Blog #4

In the book Everything is Miscellaneous, Weinberger always points out the most basic, and key factor in the relevance of the web, is the users ability to interact and influence the material. He takes real world, tangible, 3D examples, such as the organizations of a Staples store, or a library. As the book progresses he ties in his examples of real world origination and applies them to the functionality of the internet. In chapter 5 all of his main points from the previous chapters begin to make sense in terms of how we as users apply our own personal preferences to the web. One of the examples Weinberger used that was very helpful to me in understanding the complex organization and tagging systems was his section about wikipedia (98). He talked about how when you search the word elephant in wikipedia many other variations and possibilities containing the word elephant are shown to the viewer. When I search through wikipedia sometimes I see the extra search options as completely irrelevant and miscellaneous. However after reading about other examples of tagging, like the Getty Thesaurus, and Encyclopedia Brittanica, I am grateful that there is a miscellaneous aspect of searching, without it, we would all have to think the same, and have the same key words represent our reality.
In both Weinberger, Web 2.0, and Web Squared, the authors all spoke about how influential and powerfull the collective users of the web are. After reading Web 2.0 and Web Squared I left with a better understanding of the complexities of the web, I also found my self more consumed with the immensity of the web. Even though i still have feelings verging on intimidation, all three of these readings reassured me that human thoughts are behind the organization of material, especially in regards to tagging. The way humans organize their thoughts, paired with the freedom available through the internet, can either make finding information very easy, or nearly impossible, depending on how "outrageous" your search is. More often than not I find tagging to be very useful. However when I go search google images and type in a word, I am always a little nervous that some "random" image of something completely irrelevant and inappropriate will pop up.

Blog #3

I view my organization of memories, as very detail oriented, and specific. I think that that shows that I truly care about my memories and that I value them as a tool for my future. I have found that going back and reading past entires helps me find more gratitude for my life. I think that other people organize their memories in scrapbooks, photobooks, photos on their computers, video diaries, and home videos. I also think that people now are able to look back to old emails, and facebook conversations to organize their memories.

Blog #2

Some of the key points I noted in Weinberger (chapters 1&2) are the relevance and importance of categorization, organization, and how methods related to those actions are varied. Depending on a persons interests, passions, needs, and dreams (40) their preference of categorization can vary. Some people are opposed to alphabetization, and prefer organization by topic. In my personal life I try to organize my memories. I keep year long journals where I write down my daily activities. These writing exercises help me remember what has happened in my life. I record meals, places I have gone, funny things i heard, emotions ect... They are organized by date, and each entry is usually sequential, unless I have not written in some time then I just note the things I remember. This form of organization works for me because I am the only one who looks at the entries (unless my sister happens to take a peek), the system is simple. However as time goes on and more journals are acquired, I might add markers to separate sections that I find to be most important.

Blog #1

One of the most important ideas I found in this article was the use of social networking sites (tagging, and posts) to organize and propel political events, demonstrations, and elections. With networking sites being used in relation to institutions as large as world politics I am excited to witness and interact with social networking that promotes other areas of social awareness. Such as promotion for art shows, films, community events, local activities ect... I think that we all need to think about our individual power and collective power when it comes to posting links on twitter, facebook ect.
One of the most exciting web applications I have seen in this past year (really it is more of a feature) are the options google images has added. Adding the ability to sort through picture search results by color scheme. This added a new dimension to narrowing down your search results, and helps you truly find what you want in the seamlessly never ending collection of web images.