Abby at LibraryThing has a great post about the strengths and weaknesses of tags and professionally-devised subject headings, and why it’s helpful to have both, as LibraryThing now does.

As she says, one of the advantages of a taxonomy is that it can capture the difference between Philosophy > History and History > Philosophy, whereas simply having those two tags on an object doesn’t tell you enough. Of course, with enough tags and fiercely clever algorithms, it’s possible a computer could automagically tell the difference, but the human taxonomizer is likelier to get it right. And, as she says, tagging opens up the possibility of a book being “sort of” a (say) dystopia or “78%” a dystopia (to take Joshua Schachter’s example).

We need both. We have both. Let the intertwingling continue! [Tags: taxonomy librarything everything_is_miscellaneous tags ]

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Can you find a meaningful, non-weird English sentence that contains the two consecutive words “an apples” without capitalizing “apple” or adding an apostrophe? Hint: It involves a cliché.

The answer is in the firstthird comment. [Tags: puzzles]

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David Isenberg blogs that Howard Dean reacted quickly and correctly when alerted that he was on a Board of Directors of a group that was part of a Bell campaign that looks like it’s all about Net neutrality when it’s really about preserving the incumbent’s privileged position.

Thank you, Dr. Dean. [Tags: howard_dean net_neutrality politics democrats]

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After being away all weekend, I’m just catching up…before heading off for a day at Syndicate. First off, Ethan did some of his usual worldclass conference blogging of the Beyond Broadcast shindig. Items tagged by participants can be found at del.icio.us. Here are the flickred photos. And here are some more links, taken straight from Amanda Michel at the Berkman Center:

Jessica Duda at Beyond Broadcast overviews panel focusing on new tools for public broadcasters.

Barbara Abrash at Beyond Broadcast reviews The War Tapes.

Andy Carvin gives the stats on college students’ Internet use.

Andy Carvin paraphrases Brendan Greeley of Open Source Radio.

[Tags: beyondbroadcast media]

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Jennie Attiyeh’s ThoughtCast site has a bunch of interviews with participants at the Beyond Broadcast conference I missed this weekend. (I was at a World Resources Institute offsite to work on communications strategies. Fascinating group of people and they’re working on one of the most important issues on earth. I was thrilled to be included, but sorry to miss the BB conference.) [Tags: berkman beyondbroadcast thoughtcast jennie_attiyeh wri]

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Does anyone have any examples of a metapedia, i.e., an aggregation of entries from Wikipedia around a particular topic, possibly with additional original or linked content? (The sites that merely republish Wikipedia content in its entirety don’t count.) Thanks.

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Steven Johnson takes on those who complain we lose serendipity on the Web. I’m with him 100%. Even if you only go to carefully curated sites that you carefully choose, you are always one link away from the serendipitous. In fact, it takes super-human will power to get from A to B on the Web without first getting sidetracked to C,M,R, C again and then a site with photos of obscene carved pencils.

I think of the Web as an enormous distraction engine, and I share Steven’s frustration with this serendipity meme that will not die. [Tags: serendipity steven_johnson everything_is_miscellaneous]

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In a day that would have shocked people just a few centuries ago — but, then, what day these days wouldn’t? — not only was the first polar-grizzly hybrid confirmed, but the first new genus for an African primate in 83 years was created. The Tanzanian monkey, the kipjuni, is now part of the genus Rungweebus, named after the mountain where it was found. At first scientists thought it was a mangabey but they’ve decided it’s more closely related to the baboon even though it’s anatomically different. The reclassification was cinched when scientists discovered it shoots laser beams from its eyes. (All according to the AP.) [Tags: taxonomy everything_is_miscellaneous]

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Berkman is holding what promises to be a great conference, called “Beyond Broadcast” today and tomorrow. The webcast is here, Second Life is here, the question submitting tool is here. (I’m really unhappy that I’m on the road and can’t attend in any of these forms!) [Tags: berkman beyondbroadcast media]

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In a remarkably sad story, Camp Jabberwocky (posts here here and here) — the Martha’s Vineyard miracle of a camp for the severely disabled — has been split in two. Most of the campers and counselors are going to a new camp on Nantucket. The issue that split the camp sounds hardly worth it: Whether counselors can have a beer or a glass of wine after hours. But it was just the proxy for far deeper, Shakespearean conflicts.

May both their houses flourish, although I suspect the magic has moved to Nantucket. [Tags: jabberwocky cp]

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