That title makes it sound like I know what I’m talking about. I don’t. But I’ve recently read or heard several presentations invoking the need for information organizing software that links sources and ideas in a more web-like, hyper-linked style. We have EndNote and Zotero, but these don’t help us organize ideas or the connections between sources. It seems like the research process usually involves making the non-linear linear. Part of DH is to change the end product to something more non-linear, but it might also help to learn about anything that helps us organize our (non-linear) webs of thoughts and sources.
Does this make sense? This is more something I’d like to have, rather than something I know exists.
#1 by adellefrank on February 24, 2011 - 4:21 pm
I’m REALLY interested in linked data/semantic web. I’ve got a great 15-minute game that explains how RDF works…but I’m a bit lacking on still comprehending the XML syntax or how to get something like Zotero to include more relationships. (I noticed that Robin was also interested in this topic).
#2 by Pete on February 24, 2011 - 9:49 pm
I have a friend who is a disciple of Drupal site-building. His tweets are always pointing toward phrases like “knowledge architecture.” He and his community are talking often about the next generation of the internet being “the semantic web.” I’ve read a little about this momentum, but I would like to understand it more. You had me at semantic.
#3 by adellefrank on February 26, 2011 - 10:01 am
I, too, am a drupal evangelist – what a coincidence! 🙂
#4 by Ben on February 28, 2011 - 10:14 am
See, I’m already learning. I have no clue what Drupal is. If any of you want to introduce it — or even give it a shot — I’d be really interested.
#5 by adellefrank on February 28, 2011 - 1:52 pm
@Ben: Are you going to the bootcamp on Friday? I think they’re going to introduce Drupal as one of 3 web content management systems (say that 3 times fast!) in the afternoon.
The marketing blurb (which I borrowed from drupal.org) describes drupal as:
“A free software package that allows anyone to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website.
Hundreds of thousands of people and organizations are using Drupal to power an endless variety of sites, such as: MTV UK, The Economist, Examiner.com, and The White House.
You can use Drupal to build everything from personal blogs to enterprise applications. Thousands of add-on modules and designs let you build any site you can imagine.
Drupal is free, flexible, robust and constantly being improved by hundreds of thousands of passionate people from all over the world.”
#6 by Brian Croxall on March 1, 2011 - 8:50 pm
I wonder if part of what Ben is talking about wanting to explore could be resolved through mind-mapping tools like Mind Meister or XMind (or any other number of them).
By the way, I really like the idea of research/writing being to make the non-linear linear.