"This wouldn't be a recommendation engine so much as a connection machine, tracking the flow of words across your screen and linking them fluidly to other text residing on the Web. You can make those connections as loud or as soft as you want: Perhaps the software only suggests other URLs and blog posts when you request them. (Running your blog analyzer might be akin to running a spell checker when you're done with a draft.) Other users might set their thresholds around timeliness or "heat" -- only pop up a window when there's a related link that's been posted in the past 24 hours, or when there's a link that's generated a 20-post discussion thread."

Lot's of traffic being generated by this one.  I'll need to dig into this one a little deeper and perhaps expand on this posting later, but if I'm understanding Steven's concept as described above, what he's shooting for is something like 'linkbacks' which have created a bit of flurry recently as well.

  10:22:03 AM    

"Community Groups Short on Tech - an interesting article because so many of these excuses are what I hear at my work. While not a "community group" we are a not-for-profit, so our budgetary constraints are a bit tighter than most businesses, and our vision and tech expertise is a little bit less as well. That leads to not using technology very efficiently, which drives me nuts!" [via Life of a one-man IT department]

Mike points the way to a very interesting article appearing on USAToday.com concering IT in community groups.

I'm wondering if libraries (such as my own) with full time IT personnel might be able to assist in a limited fashion by providing IT Infrastructure 'workshops' for these types of groups.  Something along the lines of what our regional system provides to it's members in continuing education.  Locally, I know several area library systems provide application training, but do any provide infrastructure training as well? 

I'm not talking about supporting indivudual implementations at XYZ Group, but just providing high level overviews of best practices and information on emerging technologies and their potential benefits.

  10:02:34 AM    

"Fri, 10 May 2002 03:35 PM The sickness has, over the course of a couple days, become a tangible companion. It is physical, something that is on me--a stagnant cloud, a waxy film. Nothing serious, just a sore throat and chest congestion, but its persistence is starting to bother me. " [via angrynerd]

Man I can relate...I haven't done much of anything in past couple of days 'cept sneeze and do my best to peel that 'film' off myself as well.

  7:25:47 AM