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Workshop on Data Mining in Web 2.0 Environments

Users feel very attracted by currently emerging Web 2.0 environments, that allow to provide content in a simple, unrestricted, and ad hoc way. Providing annotations (such as tags) in a Web 2.0 like way is applicable to a wide range of resources and data types, such as web pages, images, multimedia, etc. There is, however, a disadvantage: the freedom to provide arbitrary (personal) content and tags in ubiquitous, uncoordinated ways results in very large amounts of poorly structured information. Behind the current hype around Web 2.0 applications, this raises several important challenges for future data and web mining methods.

The workshop aims to bring together researchers and professionals in the areas of data and web mining, information systems and collaborative systems to discuss challenges and solutions of applying data mining to highly unstructured, user created data. Such challenges include the analysis of loosely-coupled snippets of information, such as overlapping tag structures, homonym or synonym tags, blog networks etc. Other challenges arise from scalability issues or new forms of fraud and spam. They demand, for instance, innovative methods of tag clustering, filtering, aggregation, personalization and visualization. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• analysis of blogs
• tag clustering and visualization
• synonym and homonym resolution in tags
• visual and textual information extraction
• temporal analysis
• data streams, trend detection, and concept drift
• application of web and text mining to wiki content
• discovering social structures and communities
• evolution of online social networks
• predicting user behavior
• analysis of dynamic networks
• discovering misuse and fraud
• combining the web with data from other sources, mining with mashups
• deriving profiles from usage
• personalized delivery of information
• applications, case studies

International Workshop on Data Mining in Web 2.0 Environments held in conjunction with the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM 2007) on October 28, 2007 in Omaha, United States.

[ PDF ] call for papers » uni-kassel.de [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Web 2.0 hype is making web firms neglect the basics of good design

Describing Web 2.0 as the "latest fashion", Mr Nielsen said many sites paying attention to it were neglecting some of the principles of good design and usability established over the last decade. Good practices include making a site easy to use, good search tools, the use of text free of jargon, usability testing and a consideration of design even before the first line of code is written.

Sadly, said Mr Nielsen, the rush to embrace Web 2.0 technology meant that many firms were turning their back on the basics. "They should get the basics right first," he said. "Sadly most websites do not have those primary things right."

» bbc.co.uk [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Shaping the future [Charlie Stross discussion at TNG Technology Consulting]

A fascinating analysis of where technology is going in the next 10-25 years. Instead of envisioning outlandish future developments, Charlie Stross looks at what the impact might be on society from very reasonable iterations of today's SOTA.

"10Tb is an interesting number. That's a megabit for every second in a year -- there are roughly 10 million seconds per year. That's enough to store a live DivX video stream -- compressed a lot relative to a DVD, but the same overall resolution -- of everything I look at for a year, including time I spend sleeping, or in the bathroom. Realistically, with multiplexing, it puts three or four video channels and a sound channel and other telemetry -- a heart monitor, say, a running GPS/Galileo location signal, everything I type and every mouse event I send -- onto that chip, while I'm awake ... Add optical character recognition on the fly for any text you look at, speech-to-text for anything you say, and it's all indexed and searchable. 'What was the title of the book I looked at and wanted to remember last Thursday at 3pm?' Think of it as google for real life."

» antipope.org [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

The Art of Forgetting in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing

Mayer-Schönberger lays out his idea in a faculty research working paper called "Useful Void: The Art of Forgetting in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing," where he describes his plan as reinstating "the default of forgetting our societies have experienced for millennia."

Why would we want our machines to "forget"? Mayer-Schönberger suggests that we are creating a Benthamist panopticon by archiving so many bits of knowledge for so long. The accumulated weight of stored Google searches, thousands of family photographs, millions of books, credit bureau information, air travel reservations, massive government databases, archived e-mail, etc., can actually be a detriment to speech and action, he argues.

"If whatever we do can be held against us years later, if all our impulsive comments are preserved, they can easily be combined into a composite picture of ourselves," he writes in the paper. "Afraid how our words and actions may be perceived years later and taken out of context, the lack of forgetting may prompt us to speak less freely and openly."

[ PDF ] Useful Void: The Art of Forgetting in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing

Blogger's Code of Conduct - Tim O'Reilly's Draft

We celebrate the blogosphere because it embraces frank and open conversation. But frankness does not have to mean lack of civility. We present this Blogger Code of Conduct in hopes that it helps create a culture that encourages both personal expression and constructive conversation.

1. We take responsibility for our own words and for the comments we allow on our blog.
   We are committed to the "Civility Enforced" standard: we will not post unacceptable content, and we'll delete comments that contain it.
   
   We define unacceptable content as anything included or linked to that:
   - is being used to abuse, harass, stalk, or threaten others
   - is libelous, knowingly false, ad-hominem, or misrepresents another person,
   - infringes upon a copyright or trademark
   - violates an obligation of confidentiality
   - violates the privacy of others
   
   We define and determine what is "unacceptable content" on a case-by-case basis, and our definitions are not limited to this list. If we delete a comment or link, we will say so and explain why. [We reserve the right to change these standards at any time with no notice.]
   
2. We won't say anything online that we wouldn't say in person.
   
3. We connect privately before we respond publicly.
   When we encounter conflicts and misrepresentation in the blogosphere, we make every effort to talk privately and directly to the person(s) involved--or find an intermediary who can do so--before we publish any posts or comments about the issue.
   
4. When we believe someone is unfairly attacking another, we take action.
   When someone who is publishing comments or blog postings that are offensive, we'll tell them so (privately, if possible--see above) and ask them to publicly make amends.
   If those published comments could be construed as a threat, and the perpetrator doesn't withdraw them and apologize, we will cooperate with law enforcement to protect the target of the threat.
   
5. We do not allow anonymous comments.
   We require commenters to supply a valid email address before they can post, though we allow commenters to identify themselves with an alias, rather than their real name.
   
6. We ignore the trolls.
   We prefer not to respond to nasty comments about us or our blog, as long as they don't veer into abuse or libel. We believe that feeding the trolls only encourages them--"Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it." Ignoring public attacks is often the best way to contain them.

» Tim O'Reilly / radar.oreilly.com

über bloggers

It's no secret that bloggers are becoming increasingly influential. But Arrington is part of an emerging crowd of writers who use their narrowly focused blogs, such as hyperlocal real estate reports, green guides, or Web 2.0 startup reviews, to establish themselves as thought leaders. These new influencers are taking a page from the blog networks Gawker and Weblogs Inc. and turning rapid-fire, around-the-clock blog patter that makes and shapes the news into a hot new online media model.

Companies are directing more efforts toward buttering up these New Media players, often feeding them exclusives that play well with their targeted audiences. And for marketers who are increasingly comfortable with spending money on blogs, advertising with these opinion leaders provides instant cachet.

Think of these as the digital version of potent, passionate trade press writers. They swarm every novelty in areas like tech, creating problems and buzz for companies and innovations. They report news and publish it alongside analysis of newspaper stories and company releases. These posts are salted with strong doses of personality, sparking discussions across the Web. By melding their own insights and opinions with the aggregated views of others, they're starting to gain leverage. "In a time-starved world, people—especially decision-makers—have very little time, but do not want to miss being in the know," says Rishad Tobaccowala, chief innovation officer at advertising firm Publicis Groupe Media.

» Business Week