when the news broke, the Internet slowed down.
I was actually in the hotel lobby at UMUC, just waiting to leave from DH09. Someone came into the lobby and screamed the news - and everyone turned to the web to verify, amongst a chorus of "no ways!" and some screams.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Thursday, 25 June 2009
twitterlash
Its worth reading the comments on this guardian story, asking people to "share your novel in 140 characters or less!" to see just how over twitter some people are getting.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
whoa, dh09
Just going out to the banquet at DH09, so this will be a quickie. Its been a great conference. Lots of attendees, and a good energy. The stand out thing, though, has to be the amount and detail of blogging going on (see this synposis of my paper. Hmmm, I thought I had at least two or three months to write it up - and here it is already in the blogosphere!) and the overwhelming use of twitter before, in, and after sessions (search tag #dh09. I'm @melissaterras).
Check out the feed whilst it is still rolling - at around 100+ tweets an hour. The challenge for the organisers will be how to archive this resource usefully for future reference!
Check out the feed whilst it is still rolling - at around 100+ tweets an hour. The challenge for the organisers will be how to archive this resource usefully for future reference!
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Saturday, 20 June 2009
Academic Speak Explained
"In my experience..." (Once.)
"In case after case..." (Twice.)
"In a series of cases..." (Thrice.)
More here.
Friday, 19 June 2009
Last stop on the tour
Greetings from the University of Maryland, where I've just arrived for the Digital Humanities annual conference, and pre-conference meetings. Had a few days off inbetween Victoria and Maryland, kicking about central Washington DC with Husband and the Boy. Now back to work.
While in DC, we did our fair share of seeing as much as the Smithsonian as an 11 month old can take. It was really interesting to see how much use the Smithsonian is making of twitter, flickr, etc - and how much they were promoting it everywhere. Mental note - must get a masters student to do a dissertation on how memory institutions are using "status updates" to communicate with their audience. Now is the time to do it, with so many institutions coming on line. This is "digital ephemera" - in a few years these records will be lost unless we pay attention now.
Will no doubt report some thoughts back from DH...
While in DC, we did our fair share of seeing as much as the Smithsonian as an 11 month old can take. It was really interesting to see how much use the Smithsonian is making of twitter, flickr, etc - and how much they were promoting it everywhere. Mental note - must get a masters student to do a dissertation on how memory institutions are using "status updates" to communicate with their audience. Now is the time to do it, with so many institutions coming on line. This is "digital ephemera" - in a few years these records will be lost unless we pay attention now.
Will no doubt report some thoughts back from DH...
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
On the Road
Greetings from sunny Victoria, British Columbia. I'm here for a week for the Digital Humanities Summer Institute: http://www.dhsi.org/, where there are 150 keen students taking really fascinating short courses on digital humanities. I'm here to give a plenary talk, on digital images. Am slightly jealous that I dont have the time to sit in on any of the courses (again, I wish I was plankton and could split myself in two), but inbetween various guest teaching engagements I will probably get more work done this week than I usually do at home. A combination of jet lag, and being away from household chores and family duties, means being productive at crazy-o-clock.
But today I hope to slip off for an hour and go to the Royal BC Museum, which I missed last time I was in town, in particular to see some First Nation's carvings.
It amused me, though, that I've come 24 hour across the globe away from Bloomsbury, and what is the big exhibition at the moment?.... Treasures from the British Museum!
But today I hope to slip off for an hour and go to the Royal BC Museum, which I missed last time I was in town, in particular to see some First Nation's carvings.
It amused me, though, that I've come 24 hour across the globe away from Bloomsbury, and what is the big exhibition at the moment?.... Treasures from the British Museum!