misc.joy

As you may know, the June 2010 issue of Wired magazine is available as an iPad version. It will cost you $4.99 to try it out. I’ve been a subscriber and reader of Wired since its founding in the mid-90s, and continue to be a subscriber. I had already read the print version of the [...]

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I’ve been pondering the use of location-based social networking tools. For ALA Midwinter, there were a handful of people using these types of services. But, with the huge media coverage after SXSW Interactive this year, I’m expecting more adopters in Washington D.C. for ALA Annual. In fact, we may see some contests organized by ALA [...]

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During the months of March and April, I used the Lifestream plugin for WordPress to push my social media activities to my blog as a Daily Digest. The experiment is now complete and I am intending to return to my regular blog practices. Ironically, in the two months the number of regular blog posts did [...]

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On my 1-hour flight home yesterday, I used Instapaper Pro to go back and read a web essay from last month by Craig Mod (and type this post in the WordPress app). The essay is called Books in the Age of the iPad.
It seemed important to revisit the article now that I have an iPad [...]

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This is Part 2 of my SXSW reports.
It’s true, many people value the hallway and party conversations more than the sessions and panels. For me, as someone outside the industry and not knowing anyone, heading into the sessions and panels was very valuable. Here’s a short rundown.
Chris Messina took us down his vision [...]

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This is Part 1 of my SXSW reports. After an introduction, the focus is on authors and keynotes.
I’d heard of South By Southwest (SXSW) for many years; the music festival, that is. However, in 2009 I heard about Interactive Conference that precedes the Music Festival when a few librarians reported attending. I’ve always wanted to [...]

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I’ve been attending library related conferences for the last 16 years – mostly ALA. I attend to connect with colleagues, contribute to the associations, or attend programatic activities. Recently I attended SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas and I came away with many ideas on how to improve the conference going experience. SXSW Interactive was five [...]

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Relaxed chaos. That’s how it felt when I arrived at the Austin Convention Center for SXSW Interactive 2010. It is completely different from most librarian conferences that I attend. In this case, rather than being in the middle to younger demographic, I am in the oldest 20% (and I’m only 42). Laptops and smart phones [...]

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Next month the iPad will be unleashed on the world and I want one. First question, how can I justify the cost against a household with a fixed budget. Second, balancing the desire to reduce consumption and the need to stay current with technology. Third, the balance of ubiquitous computing and family harmony. Finally, the [...]

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About a dozen attendees at the 2010 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston used a location based social network from foursquare (launched in March 2009). In some ways, it felt like the first time Twitter reached the ALA scene a couple of years ago. Pushing the boundaries and testing new technologies is one of the things [...]

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