Updated: 3/27/08; 6:20:58 PM.
A Man with a Ph.D. - Richard Gayle's Blog
Thoughts on biotech, knowledge creation and Web 2.0
        

Friday, May 30, 2003


A Little Less Conversation. The whole social software craze is already getting quite a lot of backlash. This article from the BBC reiterates points that many social software critics have, which is that the people working on social software think they've discovered something new, when it's really just the latest version of work that's been going on for ages. Worse, those designing and promoting social software are accused of ignoring all the lessons people learned before them about human-computer interaction and how computers really play into social interaction. I tend to agree that many people, when they start working on hyped trends, often ignore very important work that's been done before - but that doesn't mean the new work isn't useful as well. Both sides seem to be taking an antagonistic viewpoint on this debate, which is becoming more and more a debate over the semantics of social software, rather than looking at how the software is actually being used. In the end, people will keep using what works, and won't worry whether it's officially "social software" or some other term. [Techdirt]

What is different this time is that many of the tools being lumps into social software are actually easy for people to use. They allow someone to get up and going in a community without needing to understand just what is happening. Social software is different than knowledge management systems, although both try to solve similar problems. But KM software tends to be monolithic and top down, requiring the user to learn an arcane and non-intuitive viewpoint in order to use the software. Many of the tools from social software and simple enought to be eaily manipulated. The user can find the best one to use, the one that fits their own viewpoint. This is a big, but subtle, difference.  2:21:18 PM    



Updated Blogroll

I've updated my blogroll. There are a few I am watching to see if they are dead or just resting but this is an up to date listing of the sites I aggregate regulalrly.  11:40:01 AM    


The Internet Constituency. I've posted an article called "The Internet Constituency" that reviews the webbiness of the various presidential candidates' web sites. Only two show any promise, IMO. One of them I actually like: Howard Dean's, especially his staff's weblog. See, for example, the currently lead article on the Dean site which is an open letter to the FCC opposing the proposed rule change that would make it even easier for the media to concentrate itself into a ball so dense that no light escapes from it. Here's the opening of the article: The Republic of the Internet certainly has been downgraded since... [Joho the Blog]

It will be very interesting to see what happens when polticians enter the INformation age.  10:21:51 AM    



Conservatives express concern about USA PATRIOT [LISNews.com]

You know that the problems and challenges we are, and will be, facing cut across traditional political barriers when a liberal like me agrees with an arch- conservative. This article discusses many of the same things that I have been afraid of with respect to PATRIOT. The American Conservative was started by Pat Buchanan and a few others to counter the neo-conservative movement. Read the 'About Us' page. There are few politicians whose views I have more diametrically opposed than Buchanan. But on this point (and I am sure in the coming years we will see more) we agree. The new technologies, while allowing a more democratic discussion to occur, also increase the possibility of misuse. People will unite to fight this misuse, creating some awfully strange bedfellows. I truthfully believe that there will be political realignments coming in the next few years.   9:38:58 AM    



So Much for Economic Principle

One of my favorite economic bloggers discusses the Mac and how Apple has been able to break many economic rules. He's had Macs since 1984, just as I have. For many years, he thought any new Macs would be the last ones, because everyone knew that MS had won the battle. But Macs are still here.  9:12:22 AM    


 
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Last update: 3/27/08; 6:20:58 PM.