Friday, February 21, 2003

my thoughts on audio/video/mo/etc-blogging I'm very interested in all of the new weblog entry/storage methods being explored. I'm sure that, in short order, audio blogging and video blogging will be available to the masses. I am also fairly certain, however, that it will be much longer before such applications of the technology are mainstream. A couple of reasons: One of the primary benefits of weblog technology is that through aggregation of multiple sources, you can skim through a tremendous amount of data in a (relatively) short period of time. Content contained in media must be viewed (at least currently) in real time--even to be previewed. While excerpts could be entered in text, such duplication of content would raise the bar for making an entry. Ultimately we may have voice-to-text transcription happening behind the scenes, which would really bring media-blogging into the fold. Add GPS-enabled time/date/location stamping and other useful meta-data and the picture has real potential, especially for small vertical applications of weblog-like technology. I guess my number two is really an extension of number one. How do you permalink an excerpt of an audio or video entry? Unless I'm missing something (which is entirely possible), you can't--at least today. When automatic computer-generated transcriptions are associated to the time code of the video source, we'll be cooking with gas. I can then point to a specific word or sentence in your entry. TrackBack and comment strings could be very interesting in this context--I could watch/listen to the whole conversation "thread", with multiple participants, in my media tool. I am very excited about the possiblity of multimedia weblog entries, but I see them as an augmentation of the existing text-based medium as opposed to a replacement. Some related articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/webwatch/story/0,12455,858719,00.html http://www.audblog.com/ http://www.denniskennedy.com/realtime.htm 9:15:03 AM    comment []

Monday, February 10, 2003

waves vs communities Many systems and phenomena are distributed according to a power law distribution. A power law applies to a system when large is rare and small is common. The distribution of individual wealth is a good example of this: there are a very few rich men and lots & lots of poor folks. A familiar way to think about power laws is the 80/20 rule: 80% of the wealth is controlled by 20% of the population... [kottke.org] I'm seeing quite a bit of conversation on this type of topic over the past few days, primarily revolving around the fact that a very few people seem to get a majority of the traffic. To be completely honest, I'm not sure what the problem is. I think the "waves" that David refers to are quick to rise, but all too often they are quick to subside. I'm much more interested in building a community, and such construction happens quietly, over time. I'm fairly certain that the tools we use to publish and aggregate our ideas will evolve over time, but I am also certain that whatever those tools are, I'll be using them to listen and correspond with those who are working toward goals that are similar to my own. Serious applications of any tool, including weblogs, in an academic environment will require an understanding of not only teaching and learning theories, but the perspective that comes from having seen several other "must have" technologies rise and fall in the educational technology domain. I think Dave Winer's foray into academia is quite exciting not because I believe he'll be producing the most influential research, but rather because the spotlight he brings may help influence political momentum ("See how much press Harvard is getting? We could do the same here with very little investment..."). Weblogs are exciting because they are messy--community building is unpredictable and the power to build is decentralized. Such distribution of authority is behind most every modern application of learning theory, so the technology behind weblogs may just make itself into something we can't yet imagine...we just need to figure out how to get it into the hands of our learning communities in ways that will empower such discovery and growth. 5:18:59 PM    comment []

EduBlogger meta tagging? I'm curious about how others are using weblogs in combination with systems on their campus? At UNC Charlotte, we use WebCT as our web-based courseware. We are also implementing Campus Pipeline's Luminus Portal system. I've been working at ways to integrate Moveable Type and Radio into a WebCT course so that, in the end, the combination of the systems is invisible to the student. It would be helpful to have some sort of index of weblog implementation that is organized by environment. I guess I see something like the BlogChalking tag for educational bloggers? As I understand it, BlogChalking allows you to filter or search for sites based on geographic location. They also include some optional codes to indicate demographic information and interests. What if we had a similar tag (or maybe as a part of the Edublog WebRing tag?) that indexed information such as: Educational Institution Position (faculty/staff/administration) weblog software used (Radio/Manila/MoveableType/Blosxom/etc.) personal desktop operating system (Windows XP/Mac OS X/etc.) courseware name & support status (or supported/unsupported) instructional technology support (yes/no) general tech environment (supportive/unsupportive) general funding environment (well-funded/partially funded/not funded) I'm not making an official proposal here--I can see holes in my list already. I guess I'm fishing for interest. Would it be a helpful thing to include some sort of meta-tag index that would allow someone in an environment similar to mine to find me? How about finding someone in an environment different from mine? I know it is easy to get carried away with this sort of thing--it must be simple if it has a chance to work. I don't anticipate that this would narrow my field of weblogs that I read regularly, but if I'm a lonely Widget XXL user who writes her weblog using MovingStereo software and is trying to figure out how to integrate it with ChalkBoardCT courseware, wouldn't it be cool to hook up with someone, wherever they are, who is doing the same thing? I guess the conversation wouldn't be complete if we also didn't consider the privacy issues involved. Would such tags expose individuals or institutions inappropriately? I don't think so, but I'm interested in opinions that support or refute the thought. 2:06:59 PM    comment []

Friday, February 07, 2003

small iconic brainstorm So I'm browsing in NetNewsWire (my news aggregator of choice) and I come across a post by Will Richardson from his Weblogg-ed site and I find myself trying to remember what Will looks like. Where did I see his face? Then I've got it...over at Sebastian Fiedler's place. Sebastian has a very nice setup where a small b/w icon of the author's face accompanies each post. So then I start wondering (because I'm not a coder I don't have any limits to my imagination!) about the little icons that accompany URLs for some sites in some browsers (I recently started using Apple's Safari browser, which displays these little icons instead of the default @ sign that shows up in IE for Mac). So how hard would it be to have a news aggregator access this small icon file and include it (intelligently) with the news feeds? I don't even know what that little icon is called, but I imagine it may be specific to the http protocol and difficult to reproduce in RSS. I guess that's a question for the folks at UserLand and Ranchero Software. 7:12:24 PM    comment []

Thursday, February 06, 2003

Weblog as a communication hub I've been thinking about types of communication lately. "Types" is a bit too vague, but I'm not sure of the proper nomenclature for the concept I'm reaching for. I've been thinking of a series of matrices that display some of the following characteristics: Audience size (self, individual, small group, large group, etc.) Message purpose (inform, request, entertain, etc.) Message initiation trigger ("push" vs. "pull", manual vs. automatic) Universality of format (open vs. proprietary requirements to receive message) Complexity of message encoding (low->high) Need for Immediacy (low->high) Need for Durability (low->high) etc, etc, etc... Email has taken off as a messaging medium because it is fairly easy to send messages with multiple purposes to audiences of varying sizes. Immediacy and Durability are dependent upon the habits of the recipient (your urgent email message means nothing to me if I don't check my email, and that serial number the software company sent me when I registered is useless if I automatically delete messages after a given period of time). Much of the current frustration with the medium comes from the ease with which messages that have not been requested (definitely on the "push" side) find their way into the average user's email inbox. I believe that weblogs are growing in popularity because they lower the complexity of encoding a message and, at the same time, offer multiple (simultaneous/transparent) channels of output (HTML, RSS, etc.). They also provide similar immediacy to email (if RSS news aggregators are a part of the mix) and greatly increased durability of the message (especially when the software used includes built-in search capabilities). I am very interested in moving much of the messaging that I have traditionally done in my email tool into my weblog environment. What if I could specify a recipient (anywhere on the continuum from individual to group) as a category, and the preferences for outputting that category included an option to send the message via email or instant messaging rather than (or in addition to) HTML or RSS? This is particularly powerful if I can de-select the primary or default category (ala Radio) because there will be times that I want to route a message to only one channel. The database behind this messaging powerhouse doesn't care what channel each message goes through. It faithfully catalogs each entry so that later I can pull up references easily. This type of functionality would mirror, for the encoding side of my messaging world, the exciting potential of projects such as DynamicObjects' Spaces or OSAF's Chandler. These tools propose to gather all of your incoming streams of communication and present them to you within a single interface that adds value through automatic association of related messages. I think the concept of weblogs as messaging tools has just as much exciting potential--especially (for me) if I can more tightly integrate all of my messaging needs into them. 5:20:38 PM    comment []

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

categorizing my weblog usage I've discovered that there is tremendous value to my having (at least) two spaces in which to blog. I use a weblog at work as an avatar for conversation within my small community of team members. On it I am constantly making posts that fall (roughly) into the following categories: reference posts FYI posts HELP! posts conversation posts reference posts This is sort of a souped-up favorites/bookmarks list. I use Moveable Type, so the archives are readily searchable. I often make a mental note that there is a post regarding a certain topic on a weblog (either mine or someone else's). Because I'm not in the habit of using keywords extensively, there are times that I can't find the post easily because I can't remember what it was called, but most of the time it works wonderfully. In our team meetings I am finding that we increasingly refer one another to an old post on someone's weblog for more information. Analogy: Searchable and annotated Favorites/Bookmarks list FYI posts These are sort of like an email distribution list. I have a rough idea of who is subscribed to my RSS feed, so I can post a notice in my weblog when I come across something I think everyone should be aware of. This ranges from project-oriented communication or information to silly Friday-afternoon links to a Dilbert cartoon. Analogy: Email distribution list, discussion board, news group HELP! posts This is one of the most valuable forms of communication that the weblog has enabled. When I have an idea that I don't know how to proceed with because I'm not sure who else is/has been working on similar projects who is the right person to talk to what potential obstacles to the project might be etc. For the most part, these questions are those that would not traditionally merit a phone call or an email. As silly as it sounds, I feel more comfortable posting these 'low end' questions so that someone can choose to reply if they desire than I am initiating a two-way conversation for the sole purpose of gaining this small bit of information. Further, when these questions are asked openly, all benefit from the exchange--the answer to the question moves into the FYI category mentioned above. You can remember that someone else asked the question before and you search for it on their weblog.Analogy: Phone call or email message that becomes archived and visible to all those who might need it conversation posts These are some of the most interesting. The weblog is a somewhat awkward conversation medium at first glance. Because our team uses Moveable Type, we have ready access to the TrackBack feature, which makes conversational dialogue MUCH simpler. In the past, a user would make a comment on an individual post. Often, because there wasn't any flag that indicated the comment had been made, it would go unnoticed. An unanswered comment has a chilling effect on the motivation of the commenter to participate in the future. With TrackBack, I can select the portion of your post that I wish to comment on and use my bookmarklet to post the excerpt on my weblog, along with any comments I wish to make. Because we have autodiscovery of TrackBack pings turned on, referencing the original post is as easy as checking a box or selecting the name of the post from a popup list. The new post is then referenced on the original site without any effort on the part of the original author. I am quite surprised at how readily conversations of this sort have been taken place. Once you get over the initial mental shift required to participate in this sort of conversation, it can become a powerful tool (especially when combined with the HELP posts mentioned above). Analogy: Discussion group, email (individual or list), "slow" IM 8:11:46 AM    comment []

Monday, January 27, 2003

iCalendar and RSS for course calendars I'm teaching an introductory Japanese language course this semester (yet another reason for the recent scarcity of my posts). It has been wonderful to be back in the classroom. We use WebCT on our campus, and I have been quite frustrated with the hoops I'm required to jump through to get it to work. The primary value (both current and future) is the integration of the system with our student information system, financial resource system, human resources system, etc. Because it is frames-based, however, I have been able to get around some of the limitations of WebCT by simply pointing to resources on a different server within the main frame of the WebCT environment. This is transparent (for the most part) to the student, and I can use the tools I'm familiar with. I've been quite pleased with my course calendar. I use Apple's iCal application, which publishes calendars in .ics format (Windows users can use Mozilla's calendar for a somewhat similar feature set), to publish my calendar to a server running PHPiCalendar. This set of PHP scripts takes the .ics file and renders it in very attractive HTML, complete with links to details, etc. Once I have everything set up, I simply make a change in iCal. The software automatically connects to the server and the changes are immediately visible to anyone who loads the calendar. Deceivingly transparent. Another bonus that I'm just getting my mind wrapped around...PHPiCalendar automatically produces an RSS feed of the calendar in day, week, and month formats. That means that if I make an addition to the schedule via iCal, it is available not only on the web, but via the news aggregators of my students (if they were using them--they're not...yet...). What if every course had a day, week, and month RSS feed? As a student I could aggregate each of these feeds and have my schedule, complete with details for every course, automatically rendered in multiple formats. There is no central application to be updated when a change is made by an individual faculty--they update their calendar and it filters out to those who need it. ....[Fudd chuckle]...Vewy intewesting... 2:03:24 PM    comment []

Making a switch I'm thinking of migrating this weblog away from Userland's servers and toward the Moveable Type implementation in my office. I've already got Moveable Type configured and the server is running nicely. My only concern is I have no idea of the future load this might place on my office server. I'd like to think I'll someday participate in a conversation profound enough to bring it to its knees with the unbelievable traffic generated...[thoughtful pause] ...OK, OK...I'll look into moving it over this week some time. ;-) 1:47:08 PM    comment []

back for now Unbelievable! I'm able to make a post. I'm sure I've obtained a trojan of some sort because the system I'm using to publish this weblog crawls to a halt and doesn't allow me to post a thing. I just rebooted and will type quickly before this window of opportunity expires! I've migrated almost exclusively to Moveable Type for my blogging activities. The combination of performance and reliability were the deciding factors for me--I've had so many fewer problems since I switched over. This weblog, Stand Up Eight, has suffered from my inattention in part because of those very issues. The demands that Radio puts on my system have contributed heavily to the processor all but grinding to a halt. Although I am happy with the switch, I find myself missing some of the features I had become accustomed to in Radio. Most noticable is the lack of aggregator integration, but I have fallen in love withRanchero Software's NetNewsWire Pro (still in beta) and I believe it will fill the gap nicely. I also miss Marc Barrot's activeRenderer--I had just begun to realize the potential of its functionality when I switched over. Is there any way to duplicate it in Moveable Type? I doubt it...it seems tightly integrated with Radio's outliner. The final big hole is the automated email distribution of my aggregator content that I had set up via Doug Kaye's news2mail tool. I can't find any replacement for this in Moveable Type, either, but the more I get used to using NetNewsWire Pro, the less it matters. Anyway, I'm going to try and post this...wish me luck! 1:41:07 PM    comment []

Monday, December 09, 2002

Back again Well, I'm back (again) from a breakdown-induced blogging hiatus. While my wife may argue to the contrary, the breakdown was not mine but of several of the various technologies that make up my daily working environment. I'm fascinated at how quickly blogging habits seem to break down when familiar tools are no longer available. My word processing needs may not be as easy to manage with a different application/platform than what I usually use, but there isn't really a "flow" to the type of writing I usually do in a word processor. There is very definitely a "flow" to weblogging, and mine was broken. I've tried to use various news aggregators to capture the daily news from my communities, but I'm so used to the aggregator being built into my posting tool (Radio) that I couldn't get around the slight inconveniences of separate applications. It was also frustrating that various forms of RSS feeds behave differently in common RSS aggregators. I can see where this could become very frustrating if there is a bifurcation of the developer community regarding which flavor of RSS they will support. I did get quite used to Moveable Type, however, and now am stuck in between the two applications. It is difficult to quantify exactly what it is I love about the two tools. Moveable Type feels clean--the interface and workflow "feel" nice. I don't think I can live without TrackBack as I move forward--I've got to figure out how to integrate it into Radio. I really enjoy the out-of-the-box functionality of MT's built-in bookmarklet script, as well. One concern I haven't resolved--how portable is my weblog? The proprietary database content in either Radio or Moveable Type doesn't seem to be easily extracted and incorporated into another environment. I still feel as if I'm in the "beta" stage of my weblog experiences, so losing content doesn't hurt as much as it might after a longer investment. Is there a way to reverse-process the XML output of an RSS feed and import it into one of the tools? Well, I've got to get back to work this morning. Here in Charlotte we're still feeling the impact of the big ice storm that blew through here last week--several co-workers still don't have power at home, and my daughter's school is still closed. Grateful to be safe and warm... 10:17:59 AM    comment []