Archive for the ‘Culture & Society’ Category

This chart from Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, written by analysts at Forrester, illustrates some interesting trends dealing with who people put their trust in when it comes to information about products and services. The data shows that people trust friends as information sources above traditional media and expert opinions. Experts are relied upon only slightly more (3% more) than the reviews of strangers on websites. Josh Bernoff gives some suggestions about what this might mean for your brand in his post Data chart of the week: who do people trust?, including a tip that there might already be reviews of your organization on websites such as Yelp and the Consumerist.

This trend of placing trust in one’s peers over industry experts is echoed by the Edelman Trust Barometer 2008:

“In Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United States, “a person like me” is considered the most credible source of information about a company.”

The PBS series Frontline will investigate the reality of teens on the Web in Growing Up Online which airs tonight at 9pm ET.

“In “Growing Up Online,” FRONTLINE peers inside the world of this cyber-savvy generation through the eyes of teens and their parents, who often find themselves on opposite sides of a new digital divide. From cyber bullying to instant “Internet fame,” to the specter of online sexual predators, FRONTLINE producer Rachel Dretzin investigates the risks, realities and misconceptions of teenage self-expression on the World Wide Web.”

Wired Magazine describes the formidable competition at the National Texting Championship held earlier this year in New York City. Over 300 competitors from across the country joined together in the Roseland Ballroom to put their texting skills to the test in a series of single-elimination rounds in which participants were given increasingly difficult phrases to type into their cell phones for a chance at $25,000.

In his article, In the World of Competitive Texting, Over 20 Is Over the Hill, Neil Janowitz tells us of the de-throning of a West Coast champ, and the rise of a thirteen year old texter, who according to the event website, sends over 4,000 text messages a month.

Latest posting from the Educause Librarian is “7 Things You Should Know About Augmented Reality”.

Augmented reality adds information and meaning to a real object or place. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality does not create a simulated reality. Instead, it takes a real object or space and uses technologies to add contextual data to deepen students’ understanding of it. To the extent that instructors can furnish students with a broad context for understanding the real world, students are more likely to comprehend and remember what they are learning. Through exposing students to an experiential, explorative, and authentic model of learning early in their higher education careers, augmented reality may help shift students from passive to active learning modes and thus become more successful learners.

The “7 Things You Should Know About…” series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, how it works, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use ELI’s “7 Things You Should Know About…”  briefs to gain a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

In addition to the “7 Things You Should Know About…”  briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more visit the ELI Resources page.

Take a look at Teen Web a the Nashville Public Library. Flickr images, Teen Web Links on Del.icio.us, and embedded player showcasing the Teen Song Writing contest…and more!

If you’re a teen songwriter, and you didn’t participate in Nashville Public Library’s first ever teen songwriting contest, you missed out!

Finishes with a neat row of avatars, introducing the Library crew. It’s worth taking a look a the Web 2.0 features of Teen Web.

[From: Tame the Web]

The ease of communication as social networks grow highlights an emerging aspect of culture and society that librarians will want to keep in touch with. What are the communication changes that are taking place that relate to the history of protest? So just what is a smartmob? Stay in touch with the subversive dimension of social networking in our  society.

This book will explore of the use of communication networks in the context of activism. It Is about how networks emerge, what they look like, and how they act. An example from the Civil Rights era known as the Nashville sit-ins will set the stage by illustrating how a basic sit–in functions. A protest known as the Battle of Seattle will be used to show how the advances of communication and organization that have been facilitated by mobile communications technologies.12 It is imperative that the protestors of today understand how modern communications technology can improve the efficiency, precision, and effectiveness of protest.

This short, stunning, PDF by Shlomo Goltz on “Evolution of the Protest” is a must-read for students of smart mobs. Goltz combines scholarship and graphic design into a short booklet.

[From: Smart Mobs]