Things that caught my eye this week (and some from last week, since I didn’t post last Saturday).
- MinnPost, 17 Must-read Books of Spring 2012 My Goodreads “To-Read” list is pretty long already, but I’m probably gonna add some of these to the list.
- Read Write Web, Top 5 Facebook Privacy Tips. Because we all could use a refresher on this.
- Gigaom, Is Making Books Social a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?
Author and tech blogger Clive Thompson says he sees a future in which books become just as social as other forms of writing, with comments and conversations integrated into them or revolving around them — but is that what readers want?
I don’t know. I suspect some readers want that and some readers will be horrified. I kind of take issue with their narrow understanding of “social” to mean “Web 2.0″-type tools, though. I’m not sure that reading isn’t social now, what with book groups and online services like GoodReads (or heck, the back-and-forth reviews on Amazon, which sometimes involve the authors themselves). And maybe some reading has always been social – I think of the stories of people breathlessly awaiting Dickens’ latest installments to find out what happened to Little Nell. I mean, I get what they’re saying here, and clearly they’re talking about something a little different, but some people have always sought out a more social experience while reading certain books.
- Pegasus Librarian, Academia, Libraries, Work, and the Public Good
Actually another “link dump,” focused on the questions:Faculty and librarians answer, “We work for the public good — education, access to the thoughts and works of others, and the critical thinking skills to make something of that access all create a better society.” But I think that may be answering a question that is not being asked, or answering it based on assumptions that are not shared. As a society, we’re questioning the fundamentals: From what capacities do we derive value? From what outputs can that value be measured? What, ultimately, contributes to the value of society as a whole — the public good? And what are the rewards for value in time, money, and social standing?
Interesting round-up.
- ecouterre, Yeast-Based Ingredient to Replace “Whale Barf” in High-End Fragrances. I really have nothing to add beyond this headline.
Have a great Sunday! Hope we all avoid the worst of the storms.
