Edward Vielmetti at the School of Information

some questions about mblog....

emv — 2006-04-18T12:26:23-05:00

how do I post to mblog from ecto? It wants an ATOM or XML-RPC interface. I'm using ecto successfully with Typepad so I know that side of things works.

Noor Ali-Hasan: Analyzing the Social Patterns and Behaviors Associated with Blogrolls and Blog Comments

emv — 2006-04-11T10:46:13-05:00

You are invited to Noor Ali-Hasan's masters thesis defense.

Place: 411 West Hall (Ehrlicher room)
Date: Monday, April 17th
Time: 10:10-11:30

Title: Analyzing the Social Patterns and Behaviors Associated with
Blogrolls and Blog Comments

Abstract:

During the past few years, blogging, the keeping of a regularly updated
online journal, has enabled individuals and organizations to quickly and
easily share information and links with a large set of readers.
Nonetheless, most bloggers write about their everyday lives and
generally have a small audience of regular readers. These readers
usually respond to the bloggers’ specific entries (referred to as blog
posts) by entering short messages (known as comments) on the same blog.
Moreover, the readers are often times bloggers themselves and
acknowledge their favorite blogs by adding them to their blogrolls,
lists of links to other blogs that are posted on most blogs. In
reviewing the social structures created by blogrolls and blog comments,
it is unclear how these relationships and social networks were formed.
Did these social networks emerge due to blogging or are these
blogospheres merely representations of real life social networks? In
other words, do blogs help facilitate the formation of new friendships
or do they emphasize existing relationships in the real world?
Furthermore, how do the social aspects of blogging differ across various
cultures? Examining the link between blogs and real life social
networks, this thesis presents a study of three blog communities:
bloggers in Kuwait, bloggers in Dallas/Ft. Worth, and bloggers in the
United Arab Emirates.

new "community informatics" map up at cic.si.umich.edu

emv — 2006-04-03T16:21:23-05:00

I'm now updating the Community Information Corps web site at SI. Don't expect to see 10000 changes all at once, but I will be adding things in as time goes on.

A recent post included a "community informatics map", which I set up in Frappr. Let's see if I can get it to load here as well! Mouse over the balloons to get a little information about projects related to work being done here at Michigan. This is at least as much for my own visualization of what's happening as anything else....

Community Informatics Project Map | Add yourself!
Photos | Forums

First post

emv — 2006-03-31T01:25:02-05:00

To get the formatting right. I'm not going to stress too much about layout and details until there's more content; this is more of a working log than it is a publication forum.

Introducing CIC staff member Ed Vielmetti

emv — 2006-03-29T18:06:00-05:00

This was sent out to all School of Information faculty, students, and staff. The CIC is the Community Information Corps.

-----Original Message-----
From: Maurita Holland [mailto:mholland@umich.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 6:06 PM
To: si.all@umich.edu
Cc: Edward Vielmetti
Subject: Introducing CIC staff member Ed Vielmetti

The CIC Management Committee (Profs. Atkins, Durrance, Holland, Jackson and Resnick) is pleased to welcome Ed Vielmetti as the CIC Research Associate. Edward Vielmetti is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BA Econ 1988). He is on the technical advisory board of the Ann Arbor District Library and is a member of the board of Assistive Media, a non-profit organization that provides a library of online recorded materials for the visually impaired. He was one of the founders of Socialtext, a provider of wikis for enterprise use. Ed is particularly interested in community information projects that make people better parents and better neighbors and in how projects can be developed and sustained across generations.

Ed's office is in the IPL/CIC Lab, 4th floor of the Shapiro Library.
We're delighted to welcome Ed to SI!

Maurita Peterson Holland
Associate Professor
Ass't to the Dean for
Academic and Strategic Initiatives
School of Information
University of Michigan

Ted Chen, WK Kellogg Foundation

emv — 2006-03-29T16:00:00-05:00

Ted Chen from Kellogg joined the CIC seminar by teleconference.

Before the call we talked briefly about a Time Magazine story on "Generation M" and its multitasking habits, and Steven Johnson's book "Everything Bad is Good For You".

Ted talked about two programs they have in place right now as illustrating their priorities. A "New Options for Youth" program aimed at a new credentialled alternative to the HS diploma and associates degree. "Generations of Hope" is a model for an intergeneration living and learning community.

The students had prepared some questions, and we talked through them.

How do new programs start? Some combination of established networks of relationships, new proposals over the transom, and proposals that show good fitness but that need to be cultivated into doable projects. "Co-create and develop" projects. Look to find innovative individuals; 90% of what they get is good, looking for the 10% great.

How do you see these projects scaling? Look at Dee Hock, chaordic development of VISA; build at virtual, articulated scale from the bottom up, "no one owns it", development by users.

What are characteristics that make a project appealing? Leadership on the ground and collective energy; partnerships (more than one organization), a concerted effort that can't be done just with .edu or .gov or .org; an "uncommon result"; innovation and disruptive technologies.

What do you do to stay on track? Foundations do not in general share their networks; insular, bad on PR, dissemination. 80% of his work is networking, dialog and finding people. Reading is 20%; Wired Magazine, Fast Company, and a tidal wave of reports. Academics are bad on "how to solve problems".

How do organizations continue the energy when the money is gone? Foundations are bad at exit strategy. $ -> systems change, not just operations. Self funding is not an expectation, but in some instances the .org has not explored as well as they can.

Where is the education and learning? Cross-field programs set you well in the future. "New knowledge" comes from bridging between fields, not just siloed down from specialties.

Ted is a UM graduate - we were comparing campus notes, I remembered shanties burning on the Diag, he remembered the 1989 basketball championship and riots on South U.