Creative Blogging

This is an interesting blog, as the author designs each entry according to its content. He has adapted a content management system that allows more than a steady trickle into the same old template layouts. His new system allows him to make " fast design direction based on the needs of the content". He says that this might mean the quality suffers occasionally, however I don't think this is the case at all.

http://jasonsantamaria.com/

German government raises concerns about Google Wave's data protection efforts

The Bundesamt fuer Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (roughly translates as 'Federal office for Security in Information Technologies) in Germany mainly voiced concerns about the loss of control over data once subscribed to the service Google Wave. Google has reacted surprised to this, mainly at the fact that the institute is passing judgement on a service that has not been publicly released yet. Unfortunately, so far I have not found any english language articles or news items on this yet.

http://www.tomshardware.com/de/Wave-Google-BSI-Datenschutz,news-243460.html

Along slightly different lines, but on the same subject - Blogger Jeff Jarvis has criticised the new Google service "Sidewiki", which collects user comments from other websites and saves it on Google Servers. The website authors thereby lose control over the content, and Internet critic Andrew Keen has suggested this might be a thinly veiled attempt by Google to take ownership of the whole Internet.

http://www.focus.de/digital/computer/chip-exklusiv/tid-16076/google-die-unheimliche-supermacht_aid_450985.html

Digital Magazine Experiments

I came across a blog post yesterday, reporting on an experimental online magazine. This lead me on a quick stab journey, also inspired by Anna's interest in the experience of reading magazines and how this could change, be supported or enhanced through digital media.
A Portuguese success story: could i be the future of newspapers?
http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2009/11/a_portuguese_success_story_could_i_be_th.php

Time offering 'customized' experimental magazine
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.70cafb3720e94be3c92af2caf941a9aa.b31&show_article=1

fusion is an experimental magazine that is developed at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Department Media Design. The issues have individual subjects – ranging from identity to typography – and are finalized on an irregular schedule. 
http://www.experimental-fusion.de/

Using Ethnography for User Experience Research

Here is an article making the link more directly between Ethnography and User Experience Research, as a step before Usability Testing. This relates to recent discussion in the Research Methods unit which dealt with Ethnography (Michele-Anne's session) and then linked to User Experience Research.

http://www.cxpartners.co.uk/thoughts/using_ethnography_to_improve_user_experience.htm

The newest developments in Multitouch

There has been quite a buzz around the possibilities of multitouch technologies in discussion on the MA DDM this week. Here is a glance at the latest developments - a tactile, raised interface which reacts to touch. In its current incarnation a little more than weird, but all the same fascinating for its potential.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10388260-1.html

Digital Media Tools - web 2.0

Still trying to synchronise all the web 2.0 service I use (blog, twitter, wiki, social bookmarking) into a coherent platform for digital communication - and working out which service is the best for which task, and which is just a lot of redundant nonsense.
We now have the MA DDM course wiki, which is shaping up great. Uptake of the educational twitter service edmodo has been reluctant, so I'm thinking of scrapping it or integrating it somehow into the wiki, to spare people having numerous logins. Currently looking at widgets to enable a real-time elements and easy sharing of links on the wiki space.