TechCrunch | White House Announces National Day Of Civic Hacking, Asks Americans To Solve Problems With Govt Data From NASA And More

Posted on January 23, 2013 by infophile

The Canadian Government needs to pilot a program like this! Unfortunately, I can’t imagine this happening with a Harper government. We need to advocate for more open data and a transparent government, especially with government budgets and programs funded by taxpayer wallets.

White House Announces National Day Of Civic Hacking, Asks Americans To Solve Problems With Govt Data From NASA And More | TechCrunch.

N.B. At the bottom of the article is a map of America…all the cities that have signed up are quite similar to the distribution of Democratic states. Also can’t see a Republican government launching a program like this. Obama rocks.

NYTimes.com – A Casualty on the Battlefield of Amazon’s Partisan Book Reviews

Posted on January 22, 2013 by infophile

The following editorial is a great case study of trolls (a fan base in this instance) using the Amazon reviewing system to suppress the popularity of a publication, when in the past the problem has been over inflated reviews. No longer is it only governments and other political groups trying to suppress intellectual freedom.

A Casualty on the Battlefield of Amazon’s Partisan Book Reviews – NYTimes.com

Quotable: “In the biggest, most overt and most successful of these campaigns, a group of Michael Jackson fans used Facebook and Twitter to solicit negative reviews of a new biography of the singer. They bombarded Amazon with dozens of one-star takedowns, succeeded in getting several favorable notices erased and even took credit for Amazon’s briefly removing the book from sale.”

Stephen’s Lighthouse | Major NEW and Must-Read Pew Report on Libraries

Posted on January 22, 2013 by infophile

Major NEW and Must-Read Pew Report on Libraries – Stephen’s Lighthouse.

Data-Visualization Firm’s New Software Autonomously Finds Abstract Connections | Wired Design | Wired.com

Posted on January 18, 2013 by infophile

“Ayasdi, a company that has developed data visualization software it says uses big data to answer the questions you never thought to ask…Their new product is called the Iris Insight Discovery platform. It’s a type of machine learning that uses hundreds of algorithms and topological data analysis to mine huge datasets before presenting the results in a visually accessible way. Using algebraic topology, the system automatically hunts down data points close in nature and maps these out to reveal a network of patterns for a researcher to decipher…”

via Data-Visualization Firm’s New Software Autonomously Finds Abstract Connections | Wired Design | Wired.com.

One Year After SOPA Blackout, Activists Celebrate ‘Internet Freedom Day’ | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Posted on January 18, 2013 by infophile

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Internet blackout in protest of SOPA and PIPA, and in celebration, Internet activists have dubbed it “Internet Freedom Day.” via One Year After SOPA Blackout, Activists Celebrate ‘Internet Freedom Day’ | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.

You may also like:

What is Internet Freedom Day? | Mashable
Celebrating Internet Freedom Day: When the Internet Met Copyright | Michael Geist
A year after the Blackout: Where do we stand post-SOPA? | Information Space

The Digital Shift | Ebooks 2013: New leasing models, cheaper devices, more content

Posted on January 18, 2013 by infophile

“It was a bit of a roller coaster for libraries and ebooks in 2012…”

via Ebooks 2013: New leasing models, cheaper devices, more content – The Digital Shift.

You may also be be interested in:

eBook Options for Libraries @ lisinfo.org (dated June 19, 2012)

LITA Blog » Blog Archive » Jump-starting a career as a digital librarian

Posted on January 18, 2013 by infophile

“The skills of digital librarianship are more crucial than ever, and these same skills are in high demand outside the field, from tech startups undertaking digitization projects to digital humanities centers bringing together professors, computer scientists and information technologists. “Jump-Start Your Career As a Digital Librarian: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA Neal-Schuman, helps readers map out a career in this fast-growing field.”

via LITA Blog » Blog Archive » Jump-starting a career as a digital librarian