How How Stuff Works Works

Stuff You Missed in History Class from HowStuffWorks.com
A Conspiracy Starring Aaron Burr

Vice President Aaron Bur shoots the President during duel
http://mentalfloss.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/burr-duel.jpg

I subscribed to audio podcasts from How Stuff Works through iTunes. The available episodes reflect a huge variety of topics relating to history such as the current episode addresses the controversy and conspiracy theory surrounding Aaron Burr. and ends with an invitatin for listeners to go to their website, Twitter, or Facebook to suggest future topics for programs.

After listening to the first episode sent to me, I went to the How Stuff Works (HSW) website. The topics covered range so far that Google lists several sub catagories as individual hits on its search page. HSW's homepage categorizes offerings into adventure, animals, auto, communicatin, computer, electronics, entertainment, food, geography, health , history, home & grden, money, people, and science. There are also links to quizzes, top 10s, and pics & puzzles, some provided as the "X" of the day to encourage individuals to return to the site regularly.

HSW is part of Discovery Communications, LLC, so it is resonable to expect a high degree of credibility. Content and contextualizing content in relationship to the world, history, and listener/viewer lives is primary. Even though HSW is highly delivery of knowledge and information bsed, there is plenty of opportunity for people to interact through blogs, submit ideas, and use interactive media.

The HSW website experience compares to how a child who lives sweets feels in a candy store with so many enticing choices.

I have mixed feelings about using podcasts. On the one hand, they are great because I can listen while I do other things. I love this because I do lots of hands on things such as pottery, crafts, art, and household tasks. On the other hand, if the topic of the podcast catches my interest when my time is limited, I could read the pertinent information much more quickly than the podcast delivers.

Edu Offsides call v. Slovenia - Disallowed World Cup Goal

The World Cup is one of the big stories in the news, especially as the quarter finals are almost here. Technology has been available and used in other sports such as tennis and football to provide instant replays. Instant replay technology provides referees the opportunity to review elements of plays including details about scoring and player behavior that may have passed to quickly to make a good call.Without instant replay, calls are made on what the officials see, but in fast paced games like soccer, the blink of an eye or a glance to another part of the field or a different player can be distractions making it impossible to make a good call. The penalty for human error, then, could be a red card or the disallowing a game determining score. Both situations have happened in this year's World Cup competition.

Argentina's controversial goal over Mexico
http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/06/28/alg_tevez_scores.jpg

To compare what bloggers are saying I went to two blogs, the first soccer blog is from Total Soccer Blog and News (TSBN) posted by Toby Davis, Yahoo! sports. Soccer blog 2 is from The Boston Globe's Corner Kicks (CK).

Controversial red card issued even though officials did not see the offense.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41810000/jpg/_41810902_deco416.jpg

The character of the two blogs is very different. The CK blog is, posted by Boston.com staff member Matt Pepin, is "Alex Scott: A voter for instant replay." Ales Scot plays for the Boston Breakers, Women's Professional Soccer league and is following the World Cup through her blog postings. Her writing is very informal, but her knowledge and understanding of her topic is excellent. She includes two videos embedded in her article from Facebook that illustrate the need for instant replay technology. The content is of her text supports use of replay technology and gives good reasons why it would be beneficial to soccer. The purpose of the blog posting is to provide readers with tangible examples that can change the fairness of a very popular international sport as well as an event that has captured global attention. In this case, content is favored over connection.

The TSBN blog is much sorter. and includes no embedded video nor other images. Each senteance is a paragrah -- or, posibly, sentences are intentianlly separated to look like paragraphs. The writing is consistent with reader expectation associated with professional reporting with many links included. The purpose of this blog posting is very similar to the CK posting and also refers to the recent controversial goalline decision at the World Cup.

One blog is written more professionally, uses text exclusively and provides lots of links. The other is very informally written, provides two embedded videos of recent controversial calls during World Cup competition, and has very few links. Both seem credible because of the blog sponsor as well as the credentials of the bloggers. Both blogs favor content and context to inspire support for adopting replay technology in soccer.

Turtle Talk Blog

Turtle Talk

What is Turtle Talk?

The Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University College of Law hosts the blog Turtle Talk. Theyt news items related to Indian law and politics, especially as they relate to Michigan and the Great Lakes region Native American tribes, including activity announcements. An added feature is a collection "of links to every Supreme Court case involving federal Indian law in the modern era (1959 to present). Finally, Turtle Talk provides links to the primary documents key to Michigan Anishinaabe legal and political history, including a link to every federal and state legal decision involving one of the Michigan Ottawa/Odawa tribes." There also are links to all kinds of scholarship about the Anishinaabek and Anishinaabe tribes.

How many authors post on Turtle Talk?

Eight:

Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Wenona T. Singel
Kathryn E. Fort
Kirsten Carlson
Trent Crable
Zeke Fletcher
Nick Reo
Mary Shomin

How often are new posts submitted?

At least daily and sometimes multiple times per day not including comments on the posts.

Is there other multimedia material?

The site is primarily text and images, heavy on the text with long submissions.

Impression of credibility?

High because of the sponsorship, the credentials of the authors, and the quality of links and sources.

Oh Yelp!

Web 2.0/ social media/new media promise potential benefits to many, many people for many, many reasons. With so much promise to make a better future through the use of interactive technology and so many positive example where new media live up to expectations, it is easy to forget that too often there is a dark side lurking just waiting for a chance to taint/corrupt/ruin what is effective and beneficial, or, at least ruin the credibility of a respected source or site.

An example of this is in the article, Yelp Controversy Exposes Dark Side of Web 2.0 in | InformationWeek SMB. The Register and the San Francisco Chronicle put the original story together. Apparently Yelp, a user review site, has misused its venue. Yelp denies that this is the case. (Who has their hands in the cookie jar?? Not I!!!)

The problem is that Yelp lined its coffers with money paid by reviewed retail establishments in the San Francisco Bay area to bury bad reviews. Cadiz Metz, a reporter for The Register, claims that five area businesses indicated to The Register that Yelp told them that their bad reviews would be placed toward the end of Yelps review page if the business bought advertising on the Yelp website.

In the Bay area, Yelp is pretty popular, so the location and type of criticism on their site could make or break a business. If the Geneva twins prepare diligently and thoughtfully to open a new fusion fast food- healthy food restaurant and do not pay Yelp, a bad review of opening day could be the death knoll for a quality enterprise. (Do overtones of "neighborhood protection echo here?) Could it be that a couple of customers who are angry or opposed to the new place submit reviews and encourage a few other to add comments to support their negative reviews -- on any review sited -- could kill a new project regardless of quality? Two problems?:The review company itself can manipulate reviews according to (under the table) monetary gains from the reviewees. Reviewers with ulterior motives can harness the power to squash a healthy enterprise through false bad reviews.

This is an interesting situation: a review company with power to elevate or destroy resting on its ability to manipulate enterprises into contributing funds to protect their existence. Always be aware of the unintended consequences. There may be an entity lurking in the shadows just waiting to yelp you out of business or anything else that matters.

Check out these links for the full story, and a look at the Yelp website:

Yelp Controversy
The Register
San Francisco Chronicle
Yelp

RezKast!

Rezkast.com

Wow! RezKast: a Native video & music sharing site! And lots more! Beautiful!

This is a great find for a Native person who lives at a distance from Native communities -- like me. And, obviously, great for folks who are able to live in Native communities either off or on reservations.

Here is a grocery list of what is on the site: Profiles of members including me (Gypsymouse, when I get around to finishing it), videos created and/or shared by members, opportunity to comment on the videos (share, email, post on facebook, etc.), RSS (video, text, audio), articles (written and discussed by members), audio, photos, games ----- opportunity to comment and discuss ---- entries tagged ----- submissions sorted by recent additions, most viewed, top rated, most discussed, most favorite, ----email (I had a friend request within a day after the welcome message from the webmaster), ----community including groups, bulletins, and shoutouts (a chance to say what is on your mind), and lots of blogs!

http://specialpage.info/images2/Native_American_map.jpg

Is this Web 2.0? Absolutely! RezKast is significant not only because it is an example of innovative and creative use of new social media, but also because Native people have had the most difficult time becoming involved with new technology for all sorts of reasons that I will not go into here. This site symbolizes the vibrancy and vitality of diverse peoples who share a common relationship with the history of the government of the United States and their excitement and enthusiasm for tools/means to (re)create and extend the sense of community and identity. Finally, something from the dominant/Eurocentric culture can be beneficially co-opted (with awareness of risks that also are not part of this post).

http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/70/native_american_symbols.jpg

Yes, RezKast is Web 2.0. It uses the web as a platform for sharing video, audio, print, discussion, interaction, participation, and interaction. RezKast lives on the Internet fed by the combination connections and networks created and used by humans. The more people, the greater effectiveness and the more power.

Rezkast uses communication, collaboration, cooperation, and connection, the four primary functions of social media.

Communication is everywhere! Members communicate through their videos, music, pictures, blogs, groups, discussions, email, and so forth.

Collaboration is apparent in the groups, discussions, article postings, other media postings, and the discussions generated.

Cooperation? Obviously. This site highlights sharing video, audio, and print content and encourages discussion, interaction, and tagging.

Connection!! Yes!! I feel more connected just in the little bit of time I have spent on the site. I am connected with relevant information via videos, articles, blogs, discussions, and email. And I am connected, if I choose to be, with other Native People, a huge treat!

Separation between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens might have occurred 500,000 years earlier

Separation between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens might have occurred 500,000 years earlier