Tim Berners Lee keynote at 3GSM

Tim Berners Lee keynote at 3GSM: "There is a very important difference in attitude between a foundation technology and — well — let's call it a ceiling technology. A foundation technology is designed to enable innovation, to be the base which will support other even more powerful things to come. A ceiling technology is not. It is designed to provide a value, and for its provider to cash in and cash out. Proprietary music download systems are ceiling technologies to the extent that the technologists design to be also being the only store in town, rather than creating an open market. Though putting a lid on further innovation, they are still providing a service, and making sure they profit from it.

Ceiling technologies are the end of the road for innovation.

When you want to make a foundation technology, you need to look ahead. You need to put aside the short term return on investment questions and look at the long term."

I think this is a really helpful quote from Tim Berners Lee when trying to consider what constitutes innovation. Openness seems to be the key to allow fluidity of ideas and progression of development. The moment you close something and shut people out, you shut out the opportunity to see your idea in a new light. To see different ways of applying that idea. New methods. New concepts. If you want to lay the foundations for innovation in elearning then you need not only to be creative in your thoughts, but open to the future and able to look to the long term. Set standards and work together from those standards.

John Battelle's Searchblog: Wonderful.

John Battelle's Searchblog: Wonderful.

What's Web2.0? Have a look at this video. Excellent whirl through the history and changes afoot...

Flame First, Think Later: New Clues to E-Mail Misbehavior - New York Times

Flame First, Think Later: New Clues to E-Mail Misbehavior - New York Times: "One proposed solution to flaming is replacing typed messages with video. The assumption is that getting a message along with its emotional nuances might help us dampen the impulse to flame."

A thought-provoking article on flaming in online conversations... and the inference that it will be sorted out by video got me wondering. Would this inhibit the freedom felt by those who 'hide' behind their text in order to say what they really felt at that instant? Would we be seeing a more real version of the person with video, or just a more socially constrained one?

I also wondered where things like avatars - Second Life etc - fit in. I know that I always feel slightly self-conscious where Second Life is concerned and haven't been able to use it productively. I've had to choose a fake name. Had to choose a fake body. I feel fake. Why does a text-based medium help me feel real but a visual + text one leave me feeling soulless? Why do some people choose to flame and others to just get on with communicating?


What's real and what's not?

Petitions, politics and prats: a cautionary tale for No 10 | Technology | Guardian Unlimited Technology

Petitions, politics and prats: a cautionary tale for No 10 | Technology | Guardian Unlimited Technology: "If there is a faintly embarrassing feel to many of these sites, reminiscent of the proverbial dad at a disco, it stems partly from the contrast with the way web communities traditionally develop. A grassroots site will start small, attracting more and more interested people through word-of-mouth. When an institution that is already huge and controversial suddenly adopts a new technology, there's less opportunity for those involved to grow into it. It's also an open invitation for all the people who already hate it to log on and start yelling."

Interesting quote in the Guardian about eGovernment. It's all very well opening yourselves up to petitions and the 'voice of the people', but if the people don't have anything of worth to say or if they don't want to say what you want to hear... then you're left in the embarrassing position of having to publically ignore them. Not good for anyone. There's something that smacks of 'don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer' about the accessibility of politicians to the electorate in such a visible manner. If anyone anywhere can log on and see the public disquiet of the reigning Government, and anyone anywhere can join in on the attack, there's part of me that says 'yes, that has to be good for democracy', but there's another part that says 'I bet the politicians are desperate for a way to close the floodgates'.

Wonder where the prats and politicians will end up?

No 'this is my first entry' entry!

Just noticed that I haven't done the obligatory 'this is my first blog entry' entry. Is there some blog-etiquette I've now broken?

Okay, a brief intro... this blog is about the stuff that interests me in elearning, technology, education and... well, life in general. I know there are masses of blogs like this out there but this is my blog, my interests, my comments, my waffle. I often see things which catch my eye online and I think that having a little snug online pocket for them to settle in and gently gather dust would be a good thing. So here it is...

This is my first... okay second... blog entry. Done and dusted. :o)

Blogumentary: A Documentary About Blogs

Blogumentary: A Documentary About Blogs

Although I have to confess I haven't actually watched the whole of this (I was sabotaged several times in my attempt by a small snotty child resident in my house), this does look like it will really help answer the 'what is a blog' question. One to note and return to!