This afternoon, the wind whipped the leaves into wispy funnels that danced out around the woodpile and up the back hill, inviting us to come out. Continue reading “Into the liminal: an ode to autumn”
College Builds Hub to Track Social-media Buzz
“So many great technology ideas seem totally obvious when you see them in action,” Mr. Alexander said. “It’s a very basic, simple idea, but those are often the ones that change the world.” Continue reading “College Builds Hub to Track Social-media Buzz”
The Web is dead, long live the webs
In response to N.J. Smythe’s insightful commentary: If The Web is Really Dead, What Have We Lost?
As healthy people and societies evolve, they approach new experiences and then integrate them into a more expanded structure. I believe this applies to the evolution of technologies and media, too.
In television, we may have 500 channels, but several programs are still water-cooler experiences, albeit of a higher-common-denominator than the top 10 of 1970. The same goes for magazines. Just as diversity divides without common ground and unity becomes uniformity without multiple perspectives, so, too, will new online ecosystems — open and proprietary — facilitate the very experiences we need as humans.
So, while we may have moved beyond the first-generation excitement of the Wild, Wild Web, the social needs it satisfied will still push online experiences forward.
I believe the next Web — Web 3.0, the “Live” Web — will still provide open spaces where we will be challenged with new ideas because that’s what human learning and development demand. It will also provide the echo chambers we choose when we want to be validated by others with our own opinions.
Some define the Web as “www” and “HTTP.” I think the Web is more like the noosphere that Teilhard de Chardin envisioned 50 years ago: a place where our collective knowledge and insight (and, I’d add, natural systems captured through sensors) will live organically all around us.
The One and the Many drive media evolution. Those with the ability to tell the universal story — and also ground it in the personal and individual — will dance across boundaries and make meaning that resonates throughout our communities.
- Image by Dimitry B. via Flickr Creative Commons
Beyond the Usual Redesign
“Have you seen Bates College’s new homepage? You should check it out. It is really different and innovative.” Continue reading “Beyond the Usual Redesign”
The Social Web in Higher Education
“Jay Collier, associate director for Dartmouth Computing Services and leader of Dartmouth’s Web Services group, has a personal Web page so compelling that we’re purposely saying nothing more in a bio about him, hoping that will incentivize you to click to it. I hope you’ll also click on Yours, Mine and Ours, a review of how the new tools of the social Web can be applied to an academic institution.” Continue reading “The Social Web in Higher Education”
Bates.edu to Receive Facelift
“The spirit of hope and change is spreading from Washington D.C. to Lewiston, Maine. In the next three to four months, the College’s online homepage will be entirely revamped.” Continue reading “Bates.edu to Receive Facelift”
Doing your Due Diligence
“Dartmouth College is close to two years out from a new Web Content Management System (CMS) — a painstaking project whose success can be attributed to identifying internal needs and finding the right vendor to match them.” Continue reading “Doing your Due Diligence”
From Web “Site” to Web “Experience”
“Jay Collier made the leap (of faith – at that time) to the Web a few years ago. His department at Dartmouth is responsible for 12,500 of the 255,000 official and personal pages composing Dartmouth web presence.” Continue reading “From Web “Site” to Web “Experience””
Compass Media to Design Third-generation Websites
“Longtime media director and editor Jay Collier has formed Compass Media, a business that will provide Web development, training, and digital video editing services to community businesses and nonprofit organizations.” Continue reading “Compass Media to Design Third-generation Websites”
RETN Educational Television Network
“Under the leadership of new Executive Director Jay Collier, (Vermont’s) Regional Educational Television Network (RETN) has undergone a remarkable evolution – from a disorganized and poorly defined organization into a quality public education station with ambitions to become one of the country’s best educational access channels.” Continue reading “RETN Educational Television Network”