Appreciating A Challenge

The last eleven weeks in this technology course have tested me in a manner that I have not experienced for a long time. I have repeatedly had to venture outside of my comfort zone to finish the projects for this class. The lectures and readings, moreover, have compelled me learn about technological subjects I still struggle to comprehend. Inevitably, there were moments when I completely faltered and had to deal with the consequences. The most important aspect of this challenge, in the end, is to persevere. That I certainly have done, especially over the last few weeks. All that is left is one more project, but it is the most daunting of them to my mind.

Perhaps the most important realization from the course is the necessity for me to learn about current technology and the trends it represents. As a student with ideas about finding employment in the information industry, it would be detrimental to resume burying my head in the sand regarding technological developments. Cinema and French may have more appeal for me, but it is important to learn about subjects of a more practical nature from time to time.

Changes in the Newspaper Industry

This evening's guest on C-Span's Q & A interview program was Clark Hoyt, who recently ended his stint as the public editor of the New York Times. The public editor is the title of the ombudsman, whose job it is to investigate the practices of the newspaper when controversies arise. As Hoyt explained, controversy is an everyday matter for the public editor because someone is always mad about what the New York Times reporters write about.

Clark Hoyt has worked for newspapers since the 1960s. His employer until 2006 was the Knight Ridder company, which went out of business that same year as a result of the changing economics of newspapers. He readily admits that there is a major sense of loss in the journalism profession as newspapers cut back or shut down altogether. For Hoyt, the world of the print newspaper is over. The future of journalism lies in using and gaining revenue from the new digital platforms offered by the World Wide Web. He clearly states that this is an ongoing and painful process for the profession, but there are no alternatives to adapting to the digital information environment.

Another subject discussed in the interview is the current state of the news media. Clark Hoyt lamented the way the proliferation of news sources has permitted people to live in their own worlds. Rather than taking in multiple points of view on a subject or event and ponder which one has the most merit, people can now choose to only follow news sources that conform to their points of view and beliefs. This is just one step in the process of the breakdown, as Hoyt views its, of set of shared facts and values that should be at the heart of any informed discussion of current events and politics.

The most refreshing aspect of this interview for me is that Hoyt did not predict gloom and doom for the newspaper industry. He acknowledged the reality of a changing information environment that the old newspaper business must learn how to exploit for its financial benefit as well as for the good of information consumers. Hoyt described this moment in time as an exciting one for the newspaper world for this reason. Change can be a positive experience.

Being A Part of the English World

A book on the spread of the English language around the world was the subject of an interview last night on the PBS Newshour. Robert McCrum, the author of "Globish: How the English Language Became the World's Language", discussed how through the mechanisms of colonialism and strong economic and cultural influence English became a global language. As a student in an academic program intimately linked with the information environment, this conversation about the place of English in the world prompted me to contemplate how living in an English-language environment influences what kind of information resources I am exposed to. Perhaps the most salient observation that came to me is that I do not have to access any resource in a language other than English to find what I require or wish to know. If one is a scientist in Thailand, though, reading about the latest research will likely involve English since a large percentage of scientific research is published in English-language journals. In addition, a sizable part of the Web is also only available in English.



The ability to navigate the current information environment without having to switch to a different language has advantages for native English speakers, but I believe there is also a downside to living in monolingual environment. Using two or more languages exposes people to different interpretations of the world, for a language does reflect the unique aspects of the milieu and culture it developed in. Being able to access resources in multiple languages also expands the range of information resources that can be used for research.



For information professionals, such as librarians, is it more beneficial to work in an environment with resources in one language? Whatever one's answer to that question is, a monolingual environment is the reality of most people in the information profession in the United States. Having English as a native language and being part of what is still the the heart of the information generation center of the world, American information workers are sheltered from the complexities of navigating a world of resources written not written in a native language.

From Print to Digital

I heard a commentary about changes in libraries from an unexpected source: Nightly Business Report on PBS. Harry Lin, the president of a technology company, was talking about the forthcoming opening of a new engineering library at Stanford University. The distinguishing feature of this library is that the print collection constitutes only 15% percent of the previous libraries holdings. All of those missing materials are being replaced by digital resources. The physical books and periodicals were an integral part of Lin's library experience in college. He summons his memories of browsing shelves and making interesting discoveries to evoke the pleasures of a traditional library. I too have fond memories of strolling through corridors created by shelving, scanning the books, organized in rows, for a title or subject to jump out at me for an afternoon of reading.

As with everything, computers are bringing sweeping changes to the institution of libraries. Harry Lin succinctly sums up the situation: "Kids these days do everything digitally." Libraries have to adapt to changes in information use, even when those changes completely alter the way the institution functions. I am not completely at ease with the shift to digital resources, but what a thirty-something student grew up doing is not all that important anymore. I also begrudgingly admit that in certain cases digital resources are more convenient to access. My resistance to technology, in general, has undoubtedly softened as I have learned about the reality of librarianship today.


Here is the link to the commentary:
http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/amazon_libraries_100720/

Social Networking and Debt Collection

This Monday's edition of NPR's All Things Considered featured another interesting segment of 'All Tech Considered.' The focus of it was on how debt collection companies are using social networking Websites to find delinquent borrowers. Most of the segment consists of an interview with a man who for a decade successfully eluded government collection agents trying to track him down for not paying his student loans. The end came when the man, on the prompting of his employer, created a Facebook page and posted contact information on it. Only one day passed after this before he received a call at work. You can guess what it was about.

Is there a moral to this sad tale? Perhaps this is it: If you are trying to avoid debt collectors, do not give yourself away online. (They're coming to get you, Barbara.)

Here is URL to the story:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128464415

I Want My Brain Back!

I am truly looking forward to not having any schoolwork in three weeks. The effort to keep up with three courses this summer- two of which have required enormous mental exertion just to comprehend the material- is sapping my mental vitality. After working on an essay for five nights, I feel especially drained (and elated) at this moment. It is not my fatigue that is bothering me the most, though. It is the lack of mental freedom I am experiencing. The schoolwork has monopolized my thoughts and creative energies over the last nine weeks. Even when I have devoted time to amusements, I have not been able to forget that there are tasks that must be completed by a particular day. This shadow of daily responsibilities hanging over my life is an experience I have not gone through for a while, and it not a circumstance that is easy for me to adjust to. There were times when the burden of the work was completely overwhelming. Over the last five weeks I have learned how to handle the pressures without panicking. I definitely have learned much about myself and my capabilities to deal with challenges throughout this summer term. I am just seeking a respite at this time.

Life and School

This summer has involved learning on many fronts. The primary aspects of my life that are vying for the attention of my mind are grad school and Pittsburgh. Sometimes I have struggled with balancing the demands of both. The schoolwork has undoubtedly dominated my experience of this summer. There have been times when I felt that I was devoting too much of my time to the work, but I have learned over the past couple of months how to create a work schedule that does not drive me crazy. More importantly, I am aware of the necessity to have a life apart from school. It is only in the past few weeks that I have started concentrating on creating a life for myself in Pittsburgh. I am looking forward to the August break in order to focus my time and energy for getting the most out of my stay here.

Communication Technology and the Poor

In whatever part of the Earth a person lives in, it is necessary to pay for access to communication tools like phone networks and Internet acess. In much of the world, though, this cost is too high, leaving innumerable people unable to utilize this vital aspect of modern life. This evening the PBS Newshour broadcast a story about a man who is attempting to make Internet and phone access a more affordable option for some of the poorer parts of Johannesburg, South Africa. Rael Lisoos founded a company called Dabba to provide telephone service through the Internet. By creating a network connecting buildings in particular neighborhoods, Lisoos is allowing people to bypass the more expensive large telecommunications companies. While the goal is to make a profit from this business, thereby making it sustainable, his primary motivation for starting Dabba was to connect poor people to the vast world of digital communications and resources. Rael Lisoos believes that greater prosperity and productivity can only come when more of the poor in a society have access to information resources.

It is not an issue many people in the Western world tend to think about, but having access information is an important factor in being able to attain economic prosperity. By connecting with other businesses over a long distance and getting information about new markets or prices of commodities, businesses operating in poor countries can expand the range and profit of their activities. The impact on education should not be ignored, either. Internet connections could help to alleviate the problem of a lack of access to books and other educational materials.

Concerts as an Interactive Experience and Marketing Strategy

This afternoon I listened to the All Tech Considered segment on NPR's All Things Considered news program. The subject of the segment was a company called Mozes, which specializes in projecting text messages on screens at public events. The name of this practice is mobile engagement. Touring popular music acts increasingly utilize this service as a way to interact with attending fans at concerts. Besides the thrill of sending a message to the performer or to someone in the audience, concert goers are given further enticement to text by the prospect of prizes like like front row seats or a chance to meet the performer(s). One must not view this service merely as an expression of the desire of a performer to interact with fans; it is also a way to gather personal information, especially cellphone numbers, for databases. This information can then be used to inform people about upcoming appearances and new music releases. There always seems to be an ulterior motive for these kind of activities.

Issues with Technology

I watched an interview on Charlie Rose about the new version of the I-Phone. The guest who discussed this topic with Charlie was Walter Mossberg, a technology writer for The Wall Street Journal. Mossberg ended up discussing new developments in smart phone technology beyond Apple's product, including Android phones using Google software. Listening to the discussion and watching a display of the communication capabilities of the I-Phone, I was once again reminded of how out of touch I am with digital technologies. I have learned much in the technology course, but I realize there is a lot more ground to cover before I would label myself competent in the use of the software and programs used by librarians. Sometimes I do become discouraged when I ponder this situation, but it is more salubrious not to think about it. I know that I have time to learn about the technology while I am here in Pittsburgh, yet my time is not unlimited. After twelve classes, the master's program is finished and I will have to take care of myself.

The World Wide Web and Privacy

Listening to All Things Considered last Monday, I heard a news feature about a bill being written in the House of Representatives that would regulate how information collected by Websites about their users can be utilized. This information is currently used by Websites to direct advertising at visitors. Many Web users do not realize that Websites collect data for this purpose. One of the issues that this bill would attempt to resolve is whether or not a Website would have to inform visitors that personal information is being gathered. This is a change in law that has many online businesses nervous, for they fear that Web users will avoid their sites if this disclosure has to be presented to visitors. Moreover, if the bill would require that users have a choice to opt out of data collection, the Websites stand to loose important data for their advertising revenue. It is therefore not surprising that there is opposition by the Web advertising industry and sites that depend on advertising revenue to these ideas.

This issue of Internet privacy and the use of personal data by Websites has been ignored on a national level for many years. With the vast amount of information being generated by the ever expanding use of the Web, it is becoming imperative to create a set of rules concerning how companies and Websites can utilize this information. I do not see a valid reason for them to justify not having to operate with at least partial transparency. Most Web users are probably aware that the sites they visit collect data about their activities. It is the price of being able to access a Website without paying a monetary fee. It seems very unreasonable to expect Web users to suddenly abandon sites if data collection diclosures become required by law. It would only be an affirmation of what is already happening.




This is the URL of the news feature mentioned in this blog:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127987513

Musings of a Frustrated Intellectual

I came into the LIS program with a notion that it was more a vocational training program than an academic discipline. My experiences over the last six weeks have not swayed me from thinking differently. While we read books and journal articles and write papers on a multitude of subjects, the focus of the LIS program is getting students ready to function in library and information environments. The purpose of all the studying, researching, and discussing is to prepare for the performing of tasks and making of decisions in an information environment. This is not the same as teaching students to understand a text or speak a language. Nor does library and information science have an equivalent level of background knowledge that scientific disciplines require. While I have come to recognize the importance of understanding the issues impacting the information profession, I have a hard time believing that these qualify as purely academic concerns. For me, the word "academic" has connotations of abstractions and ideas transcending the banality of life. The library and information profession only seems to be about these sort of banalities.

The Challenges of Starting a New Program

This is my first term in the LIS program. Before I came to the school, I had worked in a couple of libraries. What I have found out over the past six weeks, however, is that working in a library does not mean one is exposed to the jargon or issues of the library and information profession. Just figuring out what a text is trying to state or what a professor is talking about has required the expenditure of much time and energy this summer. Moreover, trying to follow a lecture that is thoroughly confusing is one of the most frustrating experiences a student at any level can go through. I have walked out of many classes quite flustered because of this. One of the benefits of persevering in spite of the confusion is that a breakthrough in comprehension usually occurs at some point. This is starting to happen with the Organizing and Retrieving course, which initially appeared to be more like a philosophy course than one about cataloging. This technology class is also taking on more relevance as I learn about the reality of the profession. One thing that I realize is that there is a lot to catch up on regarding technology and computers.

Adobe, Apple and Technology

This week I watched a feature on Nightly Business Report about Adobe, which is soon releasing a new version of Creative Suite. The aspect of this report that intrigued me is the tussle between Adobe and Apple over the Flash program. Flash, created by Adobe used to run animation and video on Websites, cannot be run on Apple products. Apple representatives claim that Flash slows down mobile device. The result is that areas of Websites are blank when viewed on the I-Pad and I-Phone. Adobe, as would be expected, claims that Apple is wrong about Flash. It basically comes down to business considerations, for Apple is a competitor of Adobe.



This example reminds me that users of technology are at the mercy of the companies that create it. Those who own an I-Phone cannot view Website features using Flash. The people who bought certain e-books on Amazon one day found those books were missing on their Kindles. Amazon was having a dispute with a publisher and stopped providing access to that company's e-books. These are perhaps extreme examples of how access to technology or digital products can be withdrawn when companies decide to engage in business conflicts. They are illustrations, however, of how much consumers depend on the goodwill of businesses. The belief that technology companies will make decisions that benefit consumers may be a little misplaced.

The Week

After a month of heavy course work, I experienced the first signs of mental fatigue this week. I passed a significant part of last weekend writing an essay that I had already done a lot of reading and research for, and it took four long nights to complete the paper. I also had a technology project that I had to redo a couple of times to comply with the assignment requirements. When both of those assignments were done by the middle of the week, I felt completely drained. It was necessary for me to relax and focus on my life for a couple of days. Since the start of the summer term, I have allowed myself to focus only briefly on matters beyond school, but the time has come to commence concentrating on what I want to get out of my time in grad school and in the city. There are only six or seven tough weeks left before the summer break, so I do not have to maintain this effort for much longer. I am sure that I will be greatful for the break.

Jing

I was very intringued by this Jing assignment. When I started working with this program and realized what it could do, I immediately began to look forward to seeing what results I could produce. I have never used this kind of media creation program before. Experimenting with capturing the images was briefly a novelty, and I greatly enjoyed testing the audio capabilities of my computer. Eventually the time came to cease experimenting and complete the work. The final results reveal why I will never earn a living with my voice. Overall, I am satisfied with how it turned out. More importantly, it opened my eyes to the ease of creating digital media objects that programs like Jing provide. Enjoy the presentation.

Social Media, the Internet, and the Traditional Media

As I type this, I am listening to a conference recorded in May called "Future of Media". The conference brought together the founder of Tivo, the CEO of the William Morris talent agency, the CEO of Showtime, the founder of Twitter, and the CEO of Cablevision Systems. Some of the general themes of the discussion is the impact of World Wide Web on the distribution of television programs and the use of social media to promote the shows.

What television means today is frequently debated by the panel. The fact that any program broadcast on television can be placed rapidly online is blurring the distinction between television and the Internet. Many programs are being placed simultaneously online and in television signals. How to generate income from digital content is one of the major issues media companies are grappling with. The question of the control of content once it goes digital is strongly connected to this. Concerns about piracy are certainly on the mind of many of the speakers. Moreover, advertising is still the primary source of revenue for most broadcasters, so getting viewers to watch ads, whether in a Tivo recording or an Internet broadcast, is of great importance. Generating viewer numbers and surveying the audience of a particular program undoubtedly becomes more complicated in the digital environment. The William Morris CEO brought up how the changing nature of broadcasting is affecting compensation for actors. As the avenues for distributing television, as well as motion pictures, extend to multiple digital formats, the revenue from those formats becomes an important contractual point of negotiation.

Social media are becoming an increasing important aspect in the promotion of television programs. The Showtime CEO mentioned the Facebook pages created for the channel's sh0ws and some of their more prominent characters. Fans are also using Facebook to make visitors to their pages aware of favorite programs .Twitter is another Web site utilized by Showtime to keep fans informed about what is happening with shows. Many actors and celebrities are using Twitter as a communication tool for engaging with fans and create publicity for recent projects. A couple of the speakers in the panel, however, emphasized that the potential of social media as a way to promote entertainment programs has yet to be extensively utilized.

E-Books Part 2

This evening there is a discussion on C-Span 2 (Book TV) about the impact of e-books in the publishing industry. The discussion took place this week at the 2010 Bookexpo America conference. Along with Scott Turow, the incoming president of American writer's association, were four other speakers were executives of publishing companies and a author agent firm. (Penguin; Farrar, Giroux, and Strauss; Ingram; Workman). With so many voices on the stage, opinions on a particular subject or interpretations of a situation differ. A couple of the speakers, including Turow, bemoan the possible decline of the printed book and envision doom for the industry. Others see opportunities in the digital realm, but recognize that the current business model must change to take advantage of them.

Here is a list of some of the topics of the discussion: author compensation, pricing of books in all forms in light of changing consumer expectations, increasing competition for the eyes of readers from other forms of entertainment, the cultural and economic value of books, the costs to publishers to purchase the technology to create an e-book, and authority control.

The decreasing prices for books was, unsurprisingly, extremely prominent. This is an issue that impacts all aspects of the publishing industry. What happens when book readers no longer think it is reasonable to pay $25.00 for a hardcover book? At what level are prices for e-books going to stablize? Responding to the demands of customers in the digital realm is significantly more complicated. Customers now have more options to purchase books, so the ability of the publishing industry to dictate what a customer is going to buy and how much money is spent is declining.

The possibility of embedded media in e-books I found extremely intriguing. For instance, if a customer buys a cookbook in a digital format, it may be possible to watch footage of the book's author cooking some of the recipes. The experience of reading a children's book could be completely transformed into a complete multimedia adventure; it could be more like watching an animated program than reading a traditional book. Interviews with authors could be included explaining the genesis and development of the book, not unlike a director interview on a dvd or blu-ray disc.

A Discussion about E-books

Yesterday I watched the PBS Newshour while preparing my dinner. It just happened that a segment about e-books was part of the broadcast. The three guests who took part in the discussion with Geoffrey Brown were author Scott Turow, representing the perspective of writers; an editor from one of the major publishing companies; and the owner of an independent bookstore in Denver.

All of them agreed that e-books are currently only a small fraction of the market; the overwhelming majority of books sold in the United States are traditional books. Each of the guests, though, had different opinions of what impact E-books will have in the future. The editor was uncertain whether the publishing industry would benefit from increasing e-book sales, particularly if it means decreasing sales of traditional books. E-books, after all, tend to be sold at a price that is considerably lower than hard-cover books. Scott Turow talked about the changing business of being a writer. Although the barriers to publishing are being lowered, it is still unclear how an aspiring author would distinguish himself or herself from the increasingly crowded realm of digital publication. The bookstore owner did not fear that e-books would destroy the bookselling business. She believes that there will always be readers who want to go to a store to find and purchase books made with paper.

The Intention of the Post

I finally got around to reading what the instructions for this blog are on the Courseweb. I must admit that talking about how I am reacting to classes is not a subject that I am not keen on discussing at this time. Making the mistake of taking three core classes this summer is putting a lot of pressure on me; there certainly is little downtime from my schoolwork. Trying to stuff all of this information into my head can make me a little cranky, but there is no choice by now.

Understanding the course material is not as much of a challenge as it was a fortnight ago. This is easing the burden a little, yet there always seems too much to do. I just need to learn how to deal with it.

Writing about films is undoubtedly more interesting.

Charlie Rose

Hello Everyone (however few you are),

I have decided to write about some of the programs and movies I enjoy watching. This week I will discuss the Charlie Rose talkshow broadcast on PBS and Bloomberg media outlets. This is a program that I have watched for nearly seven years. Over those years I have watched world leaders, financiers, writers, economists, actors, scientists and a host of people involved in a myriad of activities interviewed by a man who is curious, well informed, and enjoys talking to people. The show is recorded in studios of the Bloomburg building in New York City. As a host, Rose is seldom inclined to discuss topics and issues at a shallow level. It is this willingness to explore a subject in depth that I most appreciate. Throughout this year, for example, he has hosted at least six programs about brain science and research, bringing together in one studio four or five scientists with a busy schedule of academic work and research (not a small feat in itself).

Charlie Rose was born in North Carolina and attended Duke University. He received a law degree there but decided to pursue broadcasting as a career. I read that he worked as a producer for Bill Moyers in the 1970s. Rose's current program started in the early 1990s. All the interviews he has done for the program are available at the program's website. Some of the most memorable interviews I can recall are the those with the late historian John Hope Franklin and the one with Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records, shortly before his death.

I certainly do not mind staying up late to watch this program. Perhaps you might not mind it either.

Starting An Experiment

This is my first experience creating a blog. I have never even considered engaging in this sort of activity before, so I am not certain what I am going to do with it yet. Perhaps I will discuss topics that attract my attention at a particular time, or I might delve into some of the activities and things that interest me. I believe that I am at liberty to choose any subject within the rules of this system.