There’s been a lot of debate about Klout and its success in achieving its goal of measuring social media influence. Some people are openly critical, arguing that it lacks transparency or is a superficial way of measuring expertise that promotes false self-confidence. Klout has its defenders also – those who point out no service measures offline influence and …
As I mentioned in a previous post, I got a Nook a couple of months ago. My first impression of the Nook was somewhat negative – I had hoped it would be useful as an academic tool, allowing me to easily read pdfs and comment on them. My thoughts about the academic application of the …
Continue reading ‘The Catch-22 for E-books: Market failure’ »
I haven’t always been a fan of Twitter. For years, I was completely unconvinced of its utility – I couldn’t see the point in yet another social networking site with even more mundane status updates. But I changed my mind during the Wisconsin protests at the beginning of this year, in which social media – and …
Continue reading ‘Is Twitter outgrowing itself? Disengagement on this “social” media’ »
Like much of the nation, I’m frustrated and angry that our politicians have let the U.S. come so close to default on its debts – and that the issue still isn’t resolved. But as I packed my bags to move closer (geographically at least!) to the heart of this mess, I came across John F. …
Continue reading ‘A new chapter for Profiles in Courage: The debt ceiling debate’ »
This must be my week to blog about Google+, so I’m rounding it out with a final post that at least somewhat fits my area of expertise. Whether Google+ defeats Facebook in the long run or whether it remains a network for early adopters with some cool features, it’s still garnering significant numbers. And this …
Continue reading ‘Google+ and politics: What the competition could mean for political engagement’ »