ASIST SIG Blogs, Wikis, Podcasting

Continuous partial attention

"In the attention economy" .....  We have an attention economy?  Who knew?  Certainly libraries have suffered from being unable to obtain the attention of the local reader.  http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6047160.html

Must we design our blogs, wikis, podcasts to accommodate what we can expect to be "Continuous partial attention?"  Sort of a state of PermaSkimming..... Permanently skimming, staying at 25% attention to all four things you are multitasking to accomplish. 

I kind of like the term, permaskimmers, and class myself as one.  A generation of ADD kids growing up and into the workforce, the world. 

If our socialsoftware only collects pemaskimmer's contributions, what value can we expect will be contributed in that 25 seconds of their attention?

Would love to stay and ramble, but that's 23, 24, 25 seconds gone now....

Adoption strategy

It's not that I disagree with the content of the Social Text strategy, but it is clearly "borrowing" a KM strategy for forming Communities of Practice.  http://www.socialtext.com/node/70  Blatant borrowing.  Nothing new here.

Yes, calling CoP software social software is a new linguistic spin on an old concept.  New technologies thrown into the KM CoP mix do not a new strategy make .....

Take a gander at implementation strategies for CoPs.  Defense Acquisition University has a really good one.  Modify the language somewhat, and call it a social software implementation plan if you must.  https://acc.dau.mil/simplify/ev.php?ID=37256_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC

Quantitative analysis on dreams from blog entries

Suppose I wanted to perform a Quantitative study of >>>>>> let's say dreams<<<<<<  such as the researchers at UC Santa Cruz are doing http://psych.ucsc.edu/dreams/

I would be able to code the categories of what people dream about in a system developed by Hall and Van De Castle...... IF I had the dream data.

How, as a researcher, would I gather the data so I can code it and analyze it?  Old school might be to enlist subjects through solicitiations in print publications, pay for volunteers.

Today, I simply post a Sawlogs blog to get the data from users who are given a place to create a dream journal.  http://sawlogs.net/  And the terms of service allow participants who post to search and find others with similar dreams. 

Brilliant!  Absolutely Brilliant! 

Walking tour podcasts.... travel, journaling, sharing the experience

I can't think of a more unique way to share your travels and experiences with others, can you?  Creating a podcast live of the trip along with photos of the places and sites is a step beyond a series of slide presentations in the basement, no?  http://web.mit.edu/frontiers/

This seems to have a huge marketing appeal for actually getting me to purchase that ticket.  Ah, remember Venice?  Such a unique feeling to be in the city, seeing refrigerators delivered via boat, thinking of everyone having such great views of the waterfront, sitting in the piazza flirting with a Italian.   But I digress.

The fear of open discussion and free speech

I have no reason to doubt the story that Penn State has decided not to support the wiki for their institution. http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/02/02-15-06tdc/02-15-06dops-edit-01.asp

I suppose it reflects a similar viewpoint seen in Corporate America or Capitol Hill where controlling the message is the premiere mission.

HOWEVER, isn't it odd that in an academic institution there is little infrastructure support for the free exchange of ideas and information?  COULDN'T the university find a way to add disclaimers or support the wiki with university technology from a distance?

Seems there might be a lot to learn in this new medium for the average college student, faculty member, or administrator for that matter.  Aren't there lots of smart people at Penn State who might craft a policy to delicately support such an endeavor in some small way? 

Frankly, the new technology and policies used in social networking, collaborative process, wikis, blogs, and podcasting are EXACTLY the type of activities students learn by practical application. 

And what could Joe Freshman say that would be more damaging than what faculty members have allegedly said to former athletes?   

Wikipedia traces cleansing of political facts to Capitol Hill computers

Would an unpalatable fact been as damaging as exposing your staff as working against free speech?  There's a clear and simple lesson here for anyone interested in public office.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4695376.stm  And why exactly is this a news story I read from the BBC?  Too insignificant for the US media?   Feeling sorry for the Congress in the lack of oversight over their own employees? 

Better management to make time for collaboration

Perhaps I'm not aware of Typepad's features, but I would love to manage my postings in a more sophisticated manner ........... as suggested in the time management article from WebProNews. http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/blogtalk/wpn-58-20060208BlogpostingtimeWhenworkgetsintheway.html

A 3 minute snippet about podcasts

For establishing context when speaking to a group unfamiliar with podcasts..... I could easily see this as language I would copy in an intro to class..... or perhaps use in a presentation http://www.journalism.co.uk/features/story1710.shtml

Charity brings podcast to Peruvian village to impact agriculture

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4688882.stm   The United Kingdom Practical Action pilot project provides agricultural tips to farmers in remote Peruvian villages. 

• Yes, the telecenters might run on solar power
• the podcasts might be downloaded onto CD to broadcast on radio stations in native dialects
• and the village might only have electricity for 2 hours a day

BUT isn't this a thrilling, triumphant, enticing idea to connect people to expertise ..... without regard to location, economic means, social class, etc. 

Technology at its finest when used to overcome poverty, improve business, and proliferate education.

Bending the wiki to meet a corporate need

A nice overview of how three corporate environments are employing different types of wiki. http://www.desktoppipeline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=179100499

Good glimpse into the types of decisions that might be made when selecting an appropriate wiki tool especially in a corporate environment .... and the ways they are implemented.