French researcher Jean Veronis reports the results of a study in which he asked students to generate search queries around designated themes and then rate the quality of the first link returned. The system submitted the searches to Google and Yahoo and students were unaware of the engine responsible for the link they evaluated. Satisfaction ratings slightly favored Google.
Other findings:
In 27% of searches, the link returned at the top of the list was the same.
A relatively large % of first links were to Wikipedia and the author reports that this has changed dramatically from previous implements of his research procedure.
The proportion of links to Wikipedia is perplexing and why the change? The researcher speculates the web is becoming more volatile (with blogs, etc.) and pagerank no longer may return what searchers regard as satisfactory hits. Wikipedia, in contrast, is safe and stable.
While a safe strategy, the researcher concludes that some may decide to simply point their browser to wikipedia for information searches rather than use the search sites we have come to know and love.
Interesting research method. Students looking for research projects might be able to use variations of this approach – e.g., search engines designed for young users vs. Google.
CNN carried several interesting spots this evening (with a full analysis later tonight) concerning “killer” political ads (ads intended to smear an opponent). One of the spots featured an ad creator who explained how ads can confuse/misrepresent the facts, use images to disrespect an opponent, etc.
This would seem a great opportunity for a media literacy lesson. Record some ads and determine which of these techniques are used.
One technique involved the use of close-ups to portray individuals in a more unflattering way. See images below. Which represents Mark in an unflattering way? (I am not asking for comments)
Alex Iskold has added an interesting post to the Read/WriteWeb blog. The comments concern the motivation of bloggers, the concept of the long tail (Chris Anderson), and whether those in the long tail will continue to be motivated to contribute.
The “long tail” is the concept that while a few resources (books, blogs, songs) get a great deal of attention the total attention to the many resources in the long tail (the resources receiving much less attention) will be greater. Companies such as Amazon have thrived on the long tail (your brick and morter bookstore will have the best sellers, but you can find anything at Amazon).
Iskold proposes that the value of the long tail makes sense from the position of those offering access (e.g., Amazon), but perhaps not from the position of those “selling” only a few books or songs. He applies this analysis to the blogosphere and speculates that less frequently visited bloggers will become discouraged. Part of the analysis explains why he feels some bloggers receive so much attention and some of the analysis is devoted to his long term concerns.
The title of his post (No money in the long tail) may reflect a flaw in his analysis. Those with specific foci who receive limited attention are probably not expecting to monetize their blogs. Of course, without these many focused and low volume sites the companies that are supported by blogging (the aggregators, search services, and hosts) would suffer.
The Iskold post offers some interesting comments on blogging and the post links to some additional interesting material on individual motives for blogging. I am thinking this is less of an issue for those who blog on educational topics than for those emphasizing other areas. Some of the most prominent educational bloggers monetize their commitment to blogging by attracting attention resulting in speaking and consultation fees. These individuals are likely to continue their frequent posts and “no payment writing” as long as their services continue to be in demand. Other bloggers might be motivated by an immediate context for their blog (e.g., their class) and be less concerned that a more general audience make use of the resources they provide.
Finally, there are personal professional (or other) motives for blogging. I use this blog partly as a way to keep track of useful ideas and resources I encounter. It does take some additional effort to write a more publicly presentable version of this information, but the total effort expended is not motivated by whether or not anyone else reads the material. Hence, I can tolerate a lower readership because the size of my audience is not the sole reason for taking the time to blog.
On the media (from New York Public Radio) offers a podcast on the future of books. Are new media replacing old (e.g., books) or are traditional media adapting?
My “listen” of the presentation – it is not so much a decline in books, but in how they are sold. There are too many books and marketing has become emphasized.
Some comments address the possible future role of technology in leading a rebirth of “the independents”.
I have struggled with the copyright issue in several past posts. In my opinion, part of the problem seems to be to get people to examine the issue of “rights”. What is it they have a right to do? Why do people who have the free choice to ignore a resource if they disagree with the expectations of the creators, feel they have a “right” to ignore the expectations of those who created the resource.In my own strange way, I find the resentment of those who feel enraged because of the liberties MySpace and Facebook have taken when their personal data an interesting reaction to a very similar situation.
I wonder if they see the similarities themselves. You felt you made available information under certain conditions and now you find others have a different interpretation and have used your information for purposes other than what you intended. It is a frustrating position to be in – isn’t it?
The participatory web now or soon will need an infusion of resources. The transport system (e.g., Google) will be able to survive on ad revenue, but Google and other participatory web enablers only pass information around. Someone has to create the information and mechanisms to support the labor required have yet to emerge. The writers have already begun to strike. Now, perhaps, so have the consumers.
It has been one of those days when I had plenty of time, but ended up getting little done. For some reason, I decided I should update my Flock browser. Bad mistake. I like(d) Flock because it allows easy access to my Flickr account and to this blog. I have had some difficulty with Flock and Firefox on my home Mac, but not on my laptop or office machine. My office machine runs an older version of the Mac OS – the U has a way of ignoring software updates that cost money.
The newer version of Flock does not launch with 10.3.9. I tried the standard routine – throw away all files associated with Flock, but nothing worked. I don’t blame myself for this one – I didn’t download a program my outdated operating system could not run. The online documentation claims Flock works with 10.3.9 and beyond, but the many complaints on the web indicate this is not the case. I believed the company.
I have been searching for older versions of Flock, but they do not appear to be available from Flock and when I think I have located a previous version the download defaults to 1.0 or 1.0.1. Anyway, if anyone knows how to return to an earlier version, I would appreciate an email or comment.
I am enjoying a little down time. One of my children is home today and another is coming tomorrow with her family for leftovers. Family gatherings in Grand Forks are becoming rare and we typically are on the road for holidays so this is a nice change.
I was looking for a post topic and noticed that my last.fm account has now been active for a year. Last.fm is a social music site that among other features keeps track of the music you listen to (iTunes, last.fm radio, pandorafm, etc.). According to my stats I listened to a little over 27,000 songs last year. The data, most popular artist, song, etc., are interesting to examine. Most popular artists from last week appear at the end of this post.While not directly relevant to my professional interests, my experience with lastfm has influenced how I understand social network applications. I don’t spend any time interacting with other music fans, but I do enjoy examining the overlap in our musical interests and exploring the work of new artists who are unfamiliar to me. I suppose this is how tapping into the collective intelligence is supposed to work.
Kim (daughter) and I had a chance to walk along the river and take a few pictures.
While we were driving back from the river to see if the turkey was done, Alice’s Restaurant was played as a special selection on the campus radio station. It gave me an opportunity to tell my youngest daughter about the old days when dad was in college.
Remember – you can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant. Enjoy your turkey and your friends. Happy Thanksgiving.
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