Moving the Library to the Mobile

We increasingly have a ‘mesh’ of entry points: PC and phone, of course, but also DVRs, cameras, navigation systems, and consoles. We increasingly use a range of shared network level ‘cloud’ services: for search, for social networking, for content and information, for communication. Providing service in this environment is very different than in one where the model assumes a personal desktop or laptop as the place where resources are accessed and used and the institutional Web site as the place where they are delivered.

A couple of thoughts from a long and thoughtful piece by Lorcan Dempsey that sets out some of the issues for the library of the future.

As a growing proportion of library use is network–based, the library becomes visible and usable through the network services provided. On the network, there are only services. So, the perception of quality of reference or of the value of particular collections, for example, will depend for many people on the quality of the network services which make them visible, and the extent to which they can be integrated into personal learning environments. Increasingly, this requires us to emphasize the network as an integral design principle in library service development, rather than thinking of it as an add–on. The provision of RSS feeds is a case in point. Thinking about how something might appear on a mobile device is another.

From First Monday.

Some Random Nerd: is interesting on Web 3.0

The more I think about it, the more I think that it's the move away from the PC that will mark the next stage of the evolution of the internet; the idea of the internet was of connected and networked computers. The idea of the Web is all about interconnected and networked documents. The move away from the PC and towards other devices— a "Web of Things"— seems to me to be the next logical step.

The idea of the PC as the "hub" of your information is starting to feel a bit dated; as the number of devices that we are using regularly increases (mobile phones, laptops, netbooks, work PC, home PC), the idea of a central device that everything else revolves around seems to me to be an increasingly outdated way of organising your technology; it's too much to rely on. I know 2 iPhone owners who illustrate this point perfectly; one doesn't own a computer, so her iPhone is tied to a friends' PC (and iTunes account), so much of what I would call the important functionality (the ability to transfer files, download software, back up contacts lists, install updates etc.) is lost to her. The other owned a laptop until it recently got stolen, so there's no way for him to upgrade the software on his phone without first completely wiping it (and in the process, losing the music, photos etc. that he now has on his phone, but with no other copies.

More here with background from Some Random Nerd, via Krista Thomas and Reuters.

Dial a Picture (Frame)

T-Mobile USA will get into the picture frame business. Specifically, the carrier will be offering a digital picture frame, dubbed the T-Mobile Cameo, that comes with its own phone number.

Handy for cash-strapped galleries too, I'd imagine.

The Facebook Phone: of course...

Already dubbed the Facebook phone, the INQ is positioned as a ‘live contact book’, with friends’ online status and Facebook profile pictures displayed against their contact details. Early reviews suggest this phone will go a long way to helping newbs realise the potential of mobile social media networking.

From Techcrunch.

Now I feel Old - introducing the drug dealer IPhone game

DrugLords is a location-based massively multiplayer online game about drug trafficking. Using GPS inside your iPhone, you become a drug dealer in the criminal underworld, which exists parallel to your everyday life.

From a-steroids. I'm assuming this is a joke.


But then here's Mashable:

Unfortunately, the game is currently in early, closed beta stage, but, according to the developers, a free beta version will be launched in the next couple of weeks and distributed through the iTunes App Store. I’ve no doubt that we’ll see more and more games which use the iPhone’s location and networking capabilities to create massive multiplayer worlds in which you can immerse on the go.

Is October 29 some kind of online April Fool's Day?

Platform Agnostics To Triumph following US Election Strategies?

Now, what do videogames and Obama have to do with newsrooms? It's clear that over the past year, Obama's campaign has developed a profound understanding of how its community finds and consumes information across a number of platforms. And Obama has embraced them all, and adapted his message to fit the way people use those platforms.

That's an important lesson that every newsroom should learn. During the past year of research for The Next Newsroom Project, we identified six principles that newsrooms should adopt. One of those calls for newsrooms to embrace all platforms. It's not enough to simply say, "Hey, we want to be online first." Instead, think about how to use all platforms equally: mobile, the Web, print, broadcast (radio and TV). And be ready to experiment with any new ones that come along, including video games.

Media Shift Idea Lab contradicts Robert Thomson?

Competition at the WSJ

“We are trying to speed up the metabolism, to create within the journalistic community a real sense of competition. We need to be ahead of the other media all of the time...We must offer mobile delivery of content because the speed of delivery changes the nature of the content itself.”

Former London Times editor Robert Thomson on his new mission: the WSJ. This from an Edelman breakfast briefing. Much more here.