Daily Bookmarks 01/17/2007

» MySpace to offer spyware for parents | The Social Web | ZDNet.com

• Quote: “Following continuing pressure from politicians (and parts of the media), MySpace is planning to offer parents the chance to download software which will monitor aspects of their children’s activities on the social networking site.”

  Note: Another way for parents not to parent.

   – post by willrich

TV Jersey

• Quote: New Jersey needs a television station to call its own. Programmed by New Jerseyans, for New Jerseyans. TVJersey has no broadcast towers, no satellites. It doesn’t even have a studio. But it has you. And what you produce, we’ll promote.

  Note: Now if I can just think of a great idea for a Valentine video to Wendy for the first TV Jersey video challenge…any ideas?

   – post by willrich

“Radical Transparency”

• Quote: “Google isn’t a search engine. Google is a reputation-managment system. What do we search for, anyway? Mostly people, products, ideas — and what we want to know are, what do other people think about this stuff? All this blogging, Flickring, MySpacing, journaling — and, most of all, linking — has transformed the Internet into a world where it’s incredibly easy to figure out what the world thinks about you, your neighbor, the company you work for, or the stuff you were blabbing about four years ago. It might seem paradoxical, but in a situation like that, it’s better to be an active participant in the ongoing conversation than to stand off and refuse to participate. Because, okay, let’s say you don’t want to blog, or to Flickr, or to participate in online discussion threads. That means the next time someone Googles you they’ll find … everything that everyone else has said about you, rather than the stuff you’ve said yourself. (Again — just ask Sony about this one.) The only way to improve andd buff your reputation is to dive in and participate. Be open. Be generous. Throw stuff out there — your thoughts, your ideas, your personality. Trust comes from transparency.” –Clive Thompson
  
  Note: This whole idea of private/public, open/closed is what is really hard for most educators to get their brains around. (via Clarence Fisher)

   – post by willrich

On professionalism and creativity

• Quote: I believe that professionals immersed in communities of practice or continuously pushing their informal learning opportunities can have a larger zone of proximal development. They are more open to learning and to expanding their knowledge. I have had a huge growth in my professional network since I started blogging. These professional conversations are not possible off-line when you live outside a major urban centre, as I do. Today, active involvement in informal learning, particularly through web-based communities, is key to remaining professional and creative in a field. –Harold Jarche

  Note: I wonder if these conversations are even possible in urban centres. The thing I find so much more effective about the network learning I do is that it’s asynchronous and done on my time. And yet IM and Skype and others make synchronous discussion imminently possible when needed or necessary. And all of that is what to me at least poses such a challenge to the traditional work of classroooms where we are all expected to learn the same things at the same time.

   – post by willrich

Footnote – 4.5 Million Historical Documents to Annotate…and Contribute To

• Quote: At Footnote.com you will find millions of images of original source
  documents, many of which have never been available online before.
  

  But at Footnote, finding an image is just the beginning. We have created powerful tools that let you interact with and
  enhance what you find. Annotate important information on the image,
  easily organize and share your findings or collaborate with people who
  have similar interests. If you have original source images of your own that you want to
  share with your colleagues, classmates, friends and family, simply
  upload them to Footnote and use our tools to make your images
  searchable and available to others.

  Note: This could be an amazing project for students to take on, studying and annotating historical documents…4.5 million of them at present. But what I reeally like is that there is an opportunity to contribute as well. Reminds me on some level of the  “Scan This Book” article by Kevin Kelly from last year.

   – post by willrich