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Maybe not directly related to SI, but it is worth questioning how technology is changing the role of libraries through a different lens than is normal for SCILS. Should librarians encourage social media for children (say, under 14?)... alternatively, how is social media forcibly reshaping libraries?

I often get frustrated by my 77 year old mother, who recently got a nice new computer (under much pressure from her daughters), but has a lot of reluctance about using it. This journal (iJETS) had many articles such as this one, that I believe could shed light on tactics to motivate this segment of society.

I really enjoyed this article, because my 63 year old mother in law is very computer-resistant, and I find it very frustrating. She wants to talk to me on the phone, but I really only want to use email. A generation difference really can make a technology difference.

My mom is also not online and no interest in the iPad. She often comments how the newspaper in her city is getting thinner and thinner so I often wonder if her view of the world and events if filtered by the fact that she's not online, and so much news and opinion is. Conversely, I met up with an old friend from high school last week who told me he refuses to really activate his Facebook account because his 70-something mom is on it and very active. I also know 30 year olds who only use computers and email at work because they have to and eschew everything else. Generalizations aside, I'm not convinced it's physical age, but more of a state of mind when it comes to new technology.

So while this *is* a humor article and not necessarily safe for work, I thought it would be good to share because it specifically talks about how social media and consumer computer technology affects people's sense of well-being.

Now I know why the 21st century was making me miserable! I sure could use some more annoying people in my life. This article really points out the downside of technology-enhanced socialization!

I would have called it "7 reasons the 21st century is making us more xenophobic and intolerant."

I'm interested in the idea of digital privacy (or lack thereof). It seems nobody is particularly worried about their privacy online, and I'd like to learn a little more about this

Um, I can't think of a more bone-chilling phrase than "cyberwar."

Steig Larsson made hacking look pretty cool. But it's interesting to think about how much is possible in the hacking world that we tend to forget about since our everyday use of technology has been so woven into our routines. Just saw this article and I found interesting to see the many sides of hacking: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/06/hackers-how-and-why-they-hack I always make fun of my dad for being a computer hypochondriac -- he always thinks that someone is hacking into his computer, so he has a million anti-virus and security programs (a combination which I think is actually destroying his computer). But it is a valid concern, though I think you have to just find a balance for your privacy since in extreme cases, your privacy can be a bit restricting.

This book review seems a good companion to Justin's post below on artificial intelligence/human-computer interaction. The reviewer ties three different books together under the theme of how humanity seems to be integrating itself with its digital machines - including discussion of brain-computer interaction (whoa.) and Google's search algorithms or "contouring."

The section on the ideological dissemination of information as it relates to Google is eye-opening (and really worrisome). I think when we talk about Singularity, "fear" will continue to be at the center of our discussions. For some, the biological integration with machines is just too radical to fathom, though the daily use of the Internet is now commonplace. I think we can rightly call certain technologies "external minds" (@ Mary, above) - so it's really not so much the shifting sense of what are bodies are as it is the effect - or danger - of increasingly personalized information certain technologies host that should be cause for concern.

Later in the article she talks about the same concepts as Jesse Schell, in terms of racking up points for online activity, though she draws the conclusion that your information will be sold to advertisers. Really a fascinating article!

A Princeton University researcher, with a team of scientists from the United States, Germany and Switzerland, has made a breakthrough in the development of quantum computers, which, while still in their infancy, have the potential to be smaller and faster than today's computers.

The mayor of Chicago has implemented a plan in partnership with Comcast to bring cheaper high-speed internet to low-income families and students. They have also created Smart Communities centers to educate people about computer use.

Interesting perspective on the benefits of having a smartphone. I still haven't committed to getting one yet, but I can see his point. It's also interesting to think about his 4th point about always having answers after having read the JSB essays. Is it actually limiting us? Also, as Kelly pointed out, if fire is an external stomach, would the smartphone/computer be the external mind? Maybe he said that in there and I missed it, but having an external mind is pretty useful.

I am still getting used to my iPhone; the main thing I feel that I get from it when I'm delayed or away from a computer, I can do small tasks, which is mostly check email and Facebook, use Notes if I want to jot down a few thoughts related to school/work. Small stuff, but it makes me feel more productive. I'm not a big app user yet, but I do think I have to get that public restroom one.

I really enjoyed reading this article because I'm not yet a smartphone user... which I guess means that I still get lost and I still waste time. It was a little scary though, as if the smartphone makes you a little closer to being perfect...

The article is kind of long, but it talks about some interesting issues that might arise for companies thinking about moving to cloud storage. The price is right, but the risk is high. Introduces possible solution of a hybrid cloud, where sensitive data is still stored internally.

I attended a virtual presentation a few days ago through SJSU on Cloud Computing. The speaker, who works as State Archivist for Oregon, was speaking of the cost savings for using a cloud for storage of government records. It was interesting to hear her points on the benefits she found in using the cloud...The session will be archived and posted for later view soon if anyone is interested. Her presentation will be available to the public at: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/colloquia/2011/colloquia11su.htm I liked the related article linked at the bottom of the site you posted about the Dallas-based iCloud company suing the new Apple iCloud for using their name. You would've thought Apple would've done some research there...

This article raises an interesting parallel to our discussion this week on communities and gaming. It considers the idea that young people are experts at how to use computers, games and programs, but not how to make, develop and craft those games and programs: "It's the difference between reading and writing. We're teaching them how to read, we're not teaching them how to write. The narrowness of how we teach children about computers risks creating a generation of digital illiterates." Potentially raises a new line of questioning into the issue of educating millennials and being born into the digital age.

Posted: Monday, June 27, 2011 10:00 am | Updated: 10:50 am, Mon Jun 27, 2011. By EMILY DUPUIS / Sun Staff Writer The Westerly Sun | WESTERLY - Some local families will be receiving much-needed computers, thanks to teens studying computer repair at Westerly High School.

This happened a few days ago now, but I forgot to post it until I went to talk about it in my journal this week! From the article: "Over the course of three days in June, artist Kyle McDonald captured the faces of Apple patrons in two of the company's Manhattan stores. He did this by installing a program on computers in the stores, which automatically took an image every minute." His idea was that the photos constituted an art project about what people look like when they engage with technology. The Secret Service confiscated his computers after an Apple Store employee traced where the photos were being transferred to. I thought this was interesting because it's an example of visual surveillance of people's physical presence/actions in public spaces like Greenfield talks about, rather than surveillance of their digital actions, which so much of the literature focuses on. I definitely think the artist's project constitutes a violation of the privacy of the people whose photographs he took, but I can't help thinking it's also a really fascinating project that wouldn't work if people knew their photo was being taken in that moment.

Social informatics is not explicitly mentioned in this article. However, I think it gives us direct insight into crafting our own definition of the term and its application. Bates looks at the overall domain of information science, and how we, as members of that discipline, can break free of the idea (which may have changed a bit since its writing in 1999) that there's no content to LIS education and practice, just structure (i.e., the core of our profession is to organize other discipline's information). Most applicable to our discussion, at least in this point of the semester, seems this excerpt: "In comparison to other social and behavioral science fields, we are always looking for the red thread of information in the social texture of people's lives. When we study people we do so with the purpose of understanding information creation, seeking, and use. We do not just study people in general. The rest of the social sciences do various forms of that. Sometimes this can be a very fine distinction; other times it is very easy to see. In communications research, a cousin to our field, the emphasis is on the communication process and its effects on people; in information science we study that process in service of information transfer. For another example, there are social scientists today who are observing people doing collaborative work through new types of networked systems in the field of computer-supported co-operative work (CSCW) . The sociologist or social psychologist identifies and describes the network of relationships and the social hierarchy that develops under these circumstances. They may examine the impact of technology on those social relationships and on the work of the individuals involved. The information scientist, on the other hand, follows the information the way Woodward and Bernstein "followed the money" in their Watergate investigations. That's the red thread in the social tapestry. When we look at that social hierarchy, we ar

for anyone who doesn't know, Bitcoins are an online, completely anonymous currency that's been raising some hype lately after being 'discovered' by more mainstream users.

holy stolen Bitcoins batman! Not sure if anyone has been following this but, the attack and the subsequent crash jeopardizes the Bitcoin as virtual currency http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13857192

I've been trying to get some bitcoins for months. No dice yet.

For me it's helpful to understand a discipline by looking at the types of classes someone undertaking it might enroll in/teach. I found the Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics at Indiana University Bloomington in my surfing and thought it might be helpful for others as well to get a sense of what a primary course of SI study might entail. Perhaps most helpful though is that the center provides a history of the term, "social informatics" and a few foundational documents (nearly all by the center's namesake) of the discipline.

Does 1996 seem like it was a long time ago? Not sure, but I thought that getting some foundational information was very helpful!

While exploring the ACM journal today, I came across the article below that kind of relates to this thread. It talks about the growing popularity of "Informatics" (in general)as a college/university discipline, and how and why it has evolved as an off-shoot of Computer Science. http://cacm.acm.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/magazines/2010/2/69363-why-an-informatics-degree/fulltext

Please see my discussion board post for more about this article! By Jesse Washington, Associated Press When the personal computer revolution began decades ago, Latinos and blacks were much less likely to use one of the marvelous new machines. Then, when the Internet began to change life as we know it, these groups had less access to the Web and slower online connections - placing them on the wrong side of the "digital divide."

The adoption by community organisations of ICTs has facilitated improved communication and services to their client groups. However, many such groups do not have adequate and easy access to affordable, impartial and non-biased ICT support and advice. The e-Rider project aims to provide mobile, technical computing advice and support to not-for-profit community and voluntary organisations in the Wellington region.

Research Impacting Lives. Everyday. Making a difference in the world is no easy task, but it happens every day at the School of Informatics. Our world-class faculty use their diverse research backgrounds and passion for computing and technology to solve pressing problems facing our society today.