Scary… I started typing Rupert Murdoch’s last name and three letters in and it typed the rest for me.

Love, love, love…

• I can hit double space and it puts down a period. Unfortunately,  I’ve been trying to do this this morning in e-mail and WordPress and it doesn’t seem to be working.
• Can easily create mindmaps using an ap called SimpleMind Express.
• Perfect for short messages and phrases like tweets.  Eventually I’ll get to writing in full paragraphs.
• Copy and paste works great once you get the hang of it.
• Sharing photos and diagrams I create on the phone is easy.

Absolutely abhor…

• Come on put the Delete key farther away from the Return.
• Selecting that tiny bit of text at the top of the field is a b—-.
• WordPress ap doesn’t save all my changes each time I hit save $#@#!!!!!

Best Aps…

• Facebook
• Tweetdeck
• SimpleMind Express

Although I’m thoroughly sick of making mindmaps, I think for taking brief notes while folks are talking in a preso, this is good.  It’s also excellent for real-time sharing and discussion during events.  I found myself tuning into what other people thought or were thinking during the keynote and other presos by using the #dl09 twitter feed.

As long as I am not sharing or presenting at a conference,  it’s completely possible to leave that extra 5-7 pounds at home and still participate and document things adequately.  I love simplicity.  I am taking some time to review the posts I have here and add notes or reflections on what I learned, specifically; how I might be able to apply directly or indirectly what I was able to pick up.

Overall, I think DevLearn 2009 did a pretty good job of encouraging and leveraging the connectivity via online social networks during the conference.  When asked what she learned at DL09, one woman noted that she discovered that her phone was not powerful enough.

I will say that over the weekend my iPhone sat unmolested in it’s charger most of the weekend after I came home from the conference. Good iPhone… now you can rest a bit.

I have uploaded my social studies powerpoint to the Assignment Blog (on the social studies page, oddly enough).

The Beginnings of Islam

I will do this with future presentations also, but I still expect all students to take notes during class. Taking notes while a teacher is lecturing will be an invaluable skill in high school and college. Get used to it now!

Do you find that when you doodle, you draw the same thing over and over?

My mother says that she vividly remembers my grandmother drawing dancing ladies absentmindedly when she would talk on the phone. Different versions of the same figure: dancing ladies.

Automatism: the short version is, there’s a great untapped resource within our own subconscious, and we can work to express it through automatic drawing or automatic writing by attempting to free ourselves from the conscious. The constraints of the “conscious” are the constraints of grammar, syntax, the rules of composition, or the censorship through moral or social judgment, etc.

One of the aforelinked websites informs me that “Automatic Drawing is a kind of yoga for artists.” (ah, intriguing).

So, sure, I don’t fully buy it. When it comes to an ideology of creativity, I’d rather look out into the world than into my own subconscious. Don’t get me wrong; I value self-understanding, but I don’t think I’m the source of all creation.

Which brings me to the subject of doodling! I posted yesterday with some snapshots of my class notes, on days when I feel like jazzing up the typeface of my title. But the vast majority of my doodles (images below) tend to be based on the female figure.

Wait. Let’s unpack that last statement.

I draw women’s bodies (?!)

I feel more than a little conflicted about this. When I put a pen to paper, what “feels natural” is to draw the female figure. But if Sociology, Women’s Studies, Gender Theory, Queer Studies, (and so on and so forth) have taught us anything, it’s that just because something “feels natural,” does not mean that it is natural. For example, how about the fact that male artists have been glorifying and objectifying women’s bodies for thousands of years? Or that the majority of nudes in an art museum will inevitably be of women, but you’ll be hard pressed to find equivalents for the male figure? or that when I open my textbook on “the nude,” most of the pages are of women? Needless to say, it seems likely that, as an artist, naked women have been pressed into my subconscious for years.

But I won’t deny that I find women beautiful, as humans and as bodies. And I produce better art when I focus on a subject that draws me in more easily. So how about the fact that most of the female figures that I draw tend to adhere to a normative standard of beauty? Sure, I go through phases of drawing “fat women,” or non-normative looking women– but in general, I draw slender figures, graceful figures, attractive poses. Some of this can be attributed to a self-image; I know my own [fairly slender] body best, so it’s easier to draw body types like my own. But a lot of it can be attributed to the images that penetrate my consciousness every day. Every sign, photograph, commercial, painting, TV show, (and so on and so forth) produces an aestheticized feminine body that is inevitably reflected on the page.

So, here’s what I’ve been drawing so far. And my challenge for the rest of the semester is to branch the fuck out.

Objectives:

-Clarify scribe rules

-Discuss 1:1 computer procedure

-Work on outlines for reader response project

Class Reminders:

-First turn-in date for fundraisers

-Next date is 10.19.2009

-Make name labels for all laptops

Scribing Rules and Procedure:

-Read through scribing directions and guidelines

-Created practice post as an example for class to follow

Important concepts to remember…

*Always proofread for capitalization and proper punctuation

*Summarize our discussion EVEN IF NOTHING IS WRITTEN ON THE WHITEBOARD

*Make sure to add tags and add your post to a categor

Computer Procedure

• Come in with computer fully charged

• All computers are to be charged at lunch time in tech lab. Mr. Booker is available at lunch for help.

• Computers are always closed when walking.

• Computers do not go out to recess

• Bring ear buds each day to class

The Giver: Reader Response Project

Option 1

1. Introduction

   A. Attention Getter

   B. Thesis: Write out entire thesis!!

   C. General Information

2. Body Paragraphs

   A. 1^st claim: Realistic Characters

   1.

   2. Examples /Quotes that support claim #1

3.

B. 2^nd claim: her settings lacked detail

1.

1. 1. 1. Examples and Quotes

3.

C. 3^rd claim: Ending was unclear

1.

2. Examples and Quotes

3.

1. 1. Conclusion

      A. Summarize

      1. claim+ support

      2. claim2 + support

      3. claim3 + support

      4. Re- state thesis in new words

      5. concluding thoughts

For social studies tonight, you need to create a chapter map of Lesson Two. If you’re trying to remember how to create a chapter map…keep reading! Here are the four steps for creating a chapter map from the Step Up to Writing program:

• Find the chapter title. Write the topic anywhere on the page as long as additional information can be built around it. Put this topic in all caps, put a circle around it, or box it in. Illustrate the topic. Novelty and pictures help learning and memory, so be creative.
• Determine what subtopics you will need. The chapter subheadings may help. You should have several subtopics. Print these subheadings in large letters and connect them to the main topic. Again, it will help if you add illustrations.
• Look for supporting details by doing a careful reading of the chapter. Check your entries to make sure that what you write down is accurate. Connect the details to the heading. Don’t forget to use color, symbols, or pictures.
• Go over your map. Be creative but remember that you want your map to be a collection of facts. When you are finished, you should be able to explain all of your drawings and markings to your classmates.

© 2008 Sopris West Educational Services

For those of us who are more visual, here’s a photograph that might help:

Be sure to let me know if you have any questions.

Last night I purchased the Sony ebook reader touch edition.  It was quite a bit of money, but I’ve been wanting an ebook reader for a while, and really want to support those that come out with note taking abilities.  Alas the cost was $300 + tax.  Is it worth $300?  Not really.  But as I said, I want to support e-ink + note taking abilities.

The past few months I’ve been craving fiction to read.  I haven’t wanted to buy a fiction book though, due to not only the cost of the initial purchase of a book, but also because for $8-12, I’m already done with the book within a few hours.  And then either I take the book to the used bookstore (possibly gain back $2-3), the library, or let it collect dust and use up space in my home.

I probably shoulda just gone to the library, I know.  But even there it takes a while to sort through the books for something that looks interesting (have to go through each book one by one, ugh).  And then the mental energy used to track where the book is so I don’t lose it, and when it’s due so it’s not overdue.  Add to that my disliking to drive much compounded with only being able to be on my feet for a little time before my back starts hurting, which forces me to keep my trips into town short and simple, one trip one purpose.  Well, needless to say, none of that is all that appealing to me.  The library may have free books, but the non-monetary costs are a bit high for me nowadays.  :(

I suppose, also, that I could read books on my computer.  Need I mention how annoying THAT is??  I really don’t like computers that much, and then there’s the weight, and size, and resulting discomforts.  Movies on the computer is one thing, but reading a book?  No.

For a similar cost I could have gotten a netbook.  That would be smaller and allow me to read ebooks and take notes too, right?  Yes, except that the netbook tablets for under $350 aren’t quite out yet.  Soon, very soon, I hope.

There ARE some items that I found really interesting, though which aren’t available yet.  Asus Tablet eee, which may or may not be available by christmas.  This is an item I’d like to buy for my daughter.

There’s also the concept product known as the Microsoft Courier.  OMGosh, now THAT I’d LOVE to have!!  A folding two screen “notebook”.  I’m not talking pc notebook.  I’m talking an electronic form of a spiral bound notebook.  That also has internet access abilities and such.  I’ve seen videos of them being used like moleskin notebooks…but even better in that you can have multiple moleskin books in ONE product.  Sorta like having a product devoted to OneNote type abilities.  This is my dream product.

I keep imagining how nice it would be to be able to take notes like with a pen and pad of paper; be able to edit and move those notes in similar method; create maps for helping me think clearer; hyperlink between maps, notes, and ideas; all while having the same feel of pen & paper as well as in a thin, lightweight item.

I’m not interested in using it for playing music, that’s what an mp3 player is for.  I don’t want to use it as a phone with monthly billings.  I don’t want to use it for watching videos, nor for playing games.  I want a simple, lightweight, easy to carry with me, won’t take up much space, “notebook” dedicated product.

I really don’t see why such items don’t exist yet.  If we’re looking at the idea of being able to carry multiple books and textbooks on a single lightweight item, why not look at the idea of being able to also carry multiple notebooks for multiple subjects/projects in a single lightweight item.

And yes, I do have a tablet convertible pc.  I’d love to use it as a tablet.  But the weight, the heat, flexibility of movement, and neck angle are all off for doing much with it.

This Sony Reader won’t get me anywhere near to the “notebook” that I want.  But purchasing it was similar to putting in my vote for what kind of product I’d like more R&D on.

These are the items I’m keeping my eyes on:

• http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet
• http://gizmodo.com/5354359/asus-eee-reader-could-have-dual-color-touchscreens
• http://www.asustablet.com/
• http://www.plasticlogic.com/
• http://www.irextechnologies.com/irexdr1000

Today, I was doing my physics homework. My teacher had told us to write “Cornell Notes” about measures in science. Cornell notes are explained here. You basically have 2 columns and 1 row at the bottom. The right column is where you take your notes, the left column is where you can ask questions about the notes/topic, and the bottom is to record the summary of the lesson. The weird thing is that you are not allowed to write in the left or bottom categories until you finish note-taking. This allows you to work your brain and think about what you learned and ask questions. The summary just allows you to rethink what you learned in a broader sense. But, I want to ask, how can you improve on this template? Is it possible to add columns to improve studying? How else can you use this besides in lectures and reading textbooks?

MD Paper form Midori Japan

I had to get another Moleskine for my Modern Algebra class. I just received the textbook, appropriately called Algebra [Hungerford, Springer Verlag, vol 73], and needed to get back to class quickly. I spent an obscene amount of time waiting at the ESlite at Gongguan to get served. I wanted to get a red Moleskine XL Plain Paper softcover. They had shown me something similar, but I must have remembered it wrong, because they don’t have those types of MS. They only had the L size in red, as well as a bunch of Cahier Journals. For some reason, it took about 20 minutes to get this answer. I was getting pissed off. I almost left without buying anything. 

But I got the softcover Moleskine XL Plain Paper instead. Why? Well I need to transfer over my notes before class tomorrow and this is the only class that’s left that I haven’t done so. I plan on using a Japanese notebook from MD Paper (Midori Paper Japan) to note stuff about the colloquium we attend every week³.

Usually, I get a rebate at ESlite. I’ve always gotten it at the flagship store in Xinyi. The girl at the counter asked me if I was a student. I said I was and showed her my card. She replied that the rebate was only for Taida students, not Shida. I was getting really pissed off at that point. If I had thought about it, I would have browsed around a bit more so that my tally would have been at around $30. Then I would have gotten 5% off. But I was pissed at them for wasting my time and vowed never to return. I left for class.

I met Charlotte on the way to class and exclaimed my anger at their incompetence. She said that service was really poor there. It was more frustration than anything else.

MD Paper from Midori Japan looks really interesting². Their notebooks are less expensive than Moleskines, but still expensive for Taiwan¹. The notebooks are very simple and come with a pagemark as well. I’ve learned that they are made to be slipped into a notebook cover. I’m not a fan of this, but it takes all kinds. Tomorrow, I’d like to get a Clairefontaine or Rhodia notebook² to do exercises as well as an MD Paper notebook² for colloquium notes. For my exercises, I’d just get a regular Hilroy spiral notebook, but I can’t since they aren’t availalbe here. Maybe I should check out the Carrefour to see what kind of cheap notebooks they have available there. I was told that there was a cheap store near my home called We Share. I’ll have to check it out.

The Rhodia notebooks are very well priced⁴. Seeing a nice display kind of makes you want to get a lot, but I’m pretty much all setup in my journaling needs. I think the only thing left that I’ll get is a the A4-sized Folio MS for watercolors. I discovered the Rhodia Drive blog while researching the notebooks.

* * * * *

[¹]: About $15 for an 7 ½” x 10”. I’m unsure of the exact dimensions, but they fit the standard A5 size, or maybe slightly bigger.
[²]: I’m getting a bit notebook obsessed here, but notebooks are really cool. MS will keep for very long time, much more than simple notebooks. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to take all of my notes in Moleskines.
[³]: Colloquim is a one-hour lecture by visiting profs. That sounds swell, but the subject matter is usually unfamiliar to me, so I’m kind of out of my depth since the profs present in Mandarin. This week’s topic was tropical curves, surfaces, and hypersurfaces.
[⁴]: Most of them are available for $10 and less. They specialize in high-quality lined pads, 80gr/m2 which are quite iconic looking since they are available in either black or orange.

The Memoirs were featured on Moleskinerie

It looks like my Moleskine obsession didn’t go unnoticed. I was featured in a post on Moleskinerie yesterday. I think my post was interesting¹. I tend to read my posts over and annotate them. It cuts down on the digressions that I usually do. Plus, it’s something new to try. I have taken some photos of my notetaking. I’ll post them on the weekend.

* * * * *

[¹]: I actually meant to say that this is the post that they are referring to. I don’t know why that didn’t come out right.

Hi everybody >> Google notebook give you a chance to write your comments and notes and other stuffs while you surf the internet . it easy way to return to it again and again ,so you’ll don’t forget anything . it’s free service from Google . since you have Gmail you can sign in and become use this service..

it’s fully customizable for all with tags,categories ,search ability ,and many many more.

but what happened for google notebook Google’s decision to discontinue development of Google Notebook had some users petitioning to save it, while rival service Evernote is already offering Google Notebook imports. So for those left in the cold, and those not yet sold on Evernote, what are your options for alternatives?

Whether it be notes for business meetings, in a classroom or trying to remember that last minute item before you go out for the evening, there are all sorts of note taking solutions out there to help you get things done. Here’s our roundup of 20 of the best.

Where will you be taking your notes now? Let us know in the comments.

General Purpose Notetaking

Helipad – Helipad focuses on making sure you can write and organize your notes anytime you want with access from your mobile phone, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 and even PSP.  Features include tags, search on every page and PDF export.

Luminotes.com – A Wiki-based note system that allows you to create notes about any subject you want, interlink them to similar concepts and even download your notes as a web page or spreadsheet.

UberNote – UberNote allows you to take notes from just about anywhere with access from their web interface, iPhones, AIM and email.  You can also choose to share your notes, and permit others to edit them.

iKnolio.com – Sort your notes by using tags, create private and public entries, collaborate with others, set up an RSS feed and more.

Stixy – An easy way for friends, family and coworkers to share notes, share files such as PDFs and Word documents, embed photos and more in a wholly collaborative environment.

Zoho Notebook – Are you already using the Zoho Office suite? If so, Zoho Notebook is a good choice.  The service allows you to add HTML tags, URLs, images, audio and a whole slew of other goodies.

Notebook G – Straight-forward, no nonsense note taking is the name of the game at Notebook G. A notable feature: you can jump through your notes using the handy tag cloud on the main page of your account.

Mojonote – This solution allows you to store a wide variety of notes from tasks to recipes.  You also have the ability to collaborate with others, set email or SMS reminders of pending tasks, import lists you already have on your computer and more.

Posti.ca – Posti.ca allows you to create notes to attach to emails, save files with your notes, send notes using Twitter and place notes on your iGoogle page.

SnapBits – Allows you to store all sorts of “bits” of information from notes to code snippets.  You can also add new items via email.

Classroom Notetaking

Grade Genie – Share your class notes and easily edit them so that everyone has the same study guide.  Includes contests to win prizes for using the service.

NoteMesh – A Wiki-based collaborative note system for people in the same class.  Anyone from the class may delete, add or edit the notes for everyone to share.  If you don’t agree with a deletion that was made, no problem: it’s all stored in the page’s history.

Notely – Notely focuses on students and provides a very similar interface to Microsoft Word. It allows for formatting, highlighting passages, adding images and more.  You can also keep track of your schedule to make sure you are never late again.

NoteCentric – Keep all of your class notes in one centralized location, and then share them with classmates by inviting them to view the notes. You can even distribute them via an RSS feed if you so choose.

Notetaking for Business

Jjot – An easy interface for taking notes during a meeting with a “post-it note”-inspired interface.  Choose to share your notes with a group so you can work together on a project.

Springnote – Springnote allows you to set up personal notebooks for those items only you need to see, or group notebooks for anytime you want to work on a project with others.  Also offers an iPhone application for easy interaction with your account while on the go.

Microsoft OneNote – While OneNote is a paid service, there is something comforting about staying in the Microsoft Office family of tools if that’s what you know best.  This solution allows you to work online or offline.

The school year is practically around the corner, and most students are in search of viable ways to take notes. Of course, you could do with pencil and paper, but nobody wants to do that. Provided that you can use laptops in class, why not take the high road and use some notetaking software?

Most people think of Microsoft Office OneNote as the defacto standard in notetaking apps. The Windows only program offers ink based input and handwriting recognition, which is somewhat useful if you have a tablet PC. I say “somewhat” because I feel that typing is faster than writing. OneNote does have very good text formatting, including icon bullets, tables, and more. It’s also somewhat analogous to a real notebook; within a notebook there are sections and pages. However, OneNote only runs on Windows. There is no Mac version, iPhone version, or web version. (Note: Web access is coming in OneNote 2010.)

That’s where Evernote comes in. Evernote features syncronization between all your clients: Windows, Mac, iPhone, and even web, so you can access and edit your notes from anywhere. You can even edit notes and view notes offline on your iPhone ot iPod touch. Evernote supports ink input just like OneNote. But the interface is slightly clunky, and although you won’t get fancy features like tables or icon bullets, the syncing feature is powerful enough to convince me to switch to Evernote.

Oh, and did I mention that Evernote is free while OneNote is $99? Yeah. Evernote is a must download.

For recognizing the handwriting in Windows Mobile 5/6-based touch screen devices, DIOTEK has released software called “DioPen Cursive”. It is the best handwriting software product for recognizing Cursive handwriting. Moreover, it is efficient for rating various types of handwritings of Americans and Europeans. Besides, it is able to recognize print handwriting.
Even if you have written multiple lines in your mobile, they can be recognized using this software. The optimized user interface of the device lets you input characters correctly only with fingers without additional stylus pen. At present, it is able to recognize English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Other languages such as, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Dutch will also be supported soon.

Click to know about recent Windows Messenger and Hotmail in your mobile

Some important features of this software :
•High recognition accuracy from extensive handwriting database
•Multiple languages support (over 70 Languages)
•Outstanding multi-function soft keyboard with maximized convenience
•Preloaded on numerous mobile phones and other devices over the years
•Easily applicable to various platforms and operating system of your device

[ More ]

Following up on my earlier post about Lifehacker’s earlier post surveying readers regarding their preference in note-taking applications, I present here Lifehacker’s results. The ratio held true through the end of voting: the free Evernote bested the more expensive OneNote, but only by a slim margin. Check it here and check out both of these able applications – they really make organization a snap!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Evernote Introduces Shared Notebooks (mashable.com)
• Don’t Take Notes- Snap Them With Evernote (jkontherun.com)
• Evernote Comes Out on Top [Faceoff Followup] (lifehacker.com)

I came across this idea for producing visual notes via the Moleskinerie blog.  It was developed by Mike Rohde who has posted a number of “sketchnotes”, mainly recording events he has attended, on his Flickr site.

He’s also posted a report from a cruise holiday in Alaska.

One of the main ways Mike uses the technique is to make notes when attending conferences, such as the following example:

It’s an interesting approach. Taking notes is important to ensure information is processed and retained. It ensures you listen, pay attention to what is presented and makes you process the information by actively putting something down on paper. However, in my experience, there is always a tendency to try to copy the words from slides during presentations – particularly when they are heavily overloaded with bullet points. I fall into this trap myself. Given this habit, I guess it could be difficult for some people to take notes when the slides are produced using the more visual Presentation Zen approach. Sketchnoting could perhaps be a good way of recording key points from these types of presentations.

Mike has made some slides available on Slideshare on how to use the technique:

Quotepad is freeware that allows you to “select some text in any application, press Ctrl+Shift+Q and the selected text will be saved to QuotePad together with the URL of the webpage it was copied from.”

Never wonder “where did I find that, anyway?” again.

Gathering produces large amounts of information, and writers need ways to manage it. Annotating notes gives them structure, and enables us to find things. Writers who don’t annotate tend to drown in their own information.

Different writers annotate notes using various systems, and you need a system that works for you. Here’s the method my friend Roy Clark uses: he puts a check beside notes he might use. That’s it. Actually, he then types the checked notes into his computer (something I would never do because I type badly). Roy has one principle for annotating: importance. He only marks notes he might use. Some people use a highliter to mark important notes.

Other writers indicate degrees of importance, using symbols such as stars or asterisks. The more stars, the more important the note. I draw a key beside the most important notes. One writer I coached graded every note he took, one to a hundred, one hundred being most important. His method proved slow because he coded every note, including notes that had no importance.

Some people code notes by subject. On a story about the zoo, for example, they might use categories such as animals that walk, animals that swim, and animals that fly, abbreviated in the margin as W, S, and F. Then they can rapidly locate all the birds in their notes. (Penguins are problematic.)

Some writers (including me) figure out the sections of their piece ahead of time, and code for the sections. Suppose that zoo story is about animals dying from polluted water. I might use something like this: animals that died (D), animals that lived (L), probable causes (C), and likely solutions (S). That makes it easy to pull all the material related to a section out quickly.

Bradley Graham, who used to cover disasters for The Washington Post, had to write fast under dreadful conditions, sometimes under gunfire. He would figure out the sections on the way in, divide his notebook into those parts, and then write each note in the appropriate portion of the notebook. He once covered a volcanic eruption with a three-part notebook: eruption, victims, and rescuers. That’s the fastest system I know, but you can’t use it unless you can imagine the sections ahead of time.

Some writers, especially those writing profiles, organize around quotations, so they put a Q in the margin beside any direct quote. Some business writers mark figures with a $.

Sometimes you write notes to yourself in the notebook, but you need to distinguish them from what your source said. I jot my initials (“DF”) in the margin beside things I said. If you don’t understand something, put a question mark by it so you can ask about it later. If you realize in an interview that you need a document the source just mentioned; you can jot “GET” in the margin. Avoid pejorative remarks, such as “Lying creep,” in your notebook; lawyers can use them against you to prove malice.

You can also include notes on how to write the piece. For example, I look for beginnings and endings as I gather. When I spot something I might use , I mark it “PL” (Potential Lead) or “PK” (Potential Kicker, another term for ending.)

Here’s one page of notes, cleaned up so you can understand them, from a little piece on local investment clubs. The sections are club (C), investments (I), and success (S).

(How do you code your notes?)

The following is an edited version of a wishlist I had been keeping on the side. The main idea is to define what would be, in my mind, the “ultimate social bookmarking system.” Which, obviously, goes way beyond social bookmarking. In a way, I even conceive of it as the ultimate tool for sharing online content. Yes, it’s that ambitious. Will it ever exist? Probably not. Should it exist? I personally think so. But I may be alone in this. Surely, you’ll tell me that I am indeed alone, which is fine. As long as you share your own wishlist items.

The trigger for my posting this is that someone contacted me, asking for what I’d like in a social bookmarking system. I find this person’s move quite remarkable, as a thoughtful strategy. Not only because this person contacted me directly (almost flattering), but because such a request reveals an approach to listening and responding to people’s needs that I find lacking in some software development circles.

This person’s message served as a prompt for my blogging this, but I’ve been meaning to blog this for a while. In fact, my guess is that I created a first version of this wishlist in 2007 after having it on my mind for a while before that. As such, it represents a type of “diachronic” or “longitudinal” view of social bookmarking and the way it works in the broader scheme of social media.

Which also means that I wrote this before I heard about Google Wave. In fact, I’m still unclear about Google Wave and I’ll need to blog about that. Not that I expect Wave to fulfill all the needs I set up for a sharing tool, but I get the impression that Google is finally putting some cards on the table.

The main part of this post is in outline form. I often think through outlines, especially with such a type of notes. I fully realize that it may not be that clear, as a structure, for other people to understand. Some of these bullet points cover a much broader issue than what they look like. But the overall idea might be fairly obvious to grasp, even if it may sound crazy to other people.

I’m posting this to the benefit of anyone who may wish to build the killer app for social media. Of course, it’s just one man’s opinion. But it’s my entitled opinion.

Concepts

What do we share online?

• “Link”
• “Page”
• Identified content
• Text
  • Narrative
  • Contact information
  • Event description
• Contact information
• Event invitation
• Image
• Recording
• Structured content
• Snippet
• Access to semi-private content
• Site’s entry point

Selective sharing

Private

• Archiving
• Cloud access

Individually shared

• “Check this out”
• Access to address book
• Password protection
• Specialization/expertise
• Friendship

Group shared

• Shared interests (SIG)
• Collaboration (task-based)

Shared through network

• Define identity in network
• Semi-public

Public

• Publishing
• Processed
• Reading lists

Notetaking

• Active reading
• Anchoring text
• Ad hoc list of bookmarks
• “Empty URL”
  • Create container/page
  • Personal notes

Todos

• To read
• To blog
• To share
• To update
• Projects
  • GTD
  • Contexts
• Add to calendar (recognized as event)

Outlining/Mindmapping

• Manage lists of links
• Prioritize
• Easily group

Social aspects of sharing

• Gift economy
• Personal interaction
• Trust
• Hype
• Value
• Customized

Cloud computing

• Webware
• “Online disk”
• Without download
• Touch devices
• Edit online

Personal streaming

• Activities through pages
• Logging
• Flesh out personal profile

Tagging

• “Folksonomy”
• Enables non-hierarchical structure
• Semantic fields
• Related tags
• Can include hierarchy
• Tagclouds define concept map

Required Features

Crossplatform, crossbrowser

• Browser-specific tools
• Bookmarklets
• Complete access through cloud

Keyboard shortcuts

• Quick add (to account)
• Vote
• Bookmark all tabs (à la Flock)
• Quick tags

Related pages

Recommended

• Based on social graph
• Based on tags
• Based on content
• Based on popularity
• Pointing to this page

Quickly enter links

• Add in place (while editing)
• Similar to “spell as you type”
• Incremental search
• Add full link (title, URL, text, metadata)

Archiving

• Prevent linkrot
• Prepare for post-processing (offline reading, blogging…)
• Enable bulk processing
• Maintain version history
• Internet Archive

Automatic processing

• Tags
• Summary
• Wordcount
• Reading time
• Language(s)
• Page structure analysis
• Geotagging
• Vote

Thread following

• Blog comments
• Forum comments
• Trackbacks
• Pings

Exporting

All

• Archiving
• Prepare for import
• Maintain hierarchy

Selected

• Tag
• Category
• Recently used
• Shared
• Site homepage
• Blogroll
• Blogs

Formats

• Other services
• HTML
• RSS
• OPML
• Widget

Features

• Comments
• Tags
• Statistics
• Content

Offline processing

• Browser-based
• Device based
• Offline archiving
• Include content
• Synchronization

Microblogging support

• Laconi.ca/Identi.ca
• Twitter
• Ping.fm
• Jaiku

Fixed/Static URL

• Prevent linkrot
• Maintain list for same page
• Short URLs
• Automatically generated
• Expansion on mouseover
• Statistics

Authentication

• Use of resources
• Identify
• Privacy
• Unnecessary for basic processing
• Sticks (no need to login frequently)
• Access to contacts and social graph
• Multiple accounts
  • Personal/professional
  • Contexts
  • Group accounts

• Premium accounts

  • Server space
  • Usage statistics
  • Promotion

• Support

  • OpenID
    • As group login
  • Google Accounts
  • Facebook Connect
  • OAuth

Integration

• Web history
• Notebook
• Blogging platform
• Blog editor
• Microblogging platform
• Logbook
• General purpose content editor
• Toolbar
• URL shortening
• Address book
• Social graph
• Personal profile
• Browser
  • Bookmarks
  • History
  • Autocomplete
• Analytics
• Email
• Search
  • Online
  • Offline

Related Tools

• Diigo
• WebCitation
• Ping.fm
• BackType
• Facebook share
• Blog This
• Link This
• Share this
• Digg
• Plum
• Spurl
• CoComments
• MyBlogLog
• TwtVite
• Twistory
• Windows Live Writer
• Magnolia
• Stumble Upon
• Delicious
• Google Reader
• Yahoo Pipes
• Google Notebook
• Zoho Notebook
• Google Browser Sync
• YouTube
• Flock
• Zotero

Relevant Blogposts

• iPhone Wishlist
• Flock as Blog Editor
• Blogging Tools
• TIU: Spurl
• How Can Google Beat Facebook?

I discovered Wallwisher when I came across Wallwishers created by Nik Peachey and Ackygirl through Ackygirl’s link.

Looking through the FAQs, I discovered the following information about Wallwisher:

Wallwisher is an Internet application that allows people to express their thoughts on a common topic easily.

A wall is basically the ‘web page’ where people actually post messages.

Have a look at FAQs for more information about how to use Wallwisher.

You can also share the Wall, embed it in a website or organise an RSS feed for Wallwisher.

I like the collaborative aspect the best,  the fact that it looks better than a list, it links to things easily, and you can even embed a video.

It would be an excellent way to brainstorm ideas and collaborate for students and teachers alike.

What are your ideas on the potential of Wallwisher?

Many times I don’t understand why there aren’t two versions of SuperMemo 2006, like one with “incremental reading” (plus some enhancements), and the other plain simple SRS with priority queue (this is a must in order to handle information overload). Perhaps many would prefer to never even try to use incremental reading and just process everything related in a SRS from ready made items. Next some info about the subject, from the official SuperMemo site:

Which kind of texts make an inherently poor material for Incremental

Reading? (4)

• Descriptions of scientific experiments
• mathematical derivations
• programming examples in source code
• case studies, etc.

What should you do with text that make an inherently poor material for incremental reading?

In such cases, use a traditional thorough analysis methods, summarize results of your analysis, and use SuperMemo only to keep track of such
summaries.

Recently, I have been working with some of my middle school/high school students on note taking strategies. It is sad really that when you walk into classrooms and ask teachers if they have taught their students how to take notes in their classroom about 9 out of every 10 I ask say, “No”.  The interesting part is that many of them require the students to take notes or they strongly encourage it and say, “You can use your notes for the test.” 

If a student does not know HOW to take the notes in a way that works for them, then the notetaking is useless.

We can not possibly expect students to be successful with taking notes without teaching it. It is important to remember that students need to take notes in a style that works for them.  They need to try a few different styles to find the right one for them. 

  It is essential that you teach them the strategy and not just give it to them and say, “Now do it.”

When using these you must practice this with them.

1. Model the strategy for them: This means read a section with them and you do it for them.  Before writing on each stickynote, say outloud what you are thinking.  This might be something like, “I think it was really important to know…”  You may also while reading, realize that you are already thinking about what needs to go on your notes. You read a sentence and say, wow! That’s important.  So say that out loud for them.  This is important.  Then go ahead if you feel the need and write that down on a note right then and then keep reading.  You can always add more paper or stickynotes.  You don’t have to fit it all on one. Include in your “thinking aloud” why you are choosing what you are choosing to write down.

2. Have them read the next section and discuss what they are choosing to write down.  Make sure they can say why they chose what they chose.

3.  If they really attached to the method and really get it, let them do several sections and then show it to you.  After a while, they are good to go, you don’t need to keep watching over how they are doing their notes.

4. If the strategy doesn’t stick and seem to be one they attach to Try Another One. 

I felt I should break the different strategies into different posts so please take the ideas here and apply them to the next few notetaking posts. I am only sharing a few strategies, there are many so don’t limit yourself to these. These posts include

Sticky Note Notes

T- Notes

Mind Mapping