The thoughts of a web 2.0 research fellow on all things in the technological sphere that capture his interest.

Thursday 27 August 2009

Ulrichsweb: Why is there no free equivalent?

For those who don't know, Ulrichsweb is a rather large, very useful, but unfortunately expensive database of periodicals: journals, magazines, newspapers, and newsletters. The sort of information that is very useful to librarians, publishers, and writers. What I find bizarre is that there isn't a free alternative, especially with such a highly skilled user base.

When I wanted access to this database a couple of days ago I had to travel all the way down to the British Library to access it! The University of Wolverhampton doesn't have a subscription, and my Open University access is only useful on-site in Milton Keynes. Whilst I'm always happy to have a trip to London, it would obviously be more useful if it was freely available from home.

Delving into Ulrichsweb I'm always amazed at how many small and specialist magazines there are, journals that you are unlikely to come across unless you already know that they are there. My favourite find from this trip was the very interesting looking Artful Blogging. Too often we overlook usefully structured information in favour of the all powerful Google.

A web 2.0 approach to periodical directory/database seems like the obvious alternative to Ulrichsweb, especially as it would of particular use to librarians who already have access to so much of the useful information. Not only could such a database be made freely available, but it could be far more up-to-date; I found that many of the Ulrichsweb links no-longer worked, but rather than being able to change the records, they remained inaccurate.

Maybe I should put my librarian's hat on and start a creative commons Dabble...

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The Distraction of the Real-Time Web: I want to get off

Whilst everyone seems to want to get on the Twitter train of the real-time web these days, I think I want to get off and take my time to blog a bit more.

Since I first went to the Birmingham Social Media Cafe back in January I have thrown myself into Twitter head first: following 124 people, posting 1,403 updates, and even going along to the BrumTwestival! However there is a downside: I blog less.

Those who read my blog may not think of my blogging less as a downside, but blog posts are as much for me as my readers. They are an opportunity for me to put down my thoughts on the web in a fairly coherent manner. The real-time web means that I am more focused on what is happening right now, rather than reflecting on what has happened.

The real-time web has it's place for breaking news and customer engagement, but for some of us a slower blogosphere (or even traditional publishing) is a more suitable place to explore our thoughts. Let's hope the world doesn't go too far exchanging quality for speed.

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Friday 21 August 2009

Looking Forward to an Oxford English Dictionary API

Final proof of my being middle-aged came on Tuesday when I found myself filling in a form on the OED site complaining about the lack of a mobile interface for the dictionary and the term 'webometrics' missing from the dictionary. The reply came this morning: they have no plans for a mobile interface..."However, there are plans to provide APIs which would enable third parties to develop different interfaces for querying the OED." I couldn't have asked for more!

I am a heavy user of the OED, in fact it is the only subscription service that I inevitably use every day. It is not only that I am an appalling speller (which I am and have always been), but the dictionary is an essential tool for any academic. Unfortunately the lack of a simple mobile interface has meant that I don't consult the dictionary as often as I should. Despite being provided with a subscription from two different universities and two public libraries the lack of a mobile interface means a long and awkward signing-in process before you even start to look at specific entries.

Whilst a decent mobile application/interface will be of greatest interest to me, an API will enable a wide range of novel applications to be built around the world's greatest dictionary.

nb. Webometrics has now been added to their files as a 'hint' to the new words team.

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Saturday 8 August 2009

Does the BBC now have the best 404 page?

Today I came across my favourite 404 error page. At some point the BBC has gone from this:

To this:

I'm not sure when the change was made, but both 404s are currently available on the site.

For those who were not fortunate enough to be brought up with the BBC's iconic clown in the 60s,70s and 80s, it was featured on the BBC's test card (..and according to wikipedia still makes occasional appearances).

This is a 404 that is guaranteed to make people smile and feel less miserable about not finding the page they expected; every 404 is a trip down memory lane. It's such an obvious choice of a 404 when you think about it, it's surprising that it took the BBC so long use it. It would be nice if more sites made efforts on their 404s, as it's amazing how many of them we come across as we surf around the web.

Nb. Personally I hate redirects, I'd rather know the page I was looking for wasn't there, rather than having to double-check a page's URL after searching the page for the expected information.

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Friday 7 August 2009

Scholarly Publishing and Flickr Tags

Recently Elsevier published its vision for the Article of the Future. However, whilst it paid attention to graphical abstracts and integrated audio and video, it failed to mention one of the most important aspects: delays in the publication process. I am joint author on a paper that has just been accepted by the Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, unfortunately it won't be published until 2011!

Angus, E., Stuart, D., & Thelwall, M. (2011, in press).Flickr's potential as an academic image resource: an exploratory study, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science.
Abstract
Many web 2.0 sites are extremely popular and contain vast amounts of content, but how much of this content is useful in academia? This paper investigates the potential use of the popular web 2.0 image site Flickr as an academic image resource. The study identified images tagged with any one of 12 subject names derived from recognised academic subject categories in the three main ISI citation indexes. Image content analysis was used to determine the types of images found, and term-frequency analysis of associated tags was carried out to provide additional insights into the context behind image placement. The results show that Flickr can be used as a resource for subject-specific images in some subject areas; and that non subject-specific images can also prove to be of value for individual academics.
Whilst you won't be able to see the final version for a couple of years, you can nonetheless download the pre-peer-reviewed version here [.doc format].

I have also included a zoomable copy of the poster that the first author took to ISSI 2009 in Brazil for your added enjoyment (thanks to UCL's Google Maps Image Cutter).

This is the group's second article on Flickr Tags, a preprint of the previous article can be found HERE.

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Tuesday 4 August 2009

Eee PC 1005HA: Netbook or cheap laptop?

On Friday I bought myself a new netbook, the new 'Seashell' Eee PC from Asus. Netbooks have changed a lot since I bought the original Eee PC 701 in November 2007, increasingly blurring the netbook/laptop boundary.

My first Eee PC failed back in December, and since then I've been struggling without it. 'Struggling' because the netbook perfectly fills the giant gap between the mobile browser and the PC, a gap that can't be filled by a laptop as a laptop is too large to carry everywhere without a second-thought. Getting a slightly larger than expected pay packet last month I decided that it was time to get a new netbook, luckily coinciding with the launch of a new Eee PC model.


First impressions of the 1005HA are generally positive, although there are two features I prefered on the 701: the slightly larger keyboard means I now hit '#' and '\' rather than 'Enter' and 'Shift'; whilst the touch pad is regularly zooming in and out accidently. It would also have been nice if the 1005HA included a case as the 701 did.

Whilst the 1005HA has a larger screen and harddrive, as well as a better chip and battery (mine lasted for 6hrs 3mins of wi-fi enabled web surfing), it is pushing the boundaries of what is and isn't a netbook. Not only does the increased size and weight mean that I am less likely to want to carry the 1005HA everywhere, but the increased harddrive space means I am more more likely to store information on it that I don't want to risk losing. When you start to debate whether to take your netbook out with you it has become a laptop.

It is too early for me to conclude whether my 1005HA is a netbook or laptop, but I fear I may have bought a cheap laptop. Only time will tell.

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Saturday 1 August 2009

Free online services can quickly go offline: Which RSS reader next?

There are some amazing web sites and services that you can get for free online, the problem is that they can go offline just as quikly. Microsoft's Popfly will disappear in a couple of weeks, the future of Yahoo BOSS is in doubt, and Newsgator's online feedreader is about to be shut down...at least the free version.

I've been using Newsgator's online version (as opposed to the desktop version which will continue to have a free version) for over 18 months, after getting fed-up with bloglines. My reasons for not changing to Google reader then still stands: I don't want all my information needs in one basket; Google is already too powerful.

The question now is where to go next. Do I return to Bloglines, ready to face the wrath of the bloglines plumber? Or is there a better alternative? I have one month to decide.

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