All posts from
March 2006

Peter Morville Presentation: Ambient Findability

Also, including a conversation with Peter Morville at SXSW 2006 Studio SX – “At the crossroads of ubiquitous computing and the Internet, the user experience is out of control, and findability is the real story. Access changes the game. We can select our sources and choose our news. We can find who and what we need, when and where we want. As society shifts from push to pull, findability shapes who we trust, how we learn, and where we go. In this thought-provoking talk, best-selling author Peter Morville explores the future present in mobile and embedded devices, GPS and RFID technologies, search algorithms, findable objects, evolutionary psychology, and the long tail of the sociosemantic web.” (SXSW 2006 Interactive)

Six degrees of reputation: The use and abuse of online review and recommendation systems

“This paper reports initial findings from a study that used quantitative and qualitative research methods and custom–built software to investigate online economies of reputation and user practices in online product reviews at several leading e–commerce sites (primarily Amazon.com). We explore several cases in which book and CD reviews were copied whole or in part from one item to another and show that hundreds of product reviews on Amazon.com might be copies of one another. We further explain the strategies involved in these suspect product reviews, and the ways in which the collapse of the barriers between authors and readers affect the ways in which these information goods are being produced and exchanged. We report on techniques that are employed by authors, artists, editors, and readers to ensure they promote their agendas while they build their identities as experts. We suggest a framework for discussing the changes of the categories of authorship, creativity, expertise, and reputation that are being re–negotiated in this multi–tier reputation economy.” (Shay David and Trevor Pinch – First Monday 11.3)

When you need to localize and categorize

“The creation of a localization taxonomy can become a significant piece of an entire CMS implementation project, particularly when your regional offices are in control of their local taxonomies and want to serve local customers in the best way. As you have seen, the concepts available for simple application localization are insufficient for the localization of complex international content. To get it right, you must be prepared for a substantial amount of analysis and the price tag that comes with it.” (CMS Watch) – courtesy of columntwo

Library Clips

“This blog is a space for me to share some ideas, thoughts, and feedback from a librarian’s point of view. (…) Like most people I’m interested in blogs, rss, social bookmarks, wiki’s, etc. so I’ll use this site to ask questions and discuss ideas about these topics and wishlist features.” (John Tropea)

And The Winners Are…

Sixth Annual Weblog Awards – “It’s now the sixth year of the world’s most established weblog awards, the Bloggies. Personal Web publishing never stops growing, and that means this year the public will have more contenders than ever to select from when choosing the year’s best weblogs. 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 have their champions; now it’s time for you to do your part for 2006.” – congrats to all.

NerdTV Archives

Interviews with Doug Engelbart, Dave Winer, Andy Herzfeld and other illuminaries – “NerdTV is a new weekly online TV show from PBS.org technology columnist Robert X. Cringely. NerdTV is essentially Charlie Rose for geeks – a one-hour interview show with a single guest from the world of technology.” (Robert X. CringelyNerdTV)