"...for all the things caught in my mind."

Sometimes I wish I had more to say on this blog. Sometimes I wish I had a whole lot more things to say in a clear and comprehensive manner. Sometimes I wish I had better writing skills and more discipline to commit to one blog entry per day. I believe I once had that ability and capacity—I suspect the best times were in university when I’d write up a storm for essays and research papers—but those academic days, it seems to me, are long gone.

Since The DIGITAL Archive originated in part to chronicle a work-related project back at McGill University, and since I am currently unemployed with little or no direct hands-on connection to the field of archives or libraries or the web (aside from having lunch with former colleagues or reading other blogs to get the latest scoop), much of the source material that once fuelled The DIGITAL Archive is gone. Time to look for alternative fuel sources, I guess.

So what I have done is list a set of ideas that I think will become more prominent in 2007. Talking trends is common around this time of year, so I figured it is perhaps the most appropriate material to work with at this time.

So here goes, in no particular order, kind of like in the stream of consciousness style:

• Web Design and Management


• Web Content Development


• Digitization Initiatives – histories to share, stories to tell


• Content Discovery and Dissemination – how to make information more findable, how to exploit current and emerging web technologies to deliver content


• Content Creation and Syndication in a 24/7 World – blogs, news, weather information being created around the clock, finding what I want and sharing among peers


• Content consumption on any device, anywhere – cell phone revolution, iPod generation, notebooks and laptop cafes – information where and when I want it


• Adding Context to Content – So much content, a new layer of metadata telling me what it is and if it is of value to me personally


• Increasing “findability” in an increasingly saturated Web – metadata, metadata, metadata


• Making data meaningful – Streams of data and statistics floating in the Web ether, giving users the power to harness data, to quickly build data receptacles and view results immediately


• Exploiting web 2.0 – rss feeds, podcasts, flash video go mainstream
  


• Expanding online collaborations – forming relationships, not just just about ME making content; the next step is relationships
  


• Freeing information from silos and time and space – old wisdom and knowledge must be retrievable tomorrow, as fast as we search the web today
  


• Improving web design aesthetics – must every website look like a blog?

OT: New Year, New Calendar

It's the new year, another year to start fresh and to embark on new beginnings. What better way to gain perspective on the new year ahead than with a spanking brand new calendar, of course.

Okay, I admit, that's a corny introduction.

Here's the real deal:

The very fine stock photography people at Jupiterimages, with whom I have a free account which I use to download comps to set up designs, have sent me a pocket-sized 2007 calendar filled with colourful images from their catalogue of photos. In the past year, Jupiterimages have sent me several glossy catalogues featuring their latest stock photographs, free. I found this new year's gift truly neat and ingenious. Kudos to Jupiterimages!!