Technology Blog

This year, my Internet Librarian keynote is on Wednesday afternoon—I’m the closer. So my husband quite reasonably asked why I was going out on Sunday. There are two reasons. The first is that when you’re the closing keynote, you really have to attend the conference and listen to the speakers who precede you, so that you don’t end up replicating content attendees have already heard. The second is that this is one of the few conferences I attend where I get more information than I give.

So, as usual, I’ll try to blog the sessions I attend. Thank goodness for my Verizon broadband card, which is giving me net access even in the Marriott ballroom, which doesn’t have wifi for conference attendees.

source: blogging internet librarian

It’s not like I don’t have enough on my plate these days. Despite that, I’ve been made an offer I couldn’t refuse—to join the august list of contributors on TerraNova, the world-class blog on virtual worlds and gaming.

When my colleague Andy Phelps started working on a game design and development program at RIT several years ago, I said I had no interest in being involved. “Games really aren’t my thing,” I said. And from a professional standpoint, that was mostly true. From a personal standpoint, it wasn’t true at all. I’ve always loved computer and video games—from Hunt the Wumpus and Zork in high school through Pikmin and Katmari and World of Warcraft today.

As games have become more social and less solitary, however, they’ve forced my personal and professional interests into a point of intersection. And I can’t pretend any longer that I’m not interested in studying the social aspects of gaming and game development. So the invitation from TerraNova came at a perfect time.

I can’t begin to say how honored and delighted I am that they’re willing to welcome me—a relative neophyte in this field of study—into their ranks. And I’ll do what I can to carve out the time to post there on at least an occasional basis. I’m rather hoping that this will help me to get my blogging groove back, since I’ve not been posting much lately to any of the group blogs I’m associated with.

At any rate, my introduction and inaugural post are up and ready for your perusal.

source: what was i thinking?

(This one is actually number 1002!)

I don’t know that I’d quite call myself a modern-day Scheherazade, but it is a lovely image.

Schherazade probably didn’t have to deal with hundreds of comment spams on a daily basis, though, which is what I’m encountering these days. It’s likely I’ll be turning on TypeKey authentication this week, much as I hate to do it. The built-in spam filtering capability of MT can’t keep up with the onslaught from the spammers, and I’m tired of what’s starting to feel like an hourly cleanup job.

source: 1001 weblog entries

Lately it seems hard for me to find the time to blog, or the topics that seem bloggable. But I’m re-inspired by Jill’s announcement of her award for research dissemination via blogging—how exciting! And it reminded me of how valuable this blog has been for me as an academic.

In her post, Jill notes that she wouldn’t have won that award if she’d been blogging pseudonymously, like so many of the women writing great academic blogs. Like Jill, if I couldn’t write about the specifics of my life—the conferences I participate in, the research areas I’m exploring, the people around me—it wouldn’t really feel like my blog. While I recognize the risks inherent in blogging, my experience has been that the rewards greatly outweigh those risks. I wouldn’t be sitting in this office in Redmond if it weren’t for my blog. I wouldn’t be speaking at SXSW, or have travelled to Dubai. I wouldn’t have the worldwide network of friends and colleagues that I’ve acquired over the past 3.5 years. So yeah, it was worth any risks. And I need to remember that, and not neglect this fertile space that—when properly tended—has yielded such a bountiful harvest.

(The “ftw” is short for “for the win,” an expression I’ve acquired since starting to play World of Warcraft.)

source: research blogging ftw!

I’m always a little bit amused by people who still wonder aloud how and why I find the time to blog. I find time the same way most people find time to watch their favorite television shows, or go to movies (neither of which I do very often at all). And I do it because I’ve had extraordinarily personal and professional rewards accrue to me as a direct result of the effort I put into blogging—not the least of which is the visiting researcher position I currently hold here at Microsoft.

But today’s mail brought an unexpected bonus from my blogging, in the form of five copies of the second edition of Edward Tufte’s wonderful essay on Powerpoint. It’s new enough that it doesn’t even seem to be advertised on his site yet. Since the only time I met Dr. Tufte was as a student in one of his workshops more than ten years ago, I can only assume that the “with the compliments of Edward Tufte” card attached to the essays was entirely a result of the posts I’ve made here about Powerpoint, many of which reference the original essay.

A nice bright spot in an otherwise gray day. And a good reminder of the blessings this blog has brought.

source: yet another thing i owe to my blog…

mamamusings turned three years old on October 23rd. Thanks to Jim McGee (who shares the date, but not the year) for reminding me!

Has it really only been three years? How is that possible?

Starting a blog has been the most influential professional act I’ve ever taken. Because of my blog I’m here at Microsoft, enjoying a dream sabbatical. I’m giving keynotes at conferences like Internet Librarian. I’ve built a professional network that literally spans the globe. I’ve built a network of new friends, also spanning the globe. I’ve been able to leverage this online presence into so many real-world opportunities and connections that I’m embarrassed to list them all here.

Thank you so much to all of you who’ve read this blog, commented on it, linked to it, challenged me on it. You’ve helped to change my life, and my gratitude is boundless.

(And with that, I’m hereby declaring a brief moratorium on meta-blogging posts. When your “on blogging” category is the largest one in your archives, you’re probably doing way too much navel-gazing.)

source: i missed my blogiversary this year…