Tuesday tech links
One. The news of the closer of tr.im URL shortener a few weeks ago highlighted issues with dependence on a third party in content creation. ReadWriteWeb has posted a useful guide to hosting your own URL shortening service and as more libraries begin to join Twitter and post content, it may be a good idea to have the maximum control over that content.
Two. Twitter has released an API that will allow developers to add latitude and longitude to any tweet. And as for possible applications, well…
… with accurate, tweet-level location data you could switch from reading the tweets of accounts you follow to reading tweets from anyone in your neighborhood or city—whether you follow them or not. It’s easy to imagine how this might be interesting at an event like a concert or even something more dramatic like an earthquake.
Three. TinEye is a reverse image search engine which is the first to use image identification technology. Upload an image or a URL and it will tell you where the image came from, how it was used, show you modified versions of the image and find higher resolution versions. Also, check out Multicolr Search Lab where you can choose up to 10 colours from a palette of 120 different shades to browse through Flickr’s Creative Commons images and find ones that share those same colours. Both applications are developed by Idée, a company based in Toronto.
Wildcard. For a while now I have been playing around with mobile social networking applications, including Brightkite and Plazes. However, I have been waiting not so patiently for the arrival of Foursquare north of the border. Now my dream might some through thanks to Ashton Kutcher. Yes, the web was a flutter today that he had joined the service. Remember what happened when he joined Twitter? Expect to see Oprah on Foursquare very soon.
Tuesday tech links
I’ve decided to post three links every Tuesday, including one wildcard to allow for expected weirdness, highlighting what I think are the most interesting items I’ve discovered during the previous week. So here we go…
One. What is Rockmelt? Is it a new browser dedicated to browsing Facebook? Or it is going to resemble Flock? Whatever it is, the tech world, and the NY Times, is suddenly interested, given that the company is backed by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen.
Two. Screenr, which launched today, lets you record screencasts of up to five minutes in length and post them to Twitter, without any software installation. A great way to create short instructional videos for users in response to reference questions perhaps?
Three. Livescribe is a note taking desktop application, the centerpiece of which is the Pulse, a ballpoint pen with an infrared camera in the tip that tracks and records everything you write. The pen also includes a digital audio recorder. When used with special paper created by the company it tracks what it writes and synchronizes those notes with any audio you record. You can then upload the notes where they appear exactly as you have written them on the page. You can also replay portions of your recording by tapping the notes you were taking at that time. If you are not excited by this, check your pulse as you may be dead.
Wildcard. Social software and national security: an initial net assessment. Mark Drapeau and Linton Wells of the National Defense University. For some time I have been looking at the reports and studies created for and by the military of various countries (don’t forget where the internet came from) and I’m constantly amazed at what you can find. I quite liked this short article which contains some interesting insights. Tired of people saying social media is useless? Have them read the brief summary in this report on the impact of social media on political events over the past two years. And the best thing about these papers? They always contain some unintentionally amusing nugget. The DoD recommends you “Empower some individuals to be authentic”. Just some of them, the rest will remain drones…are we clear?
Information Overload Awareness Day
Tomorrow is Information Overload Awareness Day according to Basex, who are organizing a conference to call attention to a problem that, according to their research, costs the U.S. economy $900 billion per year in lowered productivity. While it seems strange to organize a conference to impart yet more information on Information Overload Awareness Day, they do seem to be trying to offset some of the problems…
Individual tickets for the Inaugural Event are $50 but individuals promising not to multi-task (IM, e-mail, Twitter, etc.) during the event receive a 50% discount
If you would like to learn about this issue, check out the Information Overload Research Group who provide an online Resource Center of articles.
To help do my part to lower the amount of “information pollution”, I will not be posting any information online via social networks for 24 hours, starting at midnight tonight. If you would like to join me, to try something similar, or have any ideas on how to lower information overload, plaese leave a comment.
Update August 18, 2009
Thanks to Bobbi Newman for finding the following important, educational video on the dangers of Information Overload.
Venezuela’s revolutionary reading
The BBC News has just published an article on Venezuela’s Revolutionary Reading Plan, which offers some interesting insights into the politics of reading.
The government has given out tens of thousands of free copies of Don Quijote by Cervantes and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, saying that such events “promote reading for the construction of socialism and humanist values”.
The part of the article that caught my eye was the role of “book squadrons”,
Beyond the book give-aways, another key part of the Reading Plan are thousands of “book squadrons”. These are basically roving book clubs that are intended to encourage reading on the metro, in public squares and in parks. Each squadron wears a different colour to identify their type of book. For example, the red team promotes autobiographies while the black team discusses books on “militant resistance”.
Is there an idea for a library program in there somewhere? Some day will we see roving librarian book squadrons on the TTC, really meeting the users where they are? And will they be talking about “militant resistance“?
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