Jason Griffey is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at NISO, where he works to identify new areas of the information ecosystem where standards expertise is useful and needed. Prior to joining NISO in 2019, Jason ran his own technology consulting company for libraries, has been both an Affiliate at metaLAB and a Fellow and Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and was an academic librarian in roles ranging from reference and instruction to Head of IT at the University of TN at Chattanooga.
Jason has written extensively on technology and libraries, including multiple books and a series of full-periodical issues on technology topics, most recently AI & Machine Learning in Libraries and Library Spaces and Smart Buildings: Technology, Metrics, and Iterative Design from 2018. His newest book, co-authored with Jeffery Pomerantz, will be published by MIT Press in 2024.
He has spoken internationally on topics such as artificial intelligence & machine learning, the future of technology and libraries, decentralization and the Blockchain, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property. A full list of his publications and presentations can be found on his CV.
He is one of eight winners of the Knight Foundation News Challenge for Libraries for the Measure the Future project (http://measurethefuture.net), an open hardware project designed to provide actionable use metrics for library spaces. He is also the creator and director of The LibraryBox Project (http://librarybox.us), an open source portable digital file distribution system.
Jason can be stalked obsessively online, and spends his free time with his daughter Eliza, reading, obsessing over gadgets, and preparing for the inevitable zombie uprising.
Had the distinct honor of attending the wedding of my best friend on Monday. Travis Bryant wed Samantha Dunaway at Duke Gardens in Durham, NC on May 15, 2006. Take a look at the photos, and if you attended and have any to add, shoot me an email and I’ll invite you to join the flickr group.
She’s right there…
…get a little closer….
…just a little more…
There she is!
She landed in Liberia, Costa Rica this afternoon, and is currently on a bus heading towards Mount Doom the Arenal Volcano.
This is what Arenal looked like in February:
I hope she doesn’t run into any orcs or nazgul.
We’re lounging in Chapel Hill this weekend, looking forward to attending the graduation of my long-time best friend Travis, as well as his wedding to the also-long-time-friend Samantha.
Trav, Sam, and Me at my graduation two years ago.
There will be many pics to come.
A while back I blogged about what to call a certain type of image found often in Internet disscussion boards. Typically containing text and a picture that are humorous or insulting, they often act as a tool with which to comment on the thread.
I didn’t get any responses, really, so I’ve thought a bit more and decided that I’m going to call them “disspics”…this refers to both the fact that they are found on Disscussion boards, and that they often diss or insult.
It’s not great, but I needed something to call this flickr set I put together of them. So I created a flickr group as well, and would love for people to join and add their own discoveries.
As if we needed more proof that SILS own Fred Stutzman was quickly becoming an academic superstar, he drops the news that he was invited to speak at Google about his Facebook research.
The video is, of course, available online.
Great stuff from Fred, who has definitely found his academic niche, and is doing fascinating stuff in it. Between ClaimID and Facebook, he is definitely becoming an authority on online identity creation and evaluation.
Very interesting idea…if I had $50 to throw at them, I would simply for the chance to participate.
A Swarm of Angels
A Swarm of Angels reinvents the Hollywood model of filmmaking to create cult cinema for the Internet era. It’s all about making an artistic statement, making something you haven’t seen before. Why are we doing this? Because we are tired of films that are made simply to please film executives, sell popcorn, or tie-in with fastfood licensing deals.
From the FAQ:
A Swarm of Angels is about making a £1 million movie and giving it away to one million people in one year. By using the Internet to gather together 50,000 people willing to pay £25 to join an exclusive global online community–The Swarm–the project’s ambition is to make the world’s first Internet-funded, crewed and distributed feature film.
After my post from the other day regarding the petition for net neutrality, and my participation in emailing my Congressman, I received this today:
May 5, 2006
Jason Griffey
845 Lake ODonnell Road
Sewanee, Tennessee 37375Dear Jason:
Thank you for recently contacting me to share your views on the network neutrality telecommunications issue. I appreciate the time you’ve taken to contact me.
As you may know, the Congress is preparing to take up the Telecommunications Act reauthorization bill sometime this year. The Telecomm Rewrite, as it is known, has not been adjusted or updated since it’s original drafting in 1996. It is amazing to think about how much has changed since 1996 in the way of telecommunications- cell phones were “mobile phones” that were expensive to use and still took the backseat to traditional land line services, more often than not without service in rural areas, the internet was one fraction the information highway it is today, and much slower, and the concept of digital television or making telephone calls through your computer (known as VOIP or Voice over Internet Protocol) was nearly unheard of. We have made great strides in our telecommunications advancements.
We must not take these advancements for granted, however. As you say, the internet is a critical communications and educational tool. As Congress begins its work on the Telecommunications Act reauthorization, I will be looking out for the very concerns you mention. We must work to preserve fairness and equality to access. There are many provisions and loopholes that will require careful examination during the re-write of the legislation. I will be sure to thoroughly analyze the contents of the bill and weigh them against the interests of my constituency. As the Representative serving the fourth most rural district in the House of Representatives, I have a keen responsibility to protect and represent the small, rural folks and not the corporations. I guarantee you that I will not be beholden to the wishes of Corporate America as we work on this bill and I will work to preserve fair and non-discriminatory policies in the Telecommunications Act.
Again, thank you for contacting me. My door is always open.
Sincerely,
Lincoln Davis
Member of Congress
While I’m completely certain I understand the importance of network neutrality in a much more detailed way than does Congressman Davis, I appreciate the response. It at least shows that he (or his aid) is aware of the issue.
Betsy and I have ongoing jokes about how you can find anything on the Interweb. Anything that can possibly be conceived of is out there somewhere (indeed, there are even laws that state that no matter what you invent, it is retroactively available on the net).
This product proves this hypothesis.
PawSense (love the InterCap)
When cats walk or climb on your keyboard, they can enter random commands and data, damage your files, and even crash your computer. This can happen whether you are near the computer or have suddenly been called away from it.
PawSense is a software utility that helps protect your computer from cats. It quickly detects and blocks cat typing, and also helps train your cat to stay off the computer keyboard.
Yes. Software that does nothing but keep cats from typing. Truly, the Interweb is a marvelous thing.
I had heard the name before, but not until it was featured on BoingBoing did I actually see what an amazing idea Valleyschwag is. In their own words:
Out here in the Valley (Silicon Valley, that is) we’re well known for cookin’ up a mean tech company. But our real legacy is our schwag–the t-shirts, ballcaps, notepads, stickers, keychains, and other booty blaring the slogans that create new industries (and sometimes landfill, sorry to say). Until now, these world-class collectibles have only been available to the elite few who make it to conventions and insider parties. Now you can have a little piece of the valley without the $3000 rent and two hour commute.
I’m so doing this.
