This is a great conÂcept & serÂvice for our readÂers. BookÂMooch is an online book swapÂping web site that has 45,000 memÂbers and 750,000 books in its invenÂtoÂry. What goes on here is fairÂly straightÂforÂward. Users can give away books they’ve read in exchange for books they want to read — all for no monÂey, othÂer than the shipÂping costs. That makes it easy to supÂport your readÂing habit, and it saves a few trees. The inner-workÂings of the book swapÂping are explained here and here. Have a look.
As we’ve disÂcussed before on this blog, one of the major casuÂalÂties in the shiftÂing new media landÂscape is the traÂdiÂtionÂal invesÂtigaÂtive journalist–someone with the time and resources to research in-depth stoÂries. In response to this probÂlem a new group called Pro PubÂliÂca is proposÂing a novÂel ecoÂnomÂic modÂel: hire the jourÂnalÂists into a founÂdaÂtion and give their work away to the pubÂliÂcaÂtions where it will make the biggest impact.
The new iniÂtiaÂtive, headÂed up by Paul Steiger, head ediÂtor at the Wall Street JourÂnal for 16 years, will spend $10 milÂlion annuÂalÂly to supÂport a newsÂroom of 24 jourÂnalÂists and 12 othÂer staff in New York City. The monÂey comes from HerÂbert and MarÂiÂon SanÂdler, forÂmer heads of GoldÂen West FinanÂcial CorÂpoÂraÂtion, a big playÂer in mortÂgages and savÂings.
It seems likeÂly to me that Pro PubÂliÂca will sucÂceed in attractÂing some high-levÂel talÂent, both because of Steiger and because many jourÂnalÂists have come to fear for their jobs in the shrinkÂing newsÂrooms of traÂdiÂtionÂal papers. The real quesÂtion is how well this sysÂtem will work in digÂging up and delivÂerÂing qualÂiÂty reportÂing. What do you lose, and what do you gain, when your employÂer is no longer a “paper of record” but a priÂvate founÂdaÂtion fundÂed by peoÂple with their own politÂiÂcal agenÂdas? On the othÂer hand, it’s easy to argue that every newsÂpaÂper already has some kind of politÂiÂcal posiÂtion, so maybe Pro PubÂliÂca will be no difÂferÂent.
How has the geogÂraÂphy of reliÂgion evolved over the cenÂturies, and where has it sparked wars? This interÂacÂtive map sumÂmaÂrizes in a brief 90 secÂonds the hisÂtoÂry of ChrisÂtianÂiÂty, Islam, HinÂduism, BudÂdhism, and Judaism. It shows where & when each reliÂgion origÂiÂnatÂed, how the reliÂgions someÂtimes came into conÂflict, and how they spread across the globe. This short hisÂtoÂry lesÂson is proÂduced by a site called Maps of War, which feaÂtures othÂer interÂacÂtive lessons, includÂing The ImpeÂrÂiÂal HisÂtoÂry of the MidÂdle East and AmerÂiÂcan LeadÂerÂship & War. Enjoy.
In yesÂterÂday’s New York Times, Stephen ColÂbert took over MauÂreen Dowd’s regÂuÂlar opinÂion colÂumn and made a funÂny case for why he could be the next US presÂiÂdent. Read it here. Also lisÂten to his interÂview last week on NPR’s Fresh Air (iTunes — Feed — Web Site). These appearÂances all figÂure into a media blitz designed to boost sales of ColÂbert’s newÂly-released book I Am AmerÂiÂca (And So Can You!), which is already #4 on AmaÂzon’s bestÂseller list. Not bad.
Since the release of An InconÂveÂnient Truth, Al Gore has had quite a run. He first won himÂself an Emmy, then an Oscar, and now the Nobel Peace Prize. Although the film repÂreÂsents Gore’s most well known work on the enviÂronÂment, it’s hardÂly where his enviÂronÂmenÂtal efforts began. His camÂpaign goes back to the late 1970s, when he held conÂgresÂsionÂal hearÂings on cliÂmate change and greenÂhouse gasÂes. And it moves through the 1980s and then the 1990s, when he occuÂpied the Vice PresÂiÂdenÂcy. In 1992, while othÂer politÂiÂcal leadÂers quibÂbled over the pros and cons of NAFTA, Gore put the enviÂronÂment on the nationÂal agenÂda, realÂly for the first time, when he pubÂlished Earth in the BalÂance: EcolÂoÂgy and the Human SpirÂit. (The Bush adminÂisÂtraÂtion then took it off the agenÂda, regretÂtably.) Gore’s book became a nationÂal bestÂseller, and it has since gone through sevÂerÂal new ediÂtions, the latÂest havÂing been issued just last year. You could buy the book, but the good news is that Google serves up large porÂtions of the book online for free. It’s at a price you can’t beat, and it goes easy on the pulp. Have a good look. And also see below Gore’s comÂments upon learnÂing about the Nobel Prize.
I just heard JimÂmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, speakÂing at StanÂford Law School today. Wales is workÂing on some new projects that he hopes will harÂness the comÂmuÂniÂty-driÂven colÂlabÂoÂraÂtion of Wikipedia. He’s already had some sucÂcess in branchÂing out from the encyÂcloÂpeÂdia idea with Wikia, which is a “wiki farm” comÂpilÂing inforÂmaÂtion on a variÂety of difÂferÂent subÂjects (some of the most sucÂcessÂful so far relate to video games).
What Wales spoke about today, howÂevÂer, is a new colÂlabÂoÂraÂtive search project. The conÂcept is still in its earÂly stages, it seems, but the idea would be to harÂness the intelÂliÂgence and dedÂiÂcaÂtion of human beings to proÂduce search results sigÂnifÂiÂcantÂly betÂter than Google’s. This raisÂes a few quesÂtions:
Is Google broÂken? It’s amazÂing what Google pulls up, but maybe we’ve all gotÂten so good at workÂing with an imperÂfect sysÂtem that we just tune out the spam and misÂinÂterÂpreÂtaÂtions that still crop up.
Is a colÂlabÂoÂraÂtive social modÂel the approÂpriÂate soluÂtion to this probÂlem? PeoÂple are good at comÂpilÂing encyÂcloÂpeÂdias, but they may not be good at emuÂlatÂing search rank algoÂrithms. Also, Google is powÂered by milÂlions of servers in dozens of data cenÂters over the world manÂagÂing petabytes of inforÂmaÂtion. In othÂer words, this may be a technology+money busiÂness, not a people+transparency busiÂness.
These issues aside, Wikipedia is one of the most amazÂing things to come out of the whole InterÂnet experÂiÂment, so I’m excitÂed to see what Wales comes up with. Has search become a basic serÂvice? Would it work betÂter as an open-source sysÂtem?
When we announced last week that UC BerkeÂley had launched a new chanÂnel on YouTube, we were curtÂly informed by a EuroÂpean readÂer that BerkeÂley wasÂn’t the first to get into this game. ApparÂentÂly, the EuroÂpean GradÂuÂate School (or EGS) has been at it for a while. The school’s YouTube colÂlecÂtion feaÂtures talks by imporÂtant conÂtemÂpoÂrary theÂoÂrists and philosoÂphers includÂing Jacques DerÂriÂda, Jean BauÂdrillard, and Judith ButÂler. (There are also some filmÂmakÂers mixed in — take for examÂple, Peter GreenÂaway and John Waters.) To be frank, much of the conÂtent runs counter to what we’re lookÂing to do here — to make thinkÂing less insuÂlar and emphaÂsize ideas that speak to a thinkÂing pubÂlic. This is not to disÂmiss the calÂiber of the thinkÂing preÂsentÂed here. It’s simÂply to comÂment on where it fits (or doesÂn’t fit) into the kind of project that we’re underÂtakÂing. HowÂevÂer, if the ESG YouTube chanÂnel speaks to you, dig in. It’s yours to enjoy.
Blogs are aboundÂing these days, and what’s unforÂtuÂnateÂly missÂing is an effecÂtive way to orgaÂnize this new world of inforÂmaÂtion and to make it accesÂsiÂble to othÂers. Until a good, large-scale soluÂtion comes along (I don’t count TechÂnoÂrati or Google Blog Search as the real answer), some of this will get done the old fashÂioned way, the way Yahoo did it back in 1996 — that is, indexÂing by hand.
Last week, StanÂford UniÂverÂsiÂty launched the StanÂford Blog DirecÂtoÂry, which hopes to index the colÂlecÂtive blogÂging wisÂdom comÂing out of the uniÂverÂsiÂty comÂmuÂniÂty (facÂulÂty, staff, alumÂni, etc.). This small list will inevitably grow over time. But it already includes some blogs (in addiÂtion to Open CulÂture) that you may want to peruse. Let’s highÂlight a few:
Smart EnerÂgy Show: 6.6 bilÂlion peoÂple live on the earth today. 9.2 bilÂlion will be here by 2050. And, as time goes by, enerÂgy demand will inevitably push toward a breakÂing point. Smart EnerÂgy takes a close look at how we can meet “this risÂing demand withÂout inflictÂing perÂmaÂnent damÂage” on our fragÂile enviÂronÂment. And it explains what sciÂence, govÂernÂments and indiÂvidÂuÂals can do to meet this chalÂlenge. The blog is writÂten by MarÂgot GerÂritÂseÂna, proÂfesÂsor in the DepartÂment of EnerÂgy Resources EngiÂneerÂing, and the blog posts are often accomÂpaÂnied by inforÂmaÂtive videos.
The Stem Cell Blog: WritÂten by ChristoÂpher Thomas Scott, this blog examÂines the sciÂence, ethics, busiÂness and polÂiÂtics of stem cell research. Scott is parÂticÂuÂlarÂly well posiÂtioned to do this. He is the ExecÂuÂtive DirecÂtor of StanÂford’s ProÂgram on Stem Cells in SociÂety and the author of Stem Cell Now: An IntroÂducÂtion to the ComÂing MedÂical RevÂoÂluÂtion. Plus he has taught a course called Straight Talk About Stem Cells that you can access on iTunes for free.
PhiÂlosÂoÂphy Talk: WritÂten by two StanÂford phiÂlosÂoÂphy proÂfesÂsors, Ken TayÂlor and John PerÂry, this blog accomÂpaÂnies a weekÂly radio show (also called “PhiÂlosÂoÂphy Talk”) that offers a “down-to-earth and no-nonÂsense approach” to phiÂlosÂoÂphy that’s relÂeÂvant to everyÂday life. Along the way, the blog/show explores phiÂlosÂoÂphy that touchÂes on our beliefs, relaÂtionÂships, pasÂsions and the world around us.
In case you missed it, RadioÂhead released today its new album In RainÂbows. What makes the album remarkÂable, in part, is how it’s being disÂtribÂuted. BuyÂers can go straight to the RadioÂhead web site (it’s not availÂable on iTunes) and downÂload the album as DRM-free MP3s. And, what is more, they can decide for themÂselves how much they’re willÂing to pay for the album. You can pay as much or as litÂtle as you want. That makes the new album pretÂty much qualÂiÂfy as a piece of “open culÂture.” (If you get it, please let us know in the comÂments how much you paid out. We’d be curiÂous to know.)
Next up, REM. They’re releasÂing a live album next week (22 tracks recordÂed in album), but you can stream the whole album for free on RhapÂsody right now, and the qualÂiÂty is nice and high. Source: Rolling Stone.
MarkÂing the start of the FrankÂfurt Book Fair, Google Book Search has launched a “microsite” dedÂiÂcatÂed to GerÂmany’s most celÂeÂbratÂed writer — Johann WolfÂgang von Goethe. There, you can learn about his life and travÂels and, even betÂter, get access to free digÂiÂtal verÂsions of his writÂings. That’s right, you get to read Faust online for free. The potenÂtial rub is that you’ll need to speak GerÂman to genÂerÂalÂly avail yourÂself of this site, although there are some mateÂriÂals in EngÂlish. To get more inforÂmaÂtion on the new Goethe site, check out the Google Book Search blog.
Also be sure to see Google’s othÂer microsite dedÂiÂcatÂed to ShakeÂspeare.
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