The Need for Editors on the Web
There’s way too much information online. What really matters to readers is quality, not quantity. Gerry McGovern —The Need for Editors on the Web
Silicon Valley Reporter
“[T]he Internet story has come to an end.” Reuters —Silicon Alley Reporter Magazine Closes (Wired)
Hegemony Online
“a cybernetic process whereby people in power deepen their dominance by using online communication to negotiate for the consent of the subjugated.” Mike Dorsher —Hegemony Online (UWEC)
Brave New World for Higher Education
MIT will offer its courses online for free: “This ‘OpenCourseWare’ initiative represents a radically different approach to digitizing, marketing and globalizing education.” —Brave New World for Higher EducationTechnology Review)
And the Banned Played On
Of course, you can’t trust everything that you find on the Internet…. weblogs and e-mail chains are also responsible for spreading hoaxes: “Is it true, for instance, that Osama bin Laden profits directly from sales of gum arabic, a food additive? Or that radio DJs are forbidden to play more than 150 popular songs now?” …
Software Development as Community Poetry Writing
Imagine 50 people getting together to write a 20,000-line epic poem, on time and on budget. Software programmers have an added constraint — it has to run! —Software Development as Community Poetry Writing
Technology and Pleasure
“The popular image of the computer hacker seems to be part compulsive programmer preferring the company of computers to people, and part criminal mastermind… But this is at best only half the story.” Gisle Hannemyr —Technology and Pleasure
Many modern idioms are mechanical: “she has a screw loose,” or “he broke down crying”. Every culture has its in-jokes and specialized language. The Jargon File defines computing terms such as “404 compliant” and “kluge“.
The Internet is Now a Dominant Tool for Regular People
The Internet has succeeded in becoming a tool that many regular people turn to in lieu of alternatives for communicating and for finding information. It has become a new, often-used tool in their personal toolbox. Dan Bricklin —The Internet is Now a Dominant Tool for Regular People
Net Draws Fire, Offers Comfort in Wake of Disaster
Interesting article focuses on how people are using the Internet to react to the terrorists attacks on New York and Washington. Globe and Mail —Net Draws Fire, Offers Comfort in Wake of Disaster
www.derrickito.com
Large collection of links to the World Trace Center tributes that have sprung up after the towers came down. —www.derrickito.com
Online Health Websites Frequently Inaccurate
“[T]here were big holes in the information offered. Across all four health conditions, nearly a quarter of the key questions were completely ignored, and less than half were given both more than minimal coverage and complete accuracy.” Rae Fry —Online Health Websites Frequently Inaccurate
10 Myths about Copyright Explained
“An attempt to answer common myths about copyright seen on the net and cover issues related to copyright and USENET/Internet publication.” Brad Templeton —10 Myths about Copyright Explained
Broken Links and Poor Information Architecture Design
“Without links, you might as well pile all the billions of documents on the Web into one huge container. Link management is therefore an important part of running a Web site.” Gerry McGovern, ClickZ —Broken Links and Poor Information Architecture Design
How To Write a Book in 10 Days
“It won’t be a large book, but you can write a small book and get acquainted with the basics of how to write a book.” [But see this discussion thread: “Theory: Write a web-book in a day“] —How To Write a Book in 10 Days
Confusion Over Free Speech and Copyright
Dimitri Sklyarov is an unlikely poster boy for American freedom. The Russian programmer was arrested after he spoke at the “Def-Con” hacker convention in Las Vegas about a program, offered for sale by his employer Elcomsoft, which cracks the encryption in Adobe’s e-book software. The Irish Times —Confusion Over Free Speech and Copyright
Data Smog
Too much information? “[T] this weed in our informational landscape has just sprouted–it is only about 50 years old. Up until then, more information was almost always a good thing.” David Shenk —Data Smog
Industry Standard
Failed to Practise What It Preached The magazine that chronicled the excesses of the dot.com revolution did not spot the extravagances that led to its own downfall. Mark Tran —Industry Standard
What Do the US News Rankings Measure?
“Log onto almost any college Web site and you’ll see the same beautiful students talking about their beautiful campuses and how much they learn. But there are no numbers, no studies, no objective measurements.” —Wash. Monthly —What Do the US News Rankings Measure?
E-Books Solving a Problem Consumers Don't Have.
Despite the technological hoopla, nobody’s paying attention to e-books but the courts. “Digitizing the printed page has put the very nature of books up for grabs, unleashing heated battles among writers, readers, librarians and technologists over who should control electronic books.” Chicago Tribune —E-Books Solving a Problem Consumers Don’t Have.