I recently attended the O'Reilly TOC Tools of Change for Publishing Conference. There were talks on a myriad of topics, however the overriding theme was clearly the change from paper to digital in the publishing world. I already published one article about libraries, digital marketing methods and copywright from TOC, which I published on Technorati.

I heard some very interesting speakers speak about the change over time of information, not specifically in books.

Clay Johnson - Author of The Information Diet - Keynote talk titled "Is SEO killing America?"
The keynote talk was the same as the premise of his book - we need to be just as careful about the information we read as we should be about the food we eat. Just as we eat pizza even though we know that broccoli is better for us, we often read or watch news that is not good for us.

What news is not good for us? With the competition of so many news channels on Internet sites, many of them pander to us by giving us news we want to hear. They affirm the way we already feel. They make big stories out of nothing because they know it is what their audience wants to read. So we wind up reading junk food.

If you are interested in learning more about this topic, I highly recommended you watch the video of Clay Johnson's speech, below, or read his book The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption.

 

Mark Johnson - CEO of Zite - "What Should I Read: A Brief History of Recommendations"
I have to start off by saying that Zite is one of my favorite iPad apps. It is a news recommendation app. You choose topics that you are interested in and it feeds you stories on those topics. As it gets to know you over time, its recommendations become better and better.

A recommendation engine is very different than a search engine. With search, you know what you want, you are just trying to find it. Recommendations are for when you are trying to discover something by browsing and others help with suggestions.

Search engines will give you the most popular result, but not necessarily the most interesting. Serendipity is the enemy of search.

"Curation comes up when search stops working" - Clay Shirkey. 

There are many online websites that allow you to use discovery and recommendations to find a variety of items. Just take a look at Netflix, Pandora and Amazon as some of the most popular examples. 

There is just too much media of every kind for us to discover it without help. For news, I highly recommend the Zite app (free) if you have an iPad or iPhone.

I plan on writing at least another article or two about the extremely education O'Reilly TOC conference. I will post a link below when I do.

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If you read my blog, you know I am a big fan of the iPad. However when I was given a chance to review the Sony Tablet S I was curious. I had no idea what to expect. It turns out that I found some features of the Sony Tablet S that I liked better than the iPads, and many that I think others might prefer.

Comparison of the iPad 2 and the Sony Tablet S

1. Price - The Sony Tablet S 16GB sells for $399. This is $100 less than the iPad.

2. Design - This is the feature that all reviewers seem to agree on - the Sony Tablet S has a wedge design that is not only unique, but works so much better than the typical flat tablet in many ways. It is more comfortable to hold. However the biggest advantage is in typing. Because the top of the tablet, horizontally, is fatter than the bottom, it is raised perfectly for typing. The incline also reduces glare.

3. Weight - The Sony Tablet S is approximately the same weight as the iPad 2. However, do you ever hold your iPad 2 in the winter without a cover on its back. The metal is freezing. No such problem with the Sony.

4. Apps - The apps available for the Sony Tablet S are not better than for the iPad, but they are different. Some people will prefer them. The Sony is an Android tablet and therefore has a completely different store full of apps to shop from. But wait, there is more. This tablet is PlayStation certified and comes loaded with Crash Bandicoot & Pinball Heroes games. Other PS classics can be downloaded online. Many social networking apps come preloaded as does Crackle, a free movie and TV show streaming service.

Additional feature of the Sony Tablet S:

• You can set it to work as a Universal Remote Control for every device in your house
• There is a Sony Reader built into the tablet for buying and reading ebooks
• Sony’s TruBlack™ display screen provides more vibrant colors, deeper blacks, and a totally amazing image
• Access to Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited, which you might already belong to if you have a PS3
• Both front and rear facing cameras that work very well for a tablet

Comparison


Until recently, I thought that anybody that bought a tablet other than the iPad was wasting their money. Although I'm not giving up my iPad 2 anytime soon, I have finally seen and used another tablet worth buying.    There are many reasons you might prefer the Sony Tablet S - if you prefer Android to OS, if you are a big PlayStation fan, if you prefer the size and design or if you want to save money.

Full Disclosure: I was given a Sony Tablet S so that I could use it and review it. All opinions are completely my own.

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The Gamer Generation: Reaping the Benefits of Video Games is available for FREE download from the Kindle store for the 48 hour period from 12:00am, the beginning of 2/28 until 12:00pm, the end of 2/29.  For two full days, The Gamer Generation will be free to everyone.

What type of benefits can video games actually have, you might ask. Many more than you might think. And the benefits can be had by anyone, not just kids. After reading The Gamer Generation, you might realize that you should begin playing some video games yourself.

Of most importance are the advent of "serious games". There are games that help society. Serious games help fund charities, find cures for diseases, help us learn dire situations occurring in the world and more.

If you don't have a Kindle or a kindle app on a table, you can find instructions on how to download a free Kindle app on your computer at Buy and Read Kindle eBook on PCs and Macs. It is very easy and then you'll be able to use it to buy and read kindle books from now on.

If you aren't sure how you feel about video games or don't generally read non-fiction or have any other reason why you are sure if you wanted to buy The Gamer Generation, there is no need to hesitate any longer. It is completely free, and as an ebook, it won't take up room in your home. Why not take a look?

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If you can't get enough after Oscar buzz and want to get the scoop from a variety of different sources, I've tried to make it easy for you and put a variety of articles together, here, in one place, for your reading pleasure.

Here are some interesting articles on the 2012 Academy Awards show, hosted by Billy Crystal:

1. Loud Oscar Roar for the Artist: 5 Wins - NY Times

2. Why the Artist is the Perfect Movie for these Times - Huffington Post

3. Are the Oscars Stuck in the Past? - CNN

4. F-Bombs? Billy in Blackface? Naughty-Bit Slips? Biggest Jaw-Droppers at the 2012 Oscars - E! Online

5. Oscars: 'The Descendants' co-writer Jim Rash on his homage to Angelina Jolie's right leg - EW.com

6. The Best Frozen Moments of the 2012 Oscars - Vulture

7. Oscars 2012: The Best and Worst Dressed - Time

8. Odd moments at Oscars 2012, such as Angelina Jolie's right leg - The Envelope

9. Review: Oscars Become Badly Paced Bore-fest - The Hollywood Reporter

10. Oscar parties: Winners flock to Governors Ball after show - USA Today

What did you think of the 2012 Academy Awards show? 

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