Apple Surpassing Microsoft

I noticed an article in Friday's online version of The New York Times titled "Apple Passes Microsoft as No. 1 in Tech". You can read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/technology/27apple.html?ex=1290571200&en=1cfaf8110c2b36e8&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=TE-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M151-ROS-0510-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click

Very interesting article. There is an interesting quote at the end which says that Apple really understood that it had to combine hardware and software together to make it as easy as possible for consumers to use. Their products are therefore "shrink wrapped and ready to go" -- a huge selling point for users.

I tend to agree with this...I have a nano iPod which I love. I think what is truly innovative to Apple beyond their software and systems capabilities is the attention to design. The iconic Apple streamlined, modern design that unites the entire product line is a genius marketing advantage.

The article also points out the shift in market competition for Apple -- no longer Microsoft but now Google.

Thought this article was good to reference in light of what we have been discussing in LIS 2600.

Information respect

The webcast of Professor Joseph Turrow's talk "When the Audience Clicks--Buying Attention in the Digital Age" was very interesting and timely considering the news lately over privacy issues with Facebook. It is a bit scary to consider just how much information Google has on its users. Somewhat reassuring is that, according to Professor Turrow, web sites are not so much interested in who you are as an individual, but who you are demographically, what your buying habits are. Google's goal is to use this 'behavioral targeting' and demographics gleamed from its users to tailor more content...possibly in the form of tailored ads and newspaper content. This is already happening to an extent.

Time has an interesting cover article on Facebook in its current issue (May 31, 2010). An interesting quote from the article (written by Dan Fletcher): "...the site is premised on a contradiction: Facebook is rich in intimate opportunities--you can celebrate your niece's first steps there and mourn the death of a close friend--but the company is making money because you are, on some level, broadcasting those moments online. The feelings you experience on Facebook are heartfelt; the data you're providing feeds a bottom line." How much personal information are we willing to share?

I concur with Professor Turrow in that a degree of Information Respect needs to be implemented with regards to your personal information flying around the web. Tell me how this particular web site got this information. What will you do with it? Where did it come from and why was it sent to you?

After much pressure from my friends to join, I set up a Facebook account nearly a year ago, but I really rarely visit the site. I'm apprehensive to post pictures of my children or husband...they haven't signed up for this site, I have. Plus it's really such a time drain, in my opinion. I don't need to know the minutiae of friends' everyday lives. I prefer blogs that friends and family keep, I think it's a more focused, interesting form of social interaction on the Web.

Catching up with the world

I am glad that LIS2600 is one of the first classes to take in the MLIS program. I feel I need to really update not only my computing skills but be familiar with all the really useful "open source" sites out there.

It is really astounding how much has changed online since 2003. 2003 is when I officially dropped out of the full-time working world for a bit to raise my two children. At the time, I had been a Managing Editor for a packaging trade publication and was also involved in running the many conferences we hosted. Back then, everyone's PowerPoint presentations were either emailed to us or brought to the conference on a CD. Flash forward to 2009 and you can use the web app "Go To Meeting" to host a conference (or at least an extensive conference call) online. No need to leave your desk. Web apps like these have undoubtedly made the business world much more efficient, streamlined and productive.

As the Web 2.0 concept spreads and becomes even more mainstream, you can foresee its impact in so many disciplines...business, publishing, medicine, science, education, etc. It's such a huge shift in thinking that anyone can now contribute to the the development of the Web. I can only wonder what my kids' classroom will look like 10 to 15 years from now when they are both in high school. Will there still be textbooks? Will they meet everyday in a traditional classroom setting? What I know for certain at the moment is that my 3 year old can use a laptop fairly intuitively!

So far, so good

I am excited to finally begin my studies in the MLIS program. LIS 2600 has been great so far. I am admittedly a little overwhelmed by our assignments and the array of software to download and sites to join, but after completing a week's worth of these tasks, I think it all can be accomplished.

Truly, the rigor of these courses is what gives Pitt's MLIS program such a good reputation. The head of Gettysburg College's Musselman Library had really great things to say about this program when I spoke with her a few months ago. A few members of their staff are graduates of Pitt's MLIS program.

I think the content of LIS 2600 has been very interesting thus far. So much of it parallels what I had been experiencing in the journalism industry...all content moving to the web, copyright issues, discovering what web content consumers are willing to pay for, etc.

I especially enjoyed both webcasts for this past week. Tim Berners-Lee's "The Future of the Web" was fascinating and, I have to say, a bit over my head at times! Nonetheless, it was interesting to hear where the web may be headed in the next 5-10 years. I very much liked Meredith Farkas' talk on "Building Academic Library, 2.0." She had lots of great, practical suggestions for librarians to better connect with their patrons, in particular the idea of "radical trust" -- having real trust in the library's patrons as partners in the development of the future of libraries. Farkas also mentioned that "librarians need to question everything they thought was true" -- a sentiment I agree with.

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to The Kate Post...I know not a very imaginative title for a blog, but I wanted to keep it simple.