Friday, February 23, 2007

As We May Think - The MEMEX




Vannevar Bush was the Director of the Office of Naval Research in 1945 when he wrote about his vision for the MEMEX which inspired me in my work in computer-assisted document retrieval systems in the 1970's and was the seminal text that inspired Doug Engelbart in his promethean work that led to the development of the Internet, graphical user interfaces, hyperdocuments and the mouse. Here is a clip:

"There is a growing mountain of research. But there is increased evidence that we are being bogged down today as specialization extends. The investigator is staggered by the findings and conclusions of thousands of other workers—conclusions which he cannot find time to grasp, much less to remember, as they appear."

Sound familiar? As We May Think:

Diagram - The power of Visual synthesis



The synthesis of books in a visual format is a critical component in the NetworkedBook project
so I have included these 3 "posters" by the artist Adelheide Mers as examples of the visual synthesis that is possible when linking the talents of an interpretive artist with the thematic material of an author's book.

Here is how Adelheid Mers describes her purpose in diagramming the book Moral Politics by George Lakoff.


ABOUT MAKING DIAGRAMS Mers says: I diagram essays and books because this is how I make sense of the texts I read. I read these texts to help make sense of what I experience. I have all kinds of questions and seem to have a knack for finding answers in print. As a visual artist, I am intrigued by the richness of imagery that is contained in all language, popular or academic, spoken or printed. Text is never dry, it is always brimming with figures of thought, some obvious, some subtle and waiting to be extricated. I make pictures from texts. As important as the content of the diagrams is to me personally, and as excited as I am if someone shares my interests, in the end I am involved in a formal endeavor. I think that "making sense" is one of the central human activities, and that we "make sense" by comparing stories. We frequently seem to need a fresh vehicle to tell our stories through, to stay alert and engaged, and I am working out what I hope is one contemporary way of "making sense".

DIAGRAM :: Adelheid Mers

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Multitouch and the Future of the Book.


Here;s another post about MT technology by Kim White at if:book to quote Kim:

It's going to be three-pronged: screen technology, networked content, and 3D visualization. And it's going to be very, very cool.
I think it's worth it to read the full text of Kim's remarks here:
if:book: the sea change is coming...

The convergence of the concept of the Networked Book and the MT technology IS very,very cool.

The Future of Media - updated


Click on this image to get a bigger view of the diagram prepared for the Future of Media Summit in July 2006. The post is updated from my original in July 2006.

The podcast by Art Kleiner is a gem -

VIOSTREAM - powered by Viocorp - Communicating Better: "

as is the research report you can get by clicking below:

::..Future of Media Summit 2006 - Research ..::

WIKINOMICS-another "Networked" book example


Wikinomics, by popular business thought leader Don Tapscott , is another example of the emerging publishing process called the "networked book" see:Thoughts Illustrated: The Pulse Project The Networked Book

As Tapscott writes: " A new art and science of collaboration is emerging—
we call it “wiki-nomics.” We’re not just talking about creating online
encyclopedias and other documents. A wiki is more than just software for
enabling multiple people to edit Web sites.

It is a metaphor for a new era of collaboration
and participation, one that, as Dylan sings, “will soon shake your windows
and rattle your walls.” The times are, in fact, a changin’.

These changes, among others, are ushering us toward a world where
knowledge, power, and productive capability will be more dispersed than
at any time in our history—a world where value creation will be fast, fluid,
and persistently disruptive. A world where only the connected will survive."

"Wikinomics has 11 chapters, but only ten have yet been written. Chapter 11, The Wikinomics Playbook, will be written by you: a community of readers and experts like yourself who will share ideas about how to embed key Wikinomics concepts and principles in 21st century organizations and business enterprises." WIKINOMICS | WIKI:

The Pulse Project The Networked Book



Click here to learn more about the Networked Book - this is a good example of using the web as a platform for conversation between the "author" and the audience. The project is being produced by names@work - an internet marketing and SEO service provider.

This project offers a design format for a
conversational publishing system.
The Pulse Project � Pulse