuals who are committed to helping each other and sharing knowledge amongst themselves…There are a few Twitter applications that help you form these special interest groups…”

OCLC Concedes to Library Community–Ends Potential Records Reign of Terror…05.20.09

The Panlibus blog post today OCLC Dumps New Record Reuse Policy reports on the demise of the library records “Death Star”:

“Jennifer Younger, Chair of the OCLC Review Board of Shared Data Creation & Stewardshipannounced in a presentation on May 18th [video stream and presentation slides here] that they are to ‘Formally withdraw the proposed policy‘

From her presentation:

• We affirm that a policy is needed, but not this policy
• Formally withdraw the proposed policy
• Until a new policy is in place, reaffirm the existence and applicability of the Nov. 16, 1987 ‘Guidelines for the Use and Transfer of OCLC-Derived Records’

She goes on to explain how they are to move on to ‘Discuss the role and value of WorldCat in the information ecosystem, and ways in which it can be leveraged’ – ‘Devise a process for drafting and maintaining a new policy’ [quotes from slides]

In her speech [from 16 minutes in] she indicated that the process for drawing up a new policy ‘must involve the governance structure of OCLC – the proposed policy is fundamental to the functioning of OCLC’…”

Let Your iPhone Read to You…05.20.09

The Centered Librarian‘s post Read 2 Me Reads to You on Your iPhone today points our a useful app for the iPhone:

“Read 2 Me is an iPhone application that provides full speech synthesis for an entire library of texts…Read 2 Me uses Acapela-Group’s text-to-speech technology and can read almost anything that can be converted to UTF-8.txt. It is already optimized for the Gutenberg collection…”

FREE Webinar – “Innovation Starts with ‘I’”…05.20.09

Helene Blowers mentioned that she will be featured in the following FREE webinar Friday:

“…Project Play is a collaboration of South Central Library System, Outagamie Waupaca Library System, and Winnefox Library System in Wisconsin that encourages the on-going exploration of new technologies. The collaboration, as you might guess, started out as combined effort to support 23 Things and has successfully grown beyond the original objectives into an on-going commitment to staff development.

This Friday, I happen to be the guest speaker for one of their popular ‘play dates’ (aka webinars) and will be doing a talk about innovation. Registration is free and I’m told open all. So if you’re in the mood for a ‘play date‘, why not join us!

Innovation Starts with “I” - webinar, Friday, May 22, 11am est...”

Register Here

“Panda Cloud Antivirus in Black and White”…05.20.09

In the past, I have mentioned the new cloud antivirus Panda.  Here is a good video about it:

Libraries and Cloud Computing…05.19.09

This is an excerpt from Lorcan Dempsey from his post The Library of the Future in which he discusses libraries and cloud computing:

“…We have seen a major shift to webscale which has reconfigured whole industries as well as individual organizations… 

At the same time the web has accelerated the vertical disintegration of firms and the sourcing of capacity with specialist providers. Think historically of payroll, or more recently of customer relationship management and SalesForce.com. A wide range of capacities may be sourced externally: think of anything from data centers, to the provision and care of plants, to education and counselling services. Companies make decisions about what their distinctive capacities are, and externalise other capacities to networks of providers and partners. And, in fact, effective supply chain management has become an important competitive factor.

These types of questions are becoming more important for libraries, even if they don’t pose them in quite these terms. And they are not especially new. Historically, for example, think of two major shifts: shared cataloging/resource sharing and the move to licensed access to A&I databases and e-journals. In the former case, activity was externalised to consortial activity or to national-scale organizations, and today many organizations provide such services around the world, including OCLC. In the latter case, libraries gave up the institution-scale management of the A&I and journal resources they had collected in print form. They externalized this activity to, often commercial, third parties.

What Dahl does in this presentation is to look at the future of the library in the context of the reconfiguring potential of network services. He talks in general terms and then offers specific examples. He suggests that the library may become smaller, may shift to new service areas, and may become more creative in the work it does. What I especially like about it is that he acknowledges that organizational change is an appropriate response and then works through what this might mean in practice.”

View the Dahl presentation: The Gathering Storm: How Cloud Computing Will Blow Away Existing Assumptions in Higher Ed Information Services

“Kindle DX – Top 25 Tips”…05.19.09

In case I ever get a Kindle or a Kindle DX, the post Kindle DX – Top 25 Tips will be helpful so it is excerpted here:

“This is based on the rather well written Kindle DX User Guide (get it in Kindle/Kindle 2 compatible format). More kindle dx tips and tricks will be added when the kindle dx actually releases and has been reviewed and people have played around with it…

Some of the tips in the Kindle Top Tips list and in the Kindle 2 Top Tips list also apply to the DX – so do take a look at those too.

Kindle DX – Top 10 Tips

…”

Last Chance to Guess…05.19.09

Click on the photo to cheat:

Here’s a Clue – Somewhere in the Lone Star State…00.19.09

I’m Back — But Where Was This Taken?…05.19.09

“Implementing a Next Gen OPAC”…05.17.09

Implementing a Next Gen OPAC   with Jeff Wisniewski

Technology, Social Networking Audio Conference   Tuesday, May 19, 2009 1:00 pm ET One Hour   Member: $54.00 Non-Member: $74.00   Interested in wading into the next generation OPAC waters? From selection to implementation to federated search integration to evaluation, learn valuable information on the state of the market and get tips on everything from integrating cool free content to promoting your new system to ways to insure your implementation runs smoothly. Find out what you should know, what your vendors aren’t telling you, and get insights into all that is Next Gen OPAC. The Benefits Learn about the next generation OPAC marketplace Get insight into how to select, implement, and promote a new system easily and effectively Take away valuable tips on everything from how to compare products to enhancing your new catalog with free content Who Should Participate Any staff interested in this exploding area of library technology will benefit from this session. If your library is thinking about investigating this landscape or is in the process of selecting or implementing one of these tools then this program will be of particular use. Key Topics You Will Explore What current products can, and can’t, do How to implement a next gen OPAC with a minimum of time and effort How to promote and encourage buy-in from both staff and users Ways to enhance your catalog data and to make your content mixable and movable Jeff Wisniewski Jeff Wisniewski received his MLS from the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences. He is the Web Services Librarian for the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh, where he maintains the Library System’s public Web site, staff intranet, coordinates technical support for Pitt’s University-wide ETD program, and project manages new technology initiatives. Developed for the Education Institute by Darlene Fichter’s Northern Lights Internet Solutions, Inc., in Saskatchewan

WolframAlpha Search Review…05.17.09

Here is part of a review of the just-released Wolfram Alpha search engine Websites, Internet, Software Tips And Reviews:

If you have been keeping in line with the latest news about Wolfram Alpha, the supposedly Google killer search engine which has been generating quite a lot of buzz around the web…

Apparently Wolfram Alpha is more of a data search engine rather than a queries-based search engine and is more of a wiki-based killer than a Google killer.It relies more on a data database with info and stats, graphs and all the analytical stuffs.  Anyway, unless you are the type who likes data and are doing some quick facts research, Wolfram Alpha might not be suitable for you, we recommend you still stick to Google. Here is a quick detailed run-down review from TechCrunch about Wolfram Alpha and below is a quick tibits of info on how exactly Wolfram Alpha works.

As of now, Wolfram|Alpha contains 10+ trillion of pieces of data, 50,000+ types of algorithms and models, and linguistic capabilities for 1000+ domains. Built with Mathematica—which is itself the result of more than 20 years of development at Wolfram Research—Wolfram|Alpha’s core code base now exceeds 5 million lines of symbolic Mathematica code. Running on supercomputer-class compute clusters, Wolfram|Alpha makes extensive use of the latest generation of web and parallel computing technologies, including webMathematica and gridMathematica…”

“Directory of Learning Professionals (& Others) on Twitter”…05.17.09

Jane’s E-Learning Pick of the Day today 1000 + Learning Professionals to Follow on Twitter lists a Directory of Learning Professionals (& Others) on Twitter may come in handy in a variety of instances.

Where in the world is the Lone Wolf Librarian?…05.17.09

Can you guess where I am today?

Personal Cloud Computing With a Twist – ZumoDrive…05.16.09

Here is an excerpt of a MakeUseOf.com post ZumoDrive – Cloud Storage Service With A Twist about another option for personal cloud computing which is worth checking out:

“By now, you should have heard of some of the popular cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Sugarsync,Box.net etc. Recently, there is another kid on the block and I think it is worth the mention at MakeUseOf.

ZumoDrive is an online storage service that everyone can use to store their files in the Cloud and access them from different computers. What makes it different from the rest of its competitors is the way it manages the data on your computer. Most storage services create a folder on your local hard drive and sync all of the data to/from that folder. This might be a good idea in order to keep the data in sync, but what if you are using a 4GB Netbook and you have 10GB of data in the cloud? Your Netbook won’t be able to hold all the data.

What ZumoDrive does is: mount itself as a drive on the computer and “tricks” the computer into thinking that the hosted data are local. When you click to open any file (or music) from ZumoDrive, it will stream those files from the cloud and open them with any local application. This way, even if you are running out of hard disk space, you can still access 10GB (or even 500GB) of data from your computer effortlessly…”

Twitter Topic Trending Graph…05.16.09

“An anatomy of hashtag meme relevance over time”

Thanks to the Centered Librarian for highlighting this “graph by Meg Pickard of the lifespan of Twitter trending topics compares ‘people talking about #topic’ and ‘people talking about talking about #topic’.”

Click on graphic above for larger version.

Web 3.0, Linked Data, Semantic Web…05.15.09

Here is a excerpt from Richard MacManus ‘ thought-provoking post Understanding the New Web Era: Web 3.0, Linked Data, Semantic Web on ReadWriteWeb today:

“I’ve been following a fascinating 3-part series of posts this week by Greg Boutin, founder of Growthroute Ventures. The series aimed to tie together 3 big trends, all based around structured data: 1) the still nascent ‘Web 3.0′ concept, 2) the relatively new kid on the structured Web block, Linked Data, and 3) the long-running saga that is the Semantic Web. Greg’s series is probably the best explanation I’ve read all year about the way these trends are converging…

Last year Boutin loosely defined web 3.0 as “the Web of Openness. A web that breaks the old siloes, links everyone everything everywhere, and makes the whole thing potentially smarter.”

..The current trends we’re seeing today – filtering content, real-time data, personalization – are evidence that ‘Web 3.0′ is upon us, if not yet well defined. We actually saw a great example of Web 3.0 this week, with Google’s release of Search Options and Rich Snippets…

In Part 2 of his series, Greg Boutin tackled Linked Data. He explained that ‘Linked Data offers a new medium to link structured data that is then more machine-readable.’ However, he added that Linked Data ‘does not by itself add any semantic meaning to the information, but it better carries that semantic information once you have it. So, while Linked Data is not semantic, creating links at the data level paves the way to a true Semantic Web.’…

According to Greg Boutin in Part 3 of his series, the Linked Data format ‘does not create smart data, it only enables it.’…

Google is going to play a big role in making the Semantic Web mainstream. We noticed here on ReadWriteWeb in January that Google had begun to expose semantic data in search results. We noted that Google appeared to be parsing the semantic structure from semi or unstructured data…

Conclusion

Web 3.0 is an amorphous term, and possibly one that people shouldn’t even attempt to use. Nevertheless, it’s clear to us that the time for structured data has come. We’re beginning to see it in the current wave of Linked Data sets being released, and in the support that big companies, like Google and Yahoo, are showing for structured data. Who knows, maybe the Semantic Web is nearly upon us too.”

“The World is Flat 3.0″ Video…05.15.09

Although this is an old video, “The World is Flat 3.0”  is an excellent tool to discuss with management the scope of change facing all organizations in the 21st century.

Here is the description from Academic Earth:

“Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman speaks on the MIT campus to discuss the 2007 update to his bestseller The World is Flat. He also provides a preview of his latest book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded.”

E-Reader Cool-er Video…05.15.09

NEW E-Reader – The “Cool-er”…05.15.09

A new e-reader The Cool-er is available for only $249.  Here is their description:

“The COOL-ER uses E-InkR, a new technology that gives you a screen with a ‘like paper’ display, replicating the experience of reading a book. Using power only for ‘page turns’ means that a single charge lasts for 8000 pages and unlike a book, the electronic display allows you to change the text size to suit you!”

Here are the specs from COOL-ER:

Height (mm) 183.00 Width (mm) 117.74 Depth (mm) 10.89 Volume (litres) 0.23 Weight (g) 178.00 Screen Size 6″ DPI 170 pixels per inch Levels of Greyscale 8 Type E Ink® Vizplex Touchscreen No Manufacturer PVI Hardware Operating System Linux Storage 1GB Memory 128 Processor Samsung® S3C2440 ARM 400MHz Battery Li-Polymer battery (1000 mAh) Battery Life (single charge) 8000 page Memory Expansion SD (up to 4GB) Wireless No Compatibility PC Yes Mac Yes Formats JPEG, PDF, EPUB, TXT Languages 8 English German French Spanish Portuguese Russian Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Content DRM PDF. EPUB Bookstore (Titles) Over 750,000

The Mobile Library…05.15.09

The Distant Librarian pointed out today that the main emphasis of the May 2009 issue of Computers in Libraries is “the mobile library”.  Here is the table of contents:

FEATURES
OPACs and the Mobile Revolution By Samuel Liston	Page 6
Taking Your Library on the Road By Lorette S. J. Weldon	Page 12
Twitter for Libraries (and Librarians) By Sarah Milstein	Page 17
Focus on Academic and Research Libraries By Dick Kaser	Page 34
DEPARTMENTS
Editor’s Notes In the Palm of Their Hand By Dick Kaser	Page 4
Noted & Quoted By Celeste Peterson-Sloss	Page 28
Tech Tips for Every Librarian Mobility in and Around the Library By Jessamyn West	Page 30
Books to Check Out By John Carr	Page 32
Online Treasures The Library for the Mobile Patron By Janet L. Balas	Page 33
News Desk By Bill Greenwood	Page 38
SPECIAL SECTION
How to Write for CIL	Page 37
COLUMNS
The Systems Librarian Moving Forward Through Tech Cycles By Marshall Breeding	Page 19
Building Digital Libraries Thin Client, Meet the Mobile Future By Terence K. Huwe	Page 22
Libraries in Computers Connecting Linked Data, OPACs, and Online Exhibits By Daniel Chudnov	Page 25

QR Codes – “Transpromo Cross Media Interactivity”…05.14.08

Since I have many posts on QR Codes, specifically their use or potential use in and by libraries and I just really liked the description of the use of QR Codes as “transpromo cross media interactivity” by Code Z QR I thought I would bring attention to their QR Code blog which is worth keeping tabs on for ideas on using this technology – plus they are also from Texas.

What Librarians Need to Understand About Cloud Computing…05.14.09

Thanks to Jessamyn West from librarian.net for pointing out Where is the cloud? Geography, economics, environment, and jurisdiction in cloud computing about which you can read from its abstract:

“Cloud computing — the creation of large data centers that can be dynamically provisioned, configured, and reconfigured to deliver services in a scalable manner — places enormous capacity and power in the hands of users. As an emerging new technology, however, cloud computing also raises significant questions about resources, economics, the environment, and the law. Many of these questions relate to geographical considerations related to the data centers that underlie the clouds: physical location, available resources, and jurisdiction. While the metaphor of the cloud evokes images of dispersion, cloud computing actually represents centralization of information and computing resources in data centers, raising the specter of the potential for corporate or government control over information if there is insufficient consideration of these geographical issues, especially jurisdiction. This paper explores the interrelationships between the geography of cloud computing, its users, its providers, and governments…”

Wolfram Alpha Search Release Video Streamed Live Friday…05.14.09

Mashable! reported yesterday on Friday’s release event for the Wolfram Alpha search engine:

“What are you doing on Friday night? If you don’t have other plans, you can tune in to a live broadcast of the public launch of Wolfram Alpha, the much-hyped search engine that we reviewed last week. The company will be live broadcasting its launch starting at 8pm ET using video streaming service Justin.tv.

Although we’re not yet convinced that Wolfram Alpha is going to be the search company to finally challenge Google, this launch strategy is a smart one – if all goes well. With Justin.tv’s integration of Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace into the chat window that accompanies each video, the launch stands to gain a tremendous amount of buzz across social media sites…”