Stories in Digital Media

Hi, some weeks ago I read that Wolfram Research is planning to contend Google’s supremacy on Internet.

The initiative is reported in The Guardian, and comprises a knowledge search engine based on natural language entries. For that purpose Stephen Wolfram believes his scientific and mathematics engine might give better results in answering normal and usual questions than any of the current search engines. Wolfram is the developer of Mathematica®.

Wolfram published a book with what he calls a new kind of science, which is a good reading to get more information and context about the person behind this project. The book is available here.

The engine is coming soon: Wolfram|Alpha

If you are interested on you can  follow the project: here

This engine sounds like a step forward in fulfilling the Asimov’s all mighty computer: Multivac.

Hi, this is my comeback part two.

Hanging around in Internet I visited Lev Manovich website.

Manovich recently published a new book, I guess by now many of you have already put your hands on it and devoured it piece by piece, however to my surprise nobody has posted it here . Right now that many are in the process of Master Thesis writing this text, free available online, might be of special interest.

Manovich is one of the most quoted researchers of contemporary media studies and has a particular interest for data mining, and data bases that recently has led him to what he calls the ‘software revolution’.

Below the link to download the book

http://lab.softwarestudies.com/2008/11/softbook.html

Hi, it’s been a long time since my last post here. And no! I was not dead neither have I forgotten this blog . It was my master thesis you have to blame for my absence. I have to say it was a pleasant time writing my thesis and soon I’ll share it, for now is enough to say: I’m back.

For those who have the pleasure to follow this blog (a handful of enthusiasts) and those who, somehow, missed me (even fewer I’m afraid) I have the following recommendation.

http://www.henryjenkins.org/

The official weblog of Henry Jenkins, currently one of the most renowned and cited scholars in contemporary media and cultural studies. His main area of research: Fans. He is an enthusiast of participation, appropriation, democratisation, and fandom. If you are about to study phenomena of media such as television series, cult films, and pop-music or the impact of blogs, video sharing, and virtual communities on spreading media content (official and unofficial) then he is definitely a must read.

His books, all available at the Uni-Bremen library:  Convergence Culture (2006) and Fans, Bloggers and Gamers (2006), Democracy and new media (2003), and Textual poachers : television fans & participatory culture (1992)

I have to warn you, approach to his writings with special care in order not to become a fan of him in the process, losing as a consequence your critical view.

Enjoy.