Humanities Computing

At first I wasn't sure if this would relate to any of our discussions/readings/principles of design, but I think a lot of us in class are Mac users. A prophesy with any validity or not, it's something to think about for future investments.

For all the times I was saved by a good book. I still have a secret desire to be a librarian!

A pretty tongue and cheek article on 'microblogging' (e.g., updating a Facebook status while in line at Kroeger's).

A really cool website that documents color trends in 'the world's most fashionable cities.' Perhaps we can use patterns for color/theme ideas as creative fodder for our sites (even if an American city is not featured here).

Eek. Could be enlightening?

Google's New Search Algorithm to Crack Down on 'Black Hat Webspam' By Ars Technica By Matthew Braga, Ars Technica Nefarious search engine optimizers be warned. Google is coming for you-again. Following previous changes to Google's ranking and page layout algorithms, the search giant is pushing yet another update to its algorithm this week with the hopes of curbing "black hat webspam" from creeping into search results. * Google thinks that by increasing the complexity of its algorithms, it can weed out malicious intent. Funny thing about complexity is that it tends to breed more complexity. This reminds me a bit of Bogost's book on games. This cat and mouse scenario between Google and fake SEO creators seems to lead to ever evolving code much like in natural systems where the adaptations of the prey animal to take advantage of an environment are eventually matched by a predatory animal with adaptations designed to match or exceed the prey's abilities...

A neat -WIRED- blog documenting new developments in software (mostly Internet based), also offering some tips-and-tricks kinds of features too.

Whoops

Another shrouding tactic is to use the search engine DuckDuckGo, which distinguishes itself with a "We do not track or bubble you!" policy. Bubbling is the filtering of search results based on your search history. (Bubbling also means you are less likely to see opposing points of view or be exposed to something fresh and new.) *I don't particularly care about my privacy (nothing to hide and honestly don't care whose watching), but I do care about the information being fed to me through search engines. I pride myself on doing all the research I can before supporting or criticizing a position. If google is simply feeding me what I want to hear, how do I know I have the full story? This seems like a particularly nefarious form of censorship--one that makes sense in an age of "truthiness" and pandering to ignorance. Bad google. No bubbles.

The Obama administration is banning hundreds of thousands of federal employees from calling up the WikiLeaks site on government computers because the leaked material is still formally regarded as classified. The Library of Congress tonight joined the education department, the commerce department and other government agencies in confirming that the ban is in place.

What do content writers do? A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

A nice breakdown between Facebook and, my favorite online space, Tumblr.

Coming to terms with this. I'm not sure if this is terrifying or kind of cool. Klout allows you to measure your 'online influence.'

A school district in Delaware recently proposed a rule that would require teachers to unfriend students, a district in Maine is banning all social networking, chat sites, forums, and other sites from state-provided laptops, and now the New York City Department of Education will now monitor teachers' interactions with students on professional social networking services. Teachers were warned not to expect any privacy and that administrators and officials should have access to the professional accounts. This makes me wonder if now workplaces and universities will require employees to loosen their privacy settings on their accounts.

This is the latest update on The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

While I'm not sure if anyone in this group would actually want to buy this, this watch connects with smart phones and continues to blur lines between genres of accessories

"The e-books include items such as the shooting script, production notes, storyboards and on-set photographs."

An article by one of my favorite authors on the "fact-encirclingly huge" Wikipedia.

I know there are some coffee lovers in the class, so this is double apt. Like Four Barrel Coffee, The Daily Grind also chooses not to offer wifi to its customers. An interesting twist to the notion that the Internet is considered a hindrance to our social lives, even over coffee.

Some thoughts and examples of web design, in case we'd like to revamp our sites after the class has finished.

This is the second version of a promotional video made by specialty glass and ceramics company Corning Inc. I interned there in 2008. Seems to fit with a lot of McLuhan's ideas of technology becoming an extension of our bodies. I think my fingers would get sore. Also, if this is the future, would buy stock in Windex...

16th Annual Webby Awards are coming up! May 21st.