i202 Fall 2010 School of Information, UC Berkeley

Maps. Most people think of them as a means of a getting us from Point A to Point B, but this article discusses how they have become more than a tool that keeps us from getting lost. In the not so distant past, we relied on paper maps that, for the most part, provided the user with a consistent visual vocabulary to determine exactly how to get from Point A to Point B.

Recently launched, Blekko, a new search engine, is attempting to provide users with better search results. Currently, when individuals search the web, they have to sort through various sites in order to find 'trustworthy' information. According to Rick Skrenta, CEO and co-founder of Blekko,'the web is filling up with spam and low-rent webpages from content farms like Demand Media, saying the web now has 100 billion urls, most created by bots.'

As someone who has formal training in graphic design and experience working in the field with an eclectic mix of clients, I strongly believe in the importance of content, structure AND presentation. While I agree that there are times when presentation gets in the way of being able to understand the content, I have seen cases where the opposite is also true, and I believe that they must work together in order to communicate effectively and assist in information retrieval. 

Different words means different  things to different people! According to this article, thieves in Georgia keep stealing 3 street signs: Green Acres, Boone's Farm and Mary Jane Lane. Apparently these thieves attribute some meaning to these signs. Perhaps it reminds them of their favorite activities and products?  I, personally, never watched Green Acres or sipped on some fine Boone wine. And the name Mary Jane reminds me of Spider Man, not marijuana.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/fashion/16meme.html?_r=1&ref=fashion

Harvard Law School professor Jonathan Zittrain and his team showcased Collage at the Berkman Center today. What's Collage? It's a tool that facilitates the creation of "an online casebook that's free, remixable and that can be used not just for a specific class, but for instructors" in law schools.

In the age of information huge datasets aren't hard to come by. Everyone is trying to make sense of the rampant information made available to them. One of the largest (at least in terms of potential size) datasets to be analyzed is — somewhat ironically — the universe. It's big. 

From The New York Times Magazine
New Vocabulary for Parents
by Lisa Belkin

Last week, NYT featured Julius Eulberg, a German who loves collecting antiques, especially porcelain birds. This piece made me think of Kimra's chapter-- especially the part about retrieving the chair. Can you imagine having to fetch one of his 300 + birds? How would he describe it in order for you know which porcelain bird he was talking about?