Oct 0828
Whitney Houston sings “Where do broken hearts go?” Me, I have often wondered what becomes of broken or lost Web pages — you know, the URLs that used to work but now display a 404 or file not found error. Are these pages deleted from the servers? Or have they just been unlinked? And what do I do if I really need the information and it’s now gone?
You’ll be glad to know that there is a whole movement devoted to changing the content of the Internet from ephemera to artifacts. Internet libraries are springing up everywhere to catalog and preserve Web pages, images, even audio and video files.
The largest (I think) Internet Library is the Internet Archive, a “nonprofit organization dedicated to building and maintaining a free and openly accessible online digital library, including an archive of Web.” The archive is a collection of snapshots of Web pages from the around the world, taken at various points in time. Read the rest of this entry
Sep 0816
When my in-laws were told to evacuate their home in Houston last week, they were lucky; they managed to book a flight out to our home in VA before the two Houston airports closed down. We spent Saturday and Sunday watching the news and hoping their friends and home were safe. The most frustrating part about watching the news was the lack of local news — news about the neighborhoods, the houses, the schools, the people. Thank goodness for the citizen journalists of Houston.
While CNN, MSNBC, and all the networks showed the same footage of the Hilton’s wall falling off, and the Houston highway that was six feet under water, my in-laws wanted to know how their Clear Lake neighborhood was doing. Did everyone evacuate? Is everyone okay? Did the bayou flood? How much tree damage was there? Does the neighborhood have power?
Slowly, and then more rapidly, especially by Monday afternoon, we got lots of information from the citizen journalists of Houston.
Here is a YouTube video of a couple driving down the highway looking for their boat. This road is close to where my in-laws live. Read the rest of this entry
Jun 0827
That’s how many logos are listed in the largest directory of Web 2.0 applications and services http://www.go2web20.net/ as of today, June 27, 2008. I want to thank Ani Matson from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) for alerting me to this site.
Some of the Web 2.0 applications I like:
I am going to go crazy checking out all these sites and applications. How long do you think it will take to check out 2520 sites? That could be a perpetual project, seeing as new applications are sprouting everyday, including apps developed on top of other apps. I don’t know how anybody can keep up!
Orli Yakuel, editor of the popular blog - http://blog.go2web20.net/ - writes about the ever-evolving Web 2.0 industry. You can read her perspective on what’s hot, what’s not, and why.
Be sure to let me know about your favorite Web 2.0 applications. I’d also like to hear about your least favorite ones and why.
