Steven Mandzik

My old favorite drink: cranberry and vodka

My new favorite drinks:

* Tom Collins

* Whiskey Sour

* White and/or Black Russian

* Mai Tai

Don’t know if I like these or not, but all I ever oder is a cranberry vodka. What a dork I am. I need to expand my drinking horizons.

Besides I don’t know any amazing drinks for rum. My favorite liquor. The darker the better. You remember that scene from Pirates of Carribean 2 when Johnny Depp is drunk off Rum on a deserted island. Yeah that is my happy place. I go there often.

“I’ve long noticed this phenomenon in my own life. I can’t remember a single friend’s email address. Hell, sometimes I have to search my inbox to remember an associate’s last name. Friends of mine space out on lunch dates unless Outlook pings them. And when it comes to cultural trivia — celebrity names, song lyrics — I’ve almost given up making an effort to remember anything, because I can instantly retrieve the information online.”

“In fact, the line between where my memory leaves off and Google picks up is getting blurrier by the second. Often when I’m talking on the phone, I hit Wikipedia and search engines to explore the subject at hand, harnessing the results to buttress my arguments.”

“My point is that the cyborg future is here. Almost without noticing it, we’ve outsourced important peripheral brain functions to the silicon around us.”

“You could argue that by offloading data onto silicon, we free our own gray matter for more germanely “human” tasks like brainstorming and daydreaming.”

“Your Outboard Brain Knows All“, by Clive Thompson 

And that is exactly what I am doing. I spend all day, night, and some dreams thinking.  About work, play, dates, girls, ideas, vacations, thesis, culture. I love it. I can’t count how many times a day I have great ideas. There is just something enjoyable about pondering the imponderable, exploring new ideas, conjuring up fun things to do/say, daydreaming the day away…

I love how my cyborg brain has automated many of the mundane tasks  in my life. Remember a 7-10 digit number to speak with someone? Write an address to send something to someone? Ha, my robots do that for me. In fact, they give me a child-like GUI interface too. All I have to do is know the first few letters of the person/thing I want and, bam, there it is. I can’t remember the last time I had to type in Karen’s full name to call her or Sean’s full address to email him.

All of this is fantastic. I can happily forget useless facts and instead focus on how many people are chewing gum right now (guess: under a billion).

Similarily, at work, more and more of the mundane processes are being automated. Manage an inbox? Sit through long-boring meetings? Search for news/info/research?  Not with my cyborg brain. Wikis/blogs/rss/chat all of these tools are taking the boring and droll out of my work life. I also teach others how this works and you would not believe how many people exclaim “I am actually excited about work again”.

So, my cyborg brain allows me to dream all I want, be happier, and enjoy work more?? Still a mystery to me why so many people lament this change…

I guess if you were the best at memorizing your times tables then you are suddenly finding yourself gathering dust next to trivial pursuit. Or, maybe that we are becoming to dependent on machines and we all should spend a week in the woods.

Me, I’ve got my blinders on. I don’t care. Plus, I have a RSS subscription to several survival guides…my cyborg brain will let me know when I need to know something to survive…lol

It’s kind of sad story, really. Here is this web phenomenon that has seemingly arisen out of nowhere. People are clicking to it by happenstance. Once they get there, they are often confused about what they are seeing. This confusion has led to a strong need to discredit, boycott, and even actively disrupt the world’s first free and open encyclopedia.

Some facts about the site. It is currently the 9th most visited site in the world (alexa.com) and has 8.2 million articles in over 200 languages, with the English version containing 2 million of those (Wikipedia/Our Project).

Just those facts alone mean that something successful and possibly meaningful is going on. So, why are so many people resistant and scared?

No simple answer to that. It could be due to the way the knowledge in Wikipedia is built. It builds knowledge in a way shocking to most Americans, and is sometimes considered a disruptive innovation. Or, it could be Americans striking resistance to computers and the internet, especially among some of the older generations. Maybe the pace of change in the world is so rapid that many Americans just feel confused and scared about computers/internet (computer security anyone?).

Another, and more simpler, explanation would be to blame the mainstream media. Most outlets do not provide an objective presentation of the site, almost always going for the controversial story. Putting aside my annoyance with that style of sensational journalism, those articles could be a way to educate as well as illuminate. They don’t, though. They contain too many errors to show an good understanding of the site. Often, scaring people more than telling an interesting story.

Finally, how often have I heard of teachers, professors, lawyers, coporate managers, copy editors, and parents tell others to avoid the site. These folks should be the vanguard of our knowledge. Many would, and do, look to them for guidance. These are the folks that provide the expertise to the common person through their published studies, articles, and media interviews. Most of them have it wrong too.

All of this adds to the confusion out there. On the marketing side, Wikipedia and its supporters are an all volunteer group. They have no PR reps or lobby groups. It is a non-profit organization that would rather focus on improving the product (free knowledge) than promoting themselves. This certainly can’t help its “reputation” but I would be hard pressed to find fault with that model.

Sad?

Yes, this is. If we cannot depend on our experts, media outlets, or a marketing campaign, then who is left? One simple answer, is you. Time magazine appointed you “person of the year” so maybe this is all right. Do you think you have enough inside of you to answer those complex questions for yourself? If you do, then you may just be able to understand how Wikipedia really works.

In my eyes, that would be a great transition, empowering a whole new cadre of Americans who are independent thinkers and decision makers. Some of the ideals that the most illustrious Americans have said are our greatest attributes.

Still, I can’t help but be saddened by the whole situation. A group of volunteers, with no profit in mind, are trying to do some good for the world and our country. Yet at every turn our institutions are criticizing and ridiculing. Common folks are vandalizing it and telling their children to stay away. The general thought is not “thank you”, but instead “go away”.

This is why America fails Wikipedia.

Suggestion: the only way to understand Wikipedia is to use it and add to it. Look up something interesting and then find something you know a lot about and if you see an error, correct it. Avoid this negative cycle of distrust and sad behavior, help us to build knowledge for each other and our children.

How do you use youtube?

Do you occasionally visit it for a funny video a friend told you about, do you watch from other sites, or maybe get them sent to you. I know of many people, myself included, now use it for music and music videos. Finally, maybe you don’t use it at all…

I find myself using it a lot more lately. I love being able to find any song and listen to it, with the added benefit of it being a music video. In fact, some of the videos are user generated and some are the professionally made version from the artist. Either way I get cool content.

Well, the next logical step for me was a playlist. I want to listen to all of this artists music, or maybe more music like this (pandora anyone). So, I did a little browsing around and found that they have user created playlists.

So, please don’t laugh, maybe this has been around for a while, but everytime I find something new like this I get excited. It’s like a new toy. Who knew! Part of the fun on the internet is serendipitous discovery.

To use the playlists you need to first navigate to a video you like. From there you should look to the right of the video, where the “more” videos are. There will be a link to playlists, on top of the related video list. Unfortunately, the youtube developers have not made this feature very prominent and you can’t find a link to popular playlists off the main page.

So, like I said before they are user created, self selected, and varying quality. Who cares though right! Choose a good list and go through some content. I used it to listen to a playlist for the soundtrack to the movie 300. I am thinking about buying it, but I wanted to hear it first. The playlists saved me the time of having to click through each song. I love it!

I remember the day when my college stopped passing out a syllabus. Being the standard college slacker, I walked into my new class tired and hungover. I plopped myself down and waited for the standard new class introduction. I was hoping to snooze some, but I was out of luck. Class policies had changed and so professors were no longer allowed to give out paper versions of their syllabi, it was all online. In fact, most students already had questions about the syllabus and grading policy, and there I was waiting for it to be handed to me.

At the time it didn’t bother me or anybody else much. We were already using Blackboard, enrolling in classes online, getting grades online. After class, I quickly caught up, but, I kind of realized this was a big deal. College had changed and I had to get going to keep up. Soon after almost all professors started putting up the syllabus earlier, having pre-class assignments, posting online grades, having online discussions, asking for electronic submissions of homework, and even moving parts of class online.

That was about 10 years ago. Since then the world of education has drastically changed. Students today cannot expect to attend school without a good computer, nor do most think of buying a printer. Every class has an online section, some even are a hybrid physical/internet class. Not to mention, the growing amount of online classes.

As an educator myself, I have started to think about the long term effects of this. What are the fundamentals of school that will be challenged, changed, and erased? Well, I am finding out firsthand. I have just begun a 4 year online law program from Concord University.

The first thing I noticed is that the semester system is gone. We do not have summers or a spring break. We have a year long curriculum that allows us progress at our own pace, with many careful controls to ensure we “keep up”. I can also get ahead and then take a vacation, anytime. Another big change is that the lecture is separated from the class. It is now a homework assignment. Professors ask that you read, take notes, listen to lecture, and take quizzes all before the “live” class. It seems that we do most of the early and intermediate learning on our own, and then attend the live class to discuss advanced issues with the Professor and classmates.

At this point, my educator sense starts flailing. Well what if you need help in the early stages? Well, that is another big change. You would think that students have a distant relationship, if one at all. Well, I am finding that I know my classmates better already, than I ever did in any physical class. In our class, we have been desperate to find each other and have constantly been contacting each other, asking questions, supporting each other, and discussing the homework. So, just like classes have gone online, so have the study groups.

So, no more semesters, lectures are now homework, and students develop good relationships…sounds to good to be true right? Well many of the powerful people and institutions in education feel the same way. The government has no category for this kind of school. The only accreditation is can receive is under a grouping called “correspondence school”. Next, the American Bar Association, who accredits law schools, has decreed that only 12 units for law degrees can come from online classes. Finally, most colleges, including the most innovative ones, have resisted adopting online classes, usually keeping them a small part of any program.

I think this means that online education still has a long way to go. I can imagine many Ivy League-ers miffed over the fact that a student in his underwear in the basement of his parents house can get the same degree they have. Regardless of the resistance and concerns to this trend, it is not going away. It is only becoming more and more a part of our schools. And, they are changing. They are becoming the schools of the future. Are you ready for the new school?

P.S. Stay tuned for news of how we are using a wiki to collaboratively take notes for our classes…

. The first thing you would notice is that time would be saved in not commuting to school. Allowing for many more people, including working adults, to earn higher degrees. Next you would think about the way class is held. In addition to homework, syllabus, and grading taking place online the classes themselves would be online. Teachers could either pre-record lecture or just hold a live sesion.

Well, the first thing you could say is colleges will be paperless, for obvious reasons. Well you could also assume that class lectures could be posted online and viewing it will become a part of the homework. Meaning that class would only Next, you could find that the semester system will no longer be needed.

school will be paperless. No need for that anymore, everything can be shared, written, and graded online. Next,

MIT is an amazing place to be. Check out this new research center.

The MIT Center for Collective Intelligence starts off with the following research question:

How can people and computers be connected so that—collectively—they act more intelligently than any individuals, groups, or computers have ever done before?

Continue reading “MIT Center for Collective Intelligence”

It is my ultimate goal to have podcasting take over the world.

“Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?” – Pinky

“Same thing we do everyday, Pinky. Try to take over the world”. – Brain

Until that happens, or to further my goal, here are some great podcasts to listen to:

1. This week in Tech

2. Hardcore History

3. Watching the Directors

4. The Tech Guy

5. Diggnation

What are your favorite podcasts? Do you listen to any of these?

A little clip of Pinky and the brain:

They are cool looking, I want one in my apartment. You know. And, considering that they are pretty much nostalgia at this point in time, I wanna throw that out there now, before they start taking them down. When they do I will be waiting with a truck and a smile.
It is strange, but I cannot remember the last time I used a phone booth. I don’t even know how much they cost. The last time I was in one was when I was in London and I thought their red ones looked cool. So, how long are they going to be around?

Cell phones are pretty much ubiqitous right now. Most americans will use a cell phone when in need or during emergencies. Those that don’t have them will most likely be with someone who does have one.

I say we replace the phone booth with the internet booth, and this already being done in some places in Europe. It could be the place to get directions, phone numbers, maybe even make a VOIP call, or just check your email. With the right network you could even use them for free or cheap VOIP calls. Although, it may be only a matter of time before all booths are VOIP booths, but I would hope they include internet access as well.

A fairly cheap way to establish these would be to use solar cells on top for power and wifi to avoid cables. Of course, etiquette would need to be established. A sign like the one at gyms, saying “please limit use to 15 minutes when people are waiting”. I could imagine various software and ID devices to limit over-use, but that would be overly complicated. Just use the social influence of people.

Possible benefits are numerous. Cities could make themselves “tech savvy” inviting citizens to move there. Poorer people could have access to the internet, when they otherwise would not. Also, making more information available to the public is always a good thing “where is the closest police station, with directions and a map”.

I think this is a good idea, we just need a innovative leader (Gavin Newsome, do you happen to read the blog?) and a catchy name. All I could think of was the Wifi Booth or the P.I.S. (public internet stations). Ha!

Have you heard of moo cards?

They are business cards, but not the traditional ones we use. They are smaller and customizable. A company called MOO has a new service that will create some fab cards for you.

One of their services allow you to create mini cards (see pic) based off of your flickr pictures. You can get a set of 100 cards for $20. The options include varying the images (up to 100) and the typical contact info on the reverse side.

I have received a few of these already from business contacts. I have to say, they are really cool. I’m going to order a set based off some my flickr photos. Soon, I will be passing out these fab items and ditch the boring old business cards.

Maybe I will even order one of their sticker books based off of my pics too…