Category «Internet Trends»

Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide 2015

Sabrina I. Pacifici’s comprehensive current awareness guide focuses on leveraging a selected but wide range of reliable, topical, predominantly free websites and resources. The goal is to support an effective research process to search, discover, access, monitor, analyze and review current and historical data, news, reports, statistics and profiles on companies, markets, countries, people and issues, from a national and a global perspective. Sabrina’s guide is a “best of the Web” resource that encompasses search engines, portals, government sponsored open source databases, alerts, data archives, publisher specific services and applications. All of her recommendations are accompanied by links to trusted content targeted sources that are produced by top media and publishing companies, business, government, academe, IGOs and NGOs.

Subjects: Blogs, Competitive Intelligence, Internet Trends, Legal Technology, Libraries & Librarians, News Resources, Online Legal Research Services, Search Engines, Search Strategies, Technology Trends

Digital preservation is hard when older content can fall through cracks

Implementation of new content management systems that govern the web and often render older pages and sites inaccessible create access barriers for researchers seeking to access older content across subject areas. TeleRead Editor Chris Meadows describes the problem, the implications and a possible solution.

Subjects: Information Architecture, Internet Resources, Internet Trends, Technology Trends, Web Management

Vermonts Legislature is Considering Support for Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts

Bitcoin is a significant disruptive technology with a growing impact on the financial sector and legal sectors, around the world. Alan Rothman expertly educates us on new legislation from Vermont that is intended to move the state towards using blockchain technology for “records, smart contracts and other applications”. One of the key distinctions Rothman highlights is that Vermont is not in any manner approving or adopting Bitcoin, but rather, the state is diversifying and adapting the underlying blockchain technology that supports it.

Subjects: Business Research, Intellectual Property, Internet Trends, Legal Education, Legal Technology, Legislative, Technology Trends

The Next Librarian of Congress – What to do about the Internet Archive and Google Books scanning project?

David Rothman offers his insights and perspective on the work and challenges that await the next Librarian of Congress. He calls for an individual who is not only steeped in the requisite expertise of research, technology, learning, teaching and freedom of information, but in following with a cause he has long championed he states “we need someone with “a love of reading—including the e-book variety.”

Subjects: Archives, E-Books, Internet Trends, KM, Leadership, Libraries & Librarians, Library Marketing, Library Software & Technology, Management, Technology Trends

Computer Savviness: Step 4 to Information Literacy

Lorette Weldon shares her roadmap to Computer Savviness – be flexible enough to learn new concepts, methods, and technology developed for different kinds of communities – and do not be not averse to discovering and trying new applications and tools to learn and discern what may work best for your specific environment.

Subjects: Internet Trends, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Resources, Reference Services, Search Strategies

Wikipedia and Information Literacy: Step 5 to Information Literacy

Lorette Weldon teaches her students to be critical and aware users of Wikipedia for research projects and assignments of any kind. Lorette provides specific criteria to benchmark content on Wikipedia for value, reliability, time frames when information has been posted and updated, as well as any evident bias.

Subjects: Internet Resources - Web Links, Internet Trends, Open Source, Search Engines

No Paperwhite read-aloud for you! FCC again lets Amazon and friends diss people with disabilities

David Rothman continues his reporting on the status of Text to Speech applications that have yet to be added to E-Ink readers due to the FCC’s extension of vendor exemptions from complying with a key benefit for the disabled that is part of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.

Subjects: E-Books, Gadgets, Government Resources, Internet Trends, Legislative, Utilities (Software)

Cameras in the Streets: Focus on Justice

2014 has been a watershed for the national and international role of citizen photo journalists who have impacted in myriad ways events which have in turn sparked debate, protests, and legal action – increasing the scrutiny of activity conducted by groups including law enforcement. Ken Strutin’s timely, informative and significant article collects noteworthy news, litigation, and legal analyses concerning civilians and journalists photo-documenting the activities of law enforcement as well as police use of cameras to record their work.

Subjects: Criminal Law, Free Speech, Internet Trends, Privacy, Social Media

Looking back, leaping forward, leveraging crisis, and freeing the law: A lawyer story

Thomas R. Bruce, Director of the Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute discusses how Google Scholar’s caselaw collection is a victory for open access to legal information and the democratization of law. He strongly acknowledges the fifth anniversary of this open­ access legal web site, but goes further to focus on the importance of this benchmark to the expanding value of freely accessible legal information combined with technically advanced search features available to diverse user communities outside the scope of the legal profession, for free. From caselaw to the rapidly expanding regulatory arena, fed by rules created by over 400 federal agencies that have enormous and multifaceted impact on our lives, the potential for search, discovery, education, empowerment and citizen engagement remains under development. Thank you Tom and all the experts at LII for blazing, maintaining and pioneering the next wave of critical paths to enable access to free legal research.

Subjects: Internet Resources - Web Links, Internet Trends, Legal Education, Legal Profession, Legal Research Training, Legal Technology, Library Software & Technology, Open Source