Snippets from The Search

I finished reading John Battelle's book The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture recently and I highly recommend it. But read it soon - as fast as things change in the search biz, this will get old faster than a ripe banana.

First, remember not to be fooled by  look alikes. Second, I already commented on one interesting statement that Battelle made on how online publishing has changed his reading habits.

From The Search

"Search as a problem is about five percent solved," notes Udi Manber, the CEO of Amazon's A9.com search engine. Five percent - and yes the search business has already blossomed into a multi-billion dollar industry. Search drives clickstreams, and clickstreams drive profits. To profit in the Internet space, corporations need access to clickstreams. And this, more than any other reason, is why clickstreams are becoming eternal. p. 12

 The bargain is this: we trust you not to do evil things with our information [gathered from tracking clickstream traffic]. We trust you will keep it secure, free from unlawful government or private search and seizure, and under our control at all times. ...That's a pretty large helping of trust we're asking companies to ladle on their corporate plate. p .15

...of all Americans who use the Internet, 85% use search engines. p. 25

...the world conducted 550 million searches a day in 2003, a figure it expects to grow by 10 to 20 percent a year. p. 26

Nearly 50 percent of all searches use two or three words, and 20 percent use just one. Just 5 percent of all searches use more than six words. p. 27

...it's a good idea to check your own name on Google, early and often. Given that just about everyone else you meet will be doing it anyway, it's just smart to get a picture of who your are in the world according to the index. p. 193

Googles' mission of organizing the world's information and making it accessible sets the company up to deliver nothing short of every possible service that might live on top of a computing platform = from mundane applications like word processing and spreadsheets (Microsoft's current bread and butter) to more futuristic services like video on demand, personal media storage, or distance learning. Many experts believe we'll store just about everything that can be digitized - our music, photographs, work documents, videos, and mail - on one massive platform - the Google grid. p. 250

...the search engine of the future isn't really a search engine as we know it. It's more like an intelligent agent - or as Larry Page told me, a reference librarian with complete mastery of the entire corpus of human knowledge. p. 252

Read the book. It is remarkably prescient in predicting Google's decision to offer censored searches in China. New corporate motto: "Don't be evil unless there is a profit to be made in being evil."

This book should make ya nervous. 

Reading Truths, Keynotes and More Books

One of the big anxiety producers for conference planners is picking keynote speakers. They are a big financial outlay, and more importantly, a speaker can set the tone of the entire conference. Imagine my dismay on opening an e-mail from one our local media specialists just after I had announced that Dr. Jeff McQuillan was one of our keynoters for this fall’s conference:

Doug - I hear you are going to get this speaker for the 2005 Memo Conference in lieu of Krashen–Jeff McQuillan. Have you lost your mind!!

My heart dropped. But then I read on…

This man is spoiled little brat!! Well–I might be a little biased –he is my youngest brother. Hmmm, I could provide some very interesting details on that speaker — maybe even get people to stay for the Saturday session……. He is a native Minnesotan, but because he grew up in the inner-city of St. Paul among exclusively Irish Catholics, he won’t understand all your outstate Scandahoovian schtick!! I have tried to enlighten him among other family members over my last 21 years living here–but they are so provincial!! His biggest fear is that his 10 siblings will all show up and heckle him from the front row…..oh that would be sad……but most of them are too cheap to spend the gas money to travel to Mankato! Seriously, any dirt–I’m the one to turn to!! - Kathy

As it turned out, Dr. MQuillan was introduced by his sister this morning (dirt and all) and none of the other siblings showed. Dr. McQuillan was terrific - presenting a refreshing view of the so called “literacy crisis,” why test scores rise and fall, and the importance of good libraries to reading achievement. A great opener for our “reading” day.

After two weeks of what seems like constant conferences, (AASL and MEMO), I now have nearly a bookshelf full of professional “must-reads.”

The first is Dr. McQuillan’s book The Literacy Crisis; False Claims, Real, Solutions in which he elaborates on this morning’s themes.

The second, of course, is yesterday’s keynote speaker David Warlick’s book Raw Materials for the Mind: A Teacher’s Guide to Digital Literacy.

The third, is Frances Harris’s I Found It On the Internet: Coming of Age On-line. .

I’m looking forward to reading all of them. Book reports to follow…

What are the educational “must-reads” that should be on our book shelves?

May all your keynoters be as informative, entertaining and inspiring as Mr. Warlick and Dr. McQuillan. And don’t believe everything that their sisters may have to say.

Reading the Future: Science Fiction

I’ve liked reading about the future ever since I could read. As I remember, My Weekly Reader would often run small articles like “Your Own Personal Helicopter by 1980″ or “People of the Future will be Eating Bee-burgers.” I couldn’t wait!

While I am still waiting for both my personal helicopter and bee-burgers, I still like reading about the future - especially when the future comes packaged as science fiction.

I’m sort of fussy about my sci-fi. While I was once held in thrall of bug-eyed aliens and death rays, I’m more interested in the writers who forecast the social ramifications of technology in the near term. Interesting things happening because of information technologies seem much more likely than flying saucers zapping my garage.

Here’s a short list of my all time favorites in the “social” sci-fi category:

Neuromancer by William Gibson was my first look at a cyberworld that felt as real as the physical world. (I need to re-read this.)

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card demonstrates learning through gaming. (One of my all-time favorite books on lots of levels.)

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson explores the possibilities of real e-book on a child’s life.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaiden’s Tale and Oryx and Crake. Atwood is the worthy successor to George Orwell in describing dystopias - made by either religious fervor or science gone awry. (She’s why I say a silent thanks every time I drive by the adult bookstore on my way to work.)

Futureland by Walter Mosely (of Easy Rawlings mystery fame) is a series of linked short stories exploring corporate power taken to the extreme.

I have to say I’ve been devouring Dan Simmons’ Hyperion/Endymion and Illium/Olympus series, but mostly for the fine writing, action, and imagination. I suppose the social commentary is there, but it’s not at the forefront. Oh, if you start Simmons’ books, be prepared to make a long-term commitment. There are four books in the first series and two in the second, each averaging about 600 pages or so. I don’t regret having spent the time on them in the least.

I would be most grateful for any recommendations for high-quality science fiction that lets me peer into the future - at least a little ways.