Semantic Web

Semantic web = Machines talking to other machines to make sense of the data and draw connections and information from multiple disparate sources.



Ok, I think I got that, but trying to understand 'how' that can be done and the work required to achieve it (semantic web stack) just fried my brain.

Voyage RSS feeds

AFRGRGGGHHH.... I feel sea sick......all those feeds fading in and out and spinning away and a little bit fuzzy.....that's what Voyage RSS feed viewing does for you.

Very cool in that black space - especially when you delete all the rubbish that you don't want and add your own RSS urls (easy to add and delete content) but still made me feel a little squeamish...

Kartoo...

I first met Kartoo when he was a young wizard.



He was just starting out in visualization and did a pretty good job given that he was only a young apprentice. The flash work is now, well, more flash - those little bubblies and the colour contours and nice but overall I think he's not as good as he was.



I did my favourite search eg Shakespeare and the inital visual mapping looks ok but then trying to work out to get to the content I wanted was not easy. I wanted to find text of Shakespeare's sonnets and when I followed that path I found a website claiming that some one else (Edward de Vere) was the real author of Shakespeare's sonnets. Well, Kartoo might be wacky but he might also get a whack if he mucks around too much! In the end I did find the site I wanted so Kartoo - all is forgiven.

VU find

Well, the old OPAC couldn't get any worse!

I like VUfind. I like the clear layout and the facetting aspects (eg the language, genre, format) although I think that the NLA have done better work in making these indexes work than the catalogue I looked at from the VUfind site. eg search on Shakespeare

I also like the format icons in the records - picture, book, online really stands out and will help users find the material in the format they want.

LinkedIn - business social networking

Back for more with LinkedIn. As a lot of work related information is based on networking it makes sense that there is a business orientated social networking site.

Librarianship is a small industry so if you have worked in libraries for some time you get to know people. But for those new to the industry it would be good to have a place to start the networking process.

23 things round up

A round up of the 23 Things program and process:

I've loved how everyone has got into doing the tasks - alright the movie tickets were a stroke of inspiration but it worked - and then people found it was quite enjoyable!

I've loved how it has levelled everyone's knowledge about internet applications, social networking, second life, etc. It's improved skills and helped grow individual's confidence in learning and acquiring new skills.

It's been a great opportunity to play with things in a work context.

I love scanning the horizon but time pressure is frustrating. I admire the work and detail that some people have been able to inject into their blog posts. Whereas my meagre efforts look pretty lean...

I've loved finding out about people's interests, and am so impressed by my colleagues creativity.

Thanks, it's been great!

Second life and libraries

Really can't see the point... what makes libraries in a virtual world better/more interesting/sexier that reality. And if it is better than reality is that because it is all an illusion? One's imagination always IS better/more interesting/sexier.

I think my personality is much more grounded in interactions with real people. I know it is a useful levelling space for people with disabilities or maybe those who find real life social interaction difficult for a variety of reasons. That's great for them but I'm not sure Second Life is a place I want to spend my professional, or personal, time.