Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
July 16, 2010

Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary

I've been on vacation this week and have taken the opportunity to enjoy some brilliant weather in Canada's Maritime vacationland. Monday Andrea and I went down to Tidnish Dock (photos) provincial park, about an hour away. Yesterday we went to the bird sanctuary at Amherst Point (photos, about 45 minutes away. And today I took a longer drive, two hours, to explore the cliffs at Cape Chjignecto (no photos posted yet). Stephen Downes, Flickr, July 16, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Canada, Flickr] [Comment] [Tweet]

Warning: Suspicious Conferences
The word has been going out around our office to beware of some suspicious conferences advertising non-genuine advisory committees. Peter Turney writes, "Why would conferences spam researchers and add people to their program committee lists without asking? Because conferences make money, by charging hefty registration fees. Are you a researcher in computer science? You might find your name on one of these program committees." Peter Turney, Apperceptual, July 16, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Marketing, Research, Spam] [Comment] [Tweet]

The Myth of the Echo Chamber
Karl Fisch says bluntly, "There is no 'echo chamber.' It's a myth." The comment is probably in response to Ethan Zuckerman, though there is no link. Fisch writes, "Not only do I think there is no echo chamber, I think there is also tremendous power in having discussions with people who do think in a similar (although not exact) way to you. Communities of similarly-minded people, passionate people, working in concert, can accomplish amazing things. We shouldn't denigrate that, we should celebrate it." Also: Mike Caulfield writes, "I can't see Facebook as brilliant -- quite the opposite, it succeeded by tapping into the two most xenophobic markets in the U.S. -- college students and Silicon Valley." True, too true. Karl Fisch, The Fischbowl, July 16, 2010 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment] [Tweet]

If Then Why
Graham Wegner asks a series of good questions. I wouldn't mind seeing people try to answer them. Also, I like the "if - then why" pattern he uses. Because I like patterns, especially interesting ones. Graham Wegner, Open Educator, July 16, 2010 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment] [Tweet]

Co-Publishing
I've thought from time to time about a 'newspaper layout' for OLDaily over the years. I've never been happy with what I could come up with. And while http://paper.li/ isn't exactly it, to me, it's close. I like what Doug Peterson has done with it to create Ontario-educators Daily. The Twitter feed on the right works wekk, and it's good to have multiple contributors (more evident from the list view). Doug Peterson, doug – off the record, July 16, 2010 [Link] [Tags: Twitter, Thomson Corporation] [Comment] [Tweet]

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