http://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/recent-trends-in-digital-reading-the-ebooks-explosion-04-30-12/

Stephen

http://gizmodo.com/5905310/nine-ways-to-make-yourself-smarter

1. Change your workouts

2. Tweak your lifestyle

3. Act intelligent

4. Take drastic measures

5. Eat better

6. Wear a lab coat

7. Listen to classical music

8. Daydream

9. Work hard

And I’d add another.

10. Go to the library!

Stephen

How to Stop Google, Facebook and Twitter From Tracking You

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_to_disconnect_from_web_tracking.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29

“On the Internet, every site you visit is recorded. There are tools to help block this act, but what does it really mean to be tracked on the Web? And what types of information do companies have about you?

Tools by Disconnect literally “disconnect” you from Facebook, Google and Twitter so that these major sites don’t keep track of your browsing. A new tool called Collusion for Chrome shows users all the websites that secretly track you as you browse the Web. How do these tools work, and what are the advantages to using them? There is a hope that one day, our Web life will be private again.”

Disconnect

Google Incognito browsing

Collusion extension

Stephen

A great curation from David Lee King

http://www.davidleeking.com/2012/04/30/web-design-trends-for-2012/

Web Design Trends in 2012

• Responsive Web Design
• Fixed-Position Navigation
• Circles
• Big Vector Art
• Multi-Column Menus
• jQuery/CSS3/HTML5 Animation
• Ribbons & Banner Graphics
• Custom Font Faces
• Infographics
• Focus on Simplicity

15 Web Design Trends to Watch Out For in 2012

• Responsive Interface Design
• Touchscreen Mobile Devices
• Tons of Freebies!
• HTML5 & CSS3 Standards
• Ribbons and Banners
• Premium WordPress Themes
• Online Magazines
• Easy Drop Shadows
• Dynamic Typography
• Image Gallery Slideshows
• Modal Popup Boxes
• Inspirational Lists
• Generated Image Thumbnails
• Oversized Icons
• Exaggerated Hyperlinks

Web Design Trends for 2012

• Oversized Logos/Headers
• Sketch/Hand-drawn Design
• Slab Typefaces
• Typography
• One Page Layouts
• Huge Images
• Change of Perspective
• Interactive/Intuitive Design
• Modal Boxes
• Minimalism
• Oversized Footer
• Retro
• Intro Boxes
• Magazine Layouts

Top Website Design Trends for 2012

• HTML5, CSS3 and JQUERY
• Mobile Compatibility and Responsive Layouts
• Typographic Layouts
• The Grid
• Large Background Images
• Perceived Affordance and Metaphoric Design
• Social Media Integration
• Illustration
• Single Page Websites
• Parallax
• Elegant Modal Boxes

15 Top Web Design and Development Trends for 2012

• Progressive enhancement
• Responsive design
• Flash will survive
• Native support for plug-in features
• Appification takes hold
• Web app fragmentation
• Mobile gets bigger
• A device explosion
• Respect beyond aesthetics
• social battles heat up
• Growth of the two-screen model
• Distributed workforces
• Stronger customer service
• Better value, not lower prices
• Pushing the boundaries

The State of Web Design Trends: 2012 Annual Edition

• Responsive Web Design
• Grid Systems
• Typography
• Technology Pushing Art
• Scrolling, Vertical Narratives
• Like it’s 1983
• Modular Interfaces

Stephen

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/29/151646558/if-a-fact-dies-in-the-forest-will-anyone-believe-it?sc=fb&cc=fp

by NPR Staff

As promised here are the slides for my opening remarks to get the event started:

Stephen

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ranking-reveals-worlds-top-countries-for-higher-education-2012-05-10

“The Universitas 21 Ranking was announced today (11 May 2012) at an event at Lund University in Sweden. Universitas 21, a leading global network of research universities, has developed the ranking as a benchmark for governments, education institutions and individuals. It aims to highlight the importance of creating a strong environment for higher education institutions to contribute to economic and cultural development, provide a high-quality experience for students and help institutions compete for overseas applicants.”

Overall ranking by score:

1 United States      100

2 Sweden       84

3 Canada       83

4 Finland      82

5 Denmark      81

6 Switzerland  80

7 Norway       78

8 Australia    78

9 Netherlands  77

10 United Kingdom      77

11 Singapore    75

12 Austria      74

13 Belgium      74

14 New Zealand  73

15 France       71

16 Ireland      70

17 Germany      69

17    Hong Kong    69

18    SAR          67

19 Israel       66

20 Japan        64

21 Taiwan       62

22 Korea        60

23 Portugal     60

24 Spain        60

25 Ukraine      59

25  Czech        59

26 Republic     58

27 Poland       56

28 Slovenia     56

29 Greece       55

30 Italy        54

31 Bulgaria     53

31   Russian    53

32 Federation   52

33 Romania      51

34 Hungary      51

35 Slovakia     51

36 Malaysia     50

37 Chile        49

38 Argentina    49

39 China        48

40 Brazil       47

41 Thailand     47

42 Iran         46

43 Mexico       45

44 Croatia      45

45 Turkey       44

46 South Africa       43

47 Indonesia    37

48 India        34

Stephen

http://gizmodo.com/5905961/the-definitive-video-on-why-the-airplane-cellphone-ban-is-stupid

inFact: Cell Phones on Airplanes 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgs-zawExcQ&feature=player_embedded

There’s a new trend on some airlines where the flight attendant yells at you for only using airline mode to turn off your phone.  She grabs the phone from your hand and aggressively turns it fully off. It’s bad enugh that they institutionalize lying to 100% of their customers 100% of the time in their first announcements as soon as you enter their plane.  What other business does this?

Everyone has to take their shoes off for x-rays because someone put a bomb in a shoe once. Cel phones are ‘dangerous’ in flight so we’ll put that on the honour method!  It defies logic.

What really scares me as a frequent flyer is this latest underwear bomb discovery. How will security overreact now?!

Stephen

p.s.:

http://www.marketingtechblog.com/infographic-rise-of-the-visual-social-networks/

Stephen

The Eye-Opening Effects of Staring at Your Screen by JuJu Kim. “It’s no secret that we spend more than six hours a day on average staring at digital screens. But what’s lesser known is the toll it can take on our eyes. Read on for the ailments too much screen-staring can cause (turns out, “Computer Vision Syndrome” is a thing), then discover some tips to protect your peepers.”

http://www.thedailymuse.com/tech/the-eye-opening-effects-of-staring-at-your-screen/

Look away!…..

Stephen