Wikipedia Goes Multimedia

Yes - Wikipedia does generate a wonderful debate with regard to its use in education. But few would argue that it is a remarkable resource and at least a good starting point for research.

In this world of media-rich websites, is Wikipedia's primarily text-based content becoming "passé"? A new site - Navify - has taken Wikipedia and attached pictures, videos, and even user comments to selected articles.

BTW - Navify is in beta testing and I is offline today. It was written up in TechCrunch which might explain why it has gone offline - too many requests to handle.

Not Another Search Engine

If you are like me, Google is my search engine. Everything goes through Google. I know folks who, when given a URL (like sightsites.blogspot.com) will enter the URL into Google and then click on the link, instead of typing the URL directly into the browser's address box. Google rules!

So, what is this about a new search engine? Topsy looks as search from a different perspective. Instead of seeing the web as a collection of documents (web pages), it sees the web as a collection of conversations. They say it better here, but give it a try and explore. I really find the way the results are presented to be cool (or at least novel).

The result above was generated from a search for NECC. Notice that below the title and link is a quote - what someone was saying about NECC. The number to the left is the number of conversations in this thread. Click on the number and see all ten. It is all about the conversations.

I am not ready to toss out Google, but Topsy is an interesting idea.

What Did She Say?

Have you ever see a text message that is truly incomprehensible - full of jargon. Wait - of course you have. Well, now you have a solution - DTXTR (dee-text-er) - a site that lets you get a translation for all that OMG and LOL stuff. Just type in the jargon and get a translation.

You can even enter an "English" phrase and get the corresponding "teen text". Did you know (DYK) that there is teen text for "If It's Too Loud You're Too Old" (IITLYTO)?

The site also has a glossary - fun reading - and a TXT Tips for Parents section. If you think you are a pro TXTer, then try out the "Do U Know TXT Quiz"

ICYC