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<p align="center"><span class="style5"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>4cast
#83: Knol, Spam, Identity, Jargon </b><br>
</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">December 18, 2007</span></p>
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<p>The <em><b>OPLIN 4cast</b></em> is a weekly compilation of
recent headlines, topics, and trends that could impact public
libraries. You can subscribe to it in a variety of ways, such as:</p>
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<p class="style4">This week’s <em>4cast</em><b>:</b></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">1. <strong>Watch Your Back,
Wikipedia </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>As <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>
has become increasingly huge (<em>see <a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?p=102" target="_blank">4cast
#72</a>, item 4</em>),
it was inevitable that for-profit competitors would emerge. But it
wasn't until last week that a truly terrifying rival appeared - Google,
and its <a
href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/encouraging-people-to-contribute.html"
target="_blank">Knol project</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071214-google-to-wikipedia-knol-thine-enemy.html"
target="_blank">Google to Wikipedia: "Knol" thine enemy</a> (Ars
Technica) </li>
<li><a
href="http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2007/12/official-google.html"
target="_blank">Official Google Blog: Encouraging people to contribute
knowledge</a> (Phil Bradley's weblog) </li>
<li><a
href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/17/a-few-thoughts-on-google-knol/"
target="_blank">A Few Thoughts On Google Knol</a> (TechCrunch)</li>
<li><a
href="http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/12/googles-knols-i.html"
target="_blank">Google's 'Knols' aren't a Threat to Wikipedia</a>
(Compiler from Wired.com) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2.<strong> Spam? What Spam? Oh... You
Mean All of THAT Spam.</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Although
Google claims that improved filtering technologies are causing many
spammers to give up on junk e-mailing, another recent report shows that
95% of all e-mail sent in 2007 was in fact, spam. So who's winning the
war? </p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2007/11/google_spam"
target="_blank">Spammers Giving Up? Google Thinks So</a> (Wired)</li>
<li><a href="http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9831556-16.html"
target="_blank">Study: 95 percent of all e-mail sent in 2007 was spam</a>
(The Open Road) </li>
<li><a
href="http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2007/12/spam_takes_cont.html"
target="_blank">Spam takes control</a> (Stephen's Lighthouse)</li>
<li><a
href="http://www.resourceshelf.com/2007/12/10/statistics-symantecs-state-of-spam-report-december-2006/"
target="_blank">Statistics: Symantec's State of Spam Report: December
2007</a> (ResourceShelf)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">3.<strong> You've Got a Bad Online
Reputation </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>A recent <a
href="http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/229/report_display.asp"
target="_blank">Pew Internet study</a>
shows that people are increasingly aware of their online identity and
the importance of making sure their digital tracks don't lead searchers
(potential employers, for example) to unflattering places. Still, most
Internet users either don't worry or are completely oblivious to the
amount of information that's floating around about them online. </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://searchengineland.com/071217-142031.php"
target="_blank">PEW Study Finds Most People Don't Google Themselves
That Often After All</a> (Search Engine Land) </li>
<li><a
href="http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/12/citizen-google.html"
target="_blank">Citizen: Google thyself!</a> (Chicago Tribune) </li>
<li><a
href="http://outofthejungle.blogspot.com/2007/12/digital-footprints-report-from-pew.html"
target="_blank">Digital Footprints Report from Pew</a> (Out of the
Jungle)</li>
<li><a
href="http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2007/12/16/adults_and_view.html"
target="_blank">adults' views on privacy (new PEW report)</a>
(apophenia)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">4.<strong> Premium Bibliographic
Resources Fail to Engage Remote End-Users</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>From
a non-librarian's perspective, one of the biggest deterrents to using
the public library is confusing industry jargon, both inside the
library and on the library website. John Kupersmith, a reference
library at UC Berkeley, has developed a comprehensive list of library
jargon and alternative terms that a non-librarian might actually
comprehend. </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.jkup.net/terms.html" target="_blank">Library
Terms That Users Understand</a> (John Kupersmith)</li>
<li><a
href="http://librarygarden.blogspot.com/2007/07/step-one-stop-calling-them-databases.html"
target="_blank">STEP ONE: STOP CALLING THEM DATABASES!!!</a> (Library
Garden) </li>
<li><a href="http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?p=337"
target="_blank">An analogy for undergrads</a> (Library Juice) </li>
<li><a
href="http://kraftylibrarian.com/2007/12/what-is-in-name.html"
target="_blank">What Is In A Name?</a> (The Krafty Librarian)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Joel Husenits
Managing Editor
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
2323 W. 5th Avenue, Suite 130
Columbus, Ohio 43204
Phone: (614) 728-5252
Fax: (614) 728-5256
E-mail: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:editor@oplin.org">editor@oplin.org</a>
Web: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.oplin.org">www.oplin.org</a></pre>
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