Notebook 2.0: 12 Tools for Researchers – Mashable

Here’s a useful guide to the various ‘notebook’ options available. Most of these allow you to save whole web pages or page clips, emails, pictures and other content to ‘notebooks’ organised by subject. I’m using Evernote which I’ll be reviewing soon. 

Notebook 2.0: 12 Tools for Researchers – Mashable -

The ‘intelligent cloud’

Every so often someone will conjure up a vision of the internet that offers a real insight using imagery that allows everyone to visualise complex concepts. One such insight was posted last week on Google’s official blog as part of a series on what the internet will look like in the next 10 years.

This post on the ‘intelligent cloud’ predicts that people will use ever more advanced applications to tap into the mushrooming ‘cloud’ of computational resources, online data and content. The authors predict that computer systems will get smarter by building their ability to ‘learn from the collective behaviour of billions of humans’ and by  ’gleaning relationships between objects, nuances, intentions, meanings, and other deep conceptual information.’ 

While the post is intented to be inspiring and optimistic, the future it describes is disturbing if the ‘intelligence’ of that cloud can only be tapped by the powerful.

It is interesting to note that Google’s Spector and Och don’t express any reservations about systems that will be able to ‘glean relationships between objects, nuances, intentions, meanings’. Yet I’m not the only one to fret about such a vision from two of Google’s most senior engineers. But forewarned is forearmed. Journalists and researchers are going to have more reasons to defend their own privacy from systems that may evolve ways of tracking our internet activity in unexpected ways. Additionally, while we can currently tap into web 2.0 resources in imaginative ways and combine different search and networking tools to develop effective research strategies, overwhelmingly research strategies deployed by journalists consist of simple search engine queries.

But I suspect that the picture painted by Spector and Och means that – compared with today – our ability to function as really effective journalists and researchers in 2018 will depend far more on our ability to grasp, use and ‘mash’ tools to explore with precision just as publishers are ‘mashing’ tools deliver content.

Information overload is just filter failure

Search for the term ‘overload’ in delicious or Digg and you’ll see dozens of stories on ‘information overload’. We’re all drowning under a tsunami of e-mail, RSS, bookmarks and updates – and the story hasn’t moved on for 5 or even 10 years. Someone will soon identify the best 10 posts on the best 10 ways to beat information overload. 

But we may be looking at this issue through the wrong end of the telescope. If we always think about information overload as a problem, can we really make sure we turn to right tools for the solution?

Not according to Clay Shirky speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York last week. In his excellent talk he concludes that the internet has introduced a new economics where the cost of publishing has “fallen through the floor”. As a result, he argues, that the filter for quality has been pushed further and further downstream of the site of production. The crux, according to this logic, is that filter failure is the problem – not information overload. The solution is that have to use different filter tools. You have to re-tune them. You have to accept that your filters will fail and will need to be rebuilt. The lessons here for effective research are obvious. “If you have the same problem for a long time – maybe it’s not a problem, maybe it’s a fact.”

Web 2.0 Expo NY: Clay Shirky (shirky.com) It\'s Not Information Overload. It\'s Filter Failure.

Infovell launched for Hidden Web searching

In this post Read-Write-Web describes, what appears to be, a worthwhile new tool for accessing ‘deep’ or ‘hidden’ web content – infovell. It is astonishing how little of the web is actually indexed by search engines and it is good to see a new tool in one online market that is far from crowded. As Sarah Perez points out, however, infovell comes at a price. Even so, if you need access to the hidden web, and you think the databases that infovell can access are relevant, then the commercial option may be an answer. I’ll be looking at the 30-day free trial soon.

Text 2 Mind Map

 Text 2 Mind Map – The text-to-mind-map converter – If, like me, you permanently have several mind-maps littering your desk then you might find Text 2 Mind Map helpful.

Google still clutching to search histories

Google’s fightback over the privacy issue may have blunted criticism of its policies on search history records but behind the scenes there is still serious concern about its determination to link personal information with search data.

• Data protection watchdogs to hold hearings with Google | OUT-LAW.COM -

Welcome

Welcome to insite. A www.journalism.co.uk blog that will cover everything related to internet research. insite is written and edited by Colin Meek who delivers training courses in Advanced Internet Research for journalism.co.uk the National Union of Journalists and for other clients on an in-house basis.