Web-Tones

Learning Modalities

The conventional wisdom is that as learners we fall into one of three categories: 1) Visual; 2) Auditory and; 3) Kinestetic. So you often hear someone say I am a "visual person", and in fact you hear this probably to the exclusion of I am an "auditory person" or I am a "kinestetic person". Why? Because processing complex visual patterns is something that human beings do quite well. Consider the number of images you are processing when driving 70 mph through Atlanta, LA, Chicago etc. But the truth of the matter is we learn through all our faculties, we are learning machines--and to the extent that the same topic can be covered using multiple modalities our learning is improved.

The Net is evolving into a medium where publishing in multiple modalities is becoming easier and easier. As we awake to the use of voice and video, and the power contained therein, we should not forget that it is the combination of the modalities that really make an impact. Context sensitive rich communications streams, and the companies (think Apple and Macromedia) and individuals (think Dyson and Searls) that leverage them, dramatically improve their communications effectiveness and the ability to convey messages, to touch their audience, and to sell their "products."

But because of the democratization of computing, no one has a pure monopoly on this capability, and I can assure you that the communications revolution is so nascent that we have yet to catch but a glimpse of where we are headed.

Tags: Searls, Dyson, Learning, Apple, Macromedia

Librarians R' US

Got questions? The web has answers. When I was in the technology industry, especially when working hands on, but even when doing more "strategic" consulting, the web was a constant companion. It was the only way to deal with the complexity that presented itself on a daily basis. Discovering Google I started to hone my search skills, twenty different ways of asking the same question. I developed a six sense for what was good information (depending on the source) and what might be shaky (to say the least). What I was developing was the skills that good librarians possess. The ability to effectively and quickly search the information space to narrow where the possible relevant answers were likely to come from.

Now in law school, I find myself doing the same thing. Lexis and Westlaw are not my starting points. I want to know what the "infospace knows" about a particular topic. Who has summarized a particular area of the law in a way that quickly points me in a direction that will dramatically shorten the research cycle? Is it a book on Amazon? A website dealing with media or first amendment law? A description of how to write an appellate brief from a practicing master?

Now I am fascinated with patterns and I can assure you that if I were studying medicine, or engineering, or physics, or you name it--or making a living in those fields--the web would still be a constant companion. The skills of a librarian are starting to take on a whole new dimension with respect to knowledge workers and what they do, day in and day out.

Tags: Search, Google, Librarians

Blogger A List

The conversation raging here is much to do about nothing. Of course there is a blogger "A" List, so what? That is a poor argument for "the new boss is the same as the old boss." Things have changed in a huge way, to think otherwise is to argue that a slave could have produced a work equivalent to "Leaves of Grass" (assuming the required erudition) and it would have been published and widely distributed. No way, like it or not Walt (whom I think is THE GREAT AMERICAN POET) had access to the necessary channels that a slave did not. But today, if you self publish something as good as Leaves of Grass on the Net, it will be found and admired, just a matter of time.

That my friend is progress...

Related Tags: Doc Searls, Web 2.0, Blogger A List

Beyond Moore's Law

IBM has found a way to double its processor speed by squeezing silicon as opposed to making transistors smaller. Even if Moore's Law does not continue to hold, although experts think it will for the next couple of decades, it seems that computers will continue to get faster and cheaper. Massive computing power, inexpensively priced, has the potential to transform the dynamics of entire industries. Consider what Google is doing with its data centers and you get an idea of the scale and power of cheap CPU cycles.

Tags: Google, Web 2.0, Web2.0

Whitman

There is no better scripture to read on a Sunday morning, then a little of Whitman's Song of Myself, Doc reflects on the bard here, the bold swimmer indeed! The Great American Poet, we have yet to live up to your vision, but it is alive and well, on the Web and on the streets. The song of everyman, not one greater or lesser than the next: whether you are the president of a mighty nation or corporation, or working driving cab or at the car wash, it is a trifle compared to the song, that sweet song: 'there has never been any more heaven or hell than there is right now."

Tags: Whitman, Searls

Go East

Read about the gold rush here and ask yourself (as the author does) how I can I possibly capitalize on this opportunity? Well most of us are not the CEO's of companies with millions to invest, but most of the executives looking to invest (in technology, insurance, etc.) don't know Chinese (the language) and don't know much about the Chinese (the people) and are therefore going to be looking for people that do. That's right, enterprising Americans that want to separate themselves from the pack could help themselves in a big way by jumping on the Chinese literacy bandwagon.

Americans, as a group, are not usually all that interested in mastering foreign languages and becoming immersed in foreign culture, but that is all about to change as Globalization opens opportunities for skilled employees that also have a good 'ole fashion liberal arts education, in addition to a "hard core" education in something else! I am starting to see red...

Tags: China, Boom

eDiscovery

Lots of talk related to the impact that eDiscovery is having on the legal industry. The idea of having to produce and/or search millions of documents to find the proverbial "needle in the haystack" is a scary proposition. Who pays and how the information is "best" leveraged is often in doubt. It is the wild, wild west as these new frontiers are explored in dangerous unknown territories. Collaboration with strategic partners is likely to be key, but be careful because there will be lots of people selling snake oil, and lots of pioneers coming home full of arrows.

Tags: Law 2.0, eDiscovery