That's all for now. Any questions?Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Future of the Web
Looking towards the future of the Web, there's much to be excited about, and we'll cover that in detail later in this course. But I'd like to conclude by looking at two technologies from Google, one which I've used enormously and the other which is still in the process of being released.
The first is Google Analytics, which is a tracking device to determine how many people visit my sites. It goes further than that, however, because it tells you exactly where your traffic is coming from, which posts are being looked at most, and what keywords are being entered into search engines to find your site. It's been tremendously helpful to me for my movie and television blogs, informing me that my review of a recent TV pilot that I trashed is my most trafficked post on my TV site and that my personal movie awards do seem to be interesting to some people. What's even more interesting, however, is that my Florence blog, which I last posted on in May, is still getting 68 hits a month. I can tell that people often search for my classmates or for good restaurants in Florence and come upon my site. That's certainly a unique thing about the web - putting information out there for one reason and then having it be accessible and reused for a number of other purposes.
Google already has so many fascinating gadgets for the Web, and they're in the process of rolling something even more visionary out. Google Wave is currently in preview mode, but it's been envisioned as the future of communication on the Web. Looking forward, Berners-Lee discusses how we "can expect the Web as a whole to look more like a large database or spreadsheet, rather than just a set of linked documents." That's exactly the idea here, aggregating all the processes and regular functions people use the Web for into one central hub. I'm currently able to access the site but can't quite make heads or tails of it. I believe I have 25 invites to send out, so if anyone's curious, let me know and you can feel free to try and explore it yourself.
On to the last page!
The first is Google Analytics, which is a tracking device to determine how many people visit my sites. It goes further than that, however, because it tells you exactly where your traffic is coming from, which posts are being looked at most, and what keywords are being entered into search engines to find your site. It's been tremendously helpful to me for my movie and television blogs, informing me that my review of a recent TV pilot that I trashed is my most trafficked post on my TV site and that my personal movie awards do seem to be interesting to some people. What's even more interesting, however, is that my Florence blog, which I last posted on in May, is still getting 68 hits a month. I can tell that people often search for my classmates or for good restaurants in Florence and come upon my site. That's certainly a unique thing about the web - putting information out there for one reason and then having it be accessible and reused for a number of other purposes.
Google already has so many fascinating gadgets for the Web, and they're in the process of rolling something even more visionary out. Google Wave is currently in preview mode, but it's been envisioned as the future of communication on the Web. Looking forward, Berners-Lee discusses how we "can expect the Web as a whole to look more like a large database or spreadsheet, rather than just a set of linked documents." That's exactly the idea here, aggregating all the processes and regular functions people use the Web for into one central hub. I'm currently able to access the site but can't quite make heads or tails of it. I believe I have 25 invites to send out, so if anyone's curious, let me know and you can feel free to try and explore it yourself.
On to the last page!
Interactivity of the Web: Private
That was the correct answer. You're doing well. Next up, let's look at the private interactivity capabilities of the Web. In Robert Wright's profile of Berners-Lee, he describes how he had envisioned the Web as a space for "a worker posting a memo on a Website accessible only to colleagues and having them react by embedding hyperlinks that led to their comments or to other relevant documents; or a bicoastal family similarly planning its annual reunion on the family site." While the Web certainly can offer public interaction, what Berners-Lee talks about is also very much in play.
I've come across at least three examples of this in my usage of the Web. The computer storage company I work for has a vast internal network which includes a massive file directory and a community social network. In order to access anything internal, the computer must be logged on to the company's secure network. If visited from an outside source, the page simply doesn't load and comes up as not found.
Similarly, there are family websites using the same idea which require a username and password to access their content, so that family members can post photographs without the whole world seeing them. Obviously with the increasing popularity of Facebook, these sites have become less trafficked and unique, but they do still exist. My dad's first cousins have a family website, though I'm unable to recall the URL for it (or the password, for that matter), and therefore I cannot access it. That's part of the idea, though, since their photos and business do remain private as a result. They're also now all on Facebook, so it's possible that the site isn't even up anymore.
The third tool on the Web is a site for creating your own social network called Ning. While Facebook has likely decreased its traffic as well, it's still a site that might be used as a meeting place for people seeking to organize a class or camp reunion. I created a fake social network as a test once, and it was a very friendly interface which allows you to design most of it yourself and cater it to your specific audience.
Since this class is only slightly underway as we begin our second week of the semester, I'd like to take a very broad look at the future of the Web with reference to two specific technologies from Google. That means another question to get to the next step!
Who was the first to publish a paper detailing the importance of packet switching?
a) Leonard Kleinrock
b) J.C.R. Licklider
c) Radia Perlman
d) Tim Berners-Lee
I've come across at least three examples of this in my usage of the Web. The computer storage company I work for has a vast internal network which includes a massive file directory and a community social network. In order to access anything internal, the computer must be logged on to the company's secure network. If visited from an outside source, the page simply doesn't load and comes up as not found.
Similarly, there are family websites using the same idea which require a username and password to access their content, so that family members can post photographs without the whole world seeing them. Obviously with the increasing popularity of Facebook, these sites have become less trafficked and unique, but they do still exist. My dad's first cousins have a family website, though I'm unable to recall the URL for it (or the password, for that matter), and therefore I cannot access it. That's part of the idea, though, since their photos and business do remain private as a result. They're also now all on Facebook, so it's possible that the site isn't even up anymore.
The third tool on the Web is a site for creating your own social network called Ning. While Facebook has likely decreased its traffic as well, it's still a site that might be used as a meeting place for people seeking to organize a class or camp reunion. I created a fake social network as a test once, and it was a very friendly interface which allows you to design most of it yourself and cater it to your specific audience.Since this class is only slightly underway as we begin our second week of the semester, I'd like to take a very broad look at the future of the Web with reference to two specific technologies from Google. That means another question to get to the next step!
Who was the first to publish a paper detailing the importance of packet switching?
a) Leonard Kleinrock
b) J.C.R. Licklider
c) Radia Perlman
d) Tim Berners-Lee
Interactivity of the Web: Blogrolls
That was the correct answer! Next we have a third aspect of the interactivity of the web, which has to do with blogs. The notion of a blogroll allows users to visit a number of blogs that may or may not be connected by some certain theme. This kind of activity can lead to unexpected places and unexpected hours eaten up by endless browsing of the Web. One feature which demonstrates this especially well is Blogger's "Next Blog" button. While I was abroad in Florence, I used Blogger to make a blog. While preparing this presentation, I visited the blog and clicked the "next blog" button. It took me six clicks to get to a site that might legitimately interest me. Here's what I found:
Shopping 101
Cute’n Clever Coupon Clippers of Hershey
Mom is Broke
The Domestic Chick
Raging Bear Ranch
Saving Cents in the City
That last one has a recipe for simple and perfect tomato sauce. Now that I can probably use. The previous five, not so much. Regardless, this is a very intriguing tool. Let's see what we come up with now if we do the same thing, since the results are randomized and different each time.
That was fun, wasn't it? Browsing blogs this way allows you to come across wholly new and unexpected material, and completely unconnected users from across the globe can be united in this way. Hyperlinking to a site you know and have visited is one thing, but this is something else altogether. Sure, it can lead to inappropriate and objectionable content, but as TBL says, you shouldn't let it bother you.
Now, let's look at facets of the private interactivity of the web. But first, which former Senator took the initiative in helping to create the Internet?
a) Jeb Bush
b) Al Gore
c) Barack Obama
d) Hillary Clinton
Shopping 101
Cute’n Clever Coupon Clippers of Hershey
Mom is Broke
The Domestic Chick
Raging Bear Ranch
Saving Cents in the City
That last one has a recipe for simple and perfect tomato sauce. Now that I can probably use. The previous five, not so much. Regardless, this is a very intriguing tool. Let's see what we come up with now if we do the same thing, since the results are randomized and different each time.
That was fun, wasn't it? Browsing blogs this way allows you to come across wholly new and unexpected material, and completely unconnected users from across the globe can be united in this way. Hyperlinking to a site you know and have visited is one thing, but this is something else altogether. Sure, it can lead to inappropriate and objectionable content, but as TBL says, you shouldn't let it bother you.Now, let's look at facets of the private interactivity of the web. But first, which former Senator took the initiative in helping to create the Internet?
a) Jeb Bush
b) Al Gore
c) Barack Obama
d) Hillary Clinton
Interactivity of the Web: Join the Mosaic
That was the correct answer! The next example of the interactivity of the Web is a tie-in with a currently airing television show, designed both to popularize the series and to give viewers an outlet to get excited about the show outside of the episodes themselves. This is the Mosaic Collective, a site which was featured on the show "Flash Forward." On the show, the whole world blacked out for two minutes and seventeen seconds, and during the blackout, everyone saw their future. The Mosaic Collective is a site for people on the show to come and share stories about what they saw. The existence of this site in real life serves as both a way for fans of the show to post their own invented stories and for the creators of the show to incorporate plot developments and other tie-ins. The site allows users to view entries according to patterns and images or in a map or flow format. Submitted one-liners are mostly humorous, ranging from silly - "I saw my life in the future. I was at school, and everyone had mutated into giant evil green aliens" - to funny - "I was at lunch with Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams, and they told me the answers to LOST’s secrets and how the final season will end" - to referential of the technology used to create the Mosaic site itself - "I saw Mosaic Collective site was updated to HTML instead of all Flash / Flex, and it was so much better to use! I miss the future." The series is currently on hiatus, and the success of the site hasn't yet been evaluated, but if you're curious, visit JointheMosaic.com.
On to the next step, but first, a question! Tim Berners-Lee is currently working on the Semantic Web using FOAF files. What does FOAF stand for?
a) File on a file
b) Fresh off a fork
c) First of a formula
d) Friend of a friend
On to the next step, but first, a question! Tim Berners-Lee is currently working on the Semantic Web using FOAF files. What does FOAF stand for?
a) File on a file
b) Fresh off a fork
c) First of a formula
d) Friend of a friend
Interactivity of the Web: Forums
There are many ways that the web serves as a way for people to come together and transmit information across the globe in one easy, continuous step. I have had many experiences with this in my usage of the Web. In addition to new services like Twitter which change the way we communicate on a daily, hourly, or even minutely basis, there are three particularly interesting tools which serve as ways to connect with those you might never have thought to connect with before the advent of the Web.
Forums enable endless conversation, but they are also useful for getting in touch with people for a given purpose. I have two intriguing stories from my usage of the forums at IMDB, the Internet Movie Database.
The first demonstrates a situation where connecting the entire world also serves to connect those right next to each other. I was attending an advance screening of a film and posted on the message board for that film to ask if anyone knew the runtime of the film. Another poster replied almost immediately that he was also curious because he too was attending a screening. It turns out that the poster was the friend I was bringing with me to the screening, and we simply didn't know each other's usernames.
The second shows how useful the Web can be in attaining information and attracting a variety of diverse sources. For a journalism class I was taking, I needed to interview by phone three individuals immersed in the culture of "Battlestar Galactica" fan fiction. Though I am a big fan of the show, I would hardly consider myself that obsessed or knowledgeable about where to find such people. I posted on a BSG forum on IMDB that I needed to interview people, and within 24 hours, I received three responses in my inbox and was able to conduct 30-minute phone interviews with each of the respondents. This resource was incredibly helpful and ultimately provided me with far better results than I might have found contacting people I knew personally.
Before we get to the next tool, let's pause for a quick web-related question.What does HTML stand for?
a) Hard To Make Learn
b) How to Move Language
c) Hyper Text Markup Language
d) Hyper Technical Moving Language
Forums enable endless conversation, but they are also useful for getting in touch with people for a given purpose. I have two intriguing stories from my usage of the forums at IMDB, the Internet Movie Database.
The first demonstrates a situation where connecting the entire world also serves to connect those right next to each other. I was attending an advance screening of a film and posted on the message board for that film to ask if anyone knew the runtime of the film. Another poster replied almost immediately that he was also curious because he too was attending a screening. It turns out that the poster was the friend I was bringing with me to the screening, and we simply didn't know each other's usernames.
The second shows how useful the Web can be in attaining information and attracting a variety of diverse sources. For a journalism class I was taking, I needed to interview by phone three individuals immersed in the culture of "Battlestar Galactica" fan fiction. Though I am a big fan of the show, I would hardly consider myself that obsessed or knowledgeable about where to find such people. I posted on a BSG forum on IMDB that I needed to interview people, and within 24 hours, I received three responses in my inbox and was able to conduct 30-minute phone interviews with each of the respondents. This resource was incredibly helpful and ultimately provided me with far better results than I might have found contacting people I knew personally.
Before we get to the next tool, let's pause for a quick web-related question.What does HTML stand for?
a) Hard To Make Learn
b) How to Move Language
c) Hyper Text Markup Language
d) Hyper Technical Moving Language
Incorrect Answer
This page has moved to California to find itself.
Actually, we couldn't find the page you requested. Please check the URL.
If you had come across this site via Angelfire, you would have received an error message like the one above. Fortunately, from here you can still go back to the presentation. Try a different answer this time.
Actually, we couldn't find the page you requested. Please check the URL.
If you had come across this site via Angelfire, you would have received an error message like the one above. Fortunately, from here you can still go back to the presentation. Try a different answer this time.
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