Sync eats up memory, constantly running; many tags missing on suggestions; large discrepancies between machine and web; have re-installed several times; done full sync; experiencing same problems on different machines. Where can I find the old one? - joneilortiz
I've seen that but you can go to the Add-ons window in FF, choose the delicious extension's preferences and disable synchronisation. Made a big difference for me. - Andy Murdoch
The current version at least doesn't hang on my 5000+ bookmarks, so that's at least an improvement to before. I don't know if it's in sync though: Too many tags. :) - Meryn Stol
In some sense, the best way to enact satisfied change is to make it beneficial to the individual researcher, and allow them to discover this on their own terms. Scientists are a skeptical lot by training; the fact that they are also generally time-strapped and resource-starved makes them, ironically, reluctant to experiment, at least with the way they do their work. - Meryn Stol
The key benefit, the potential for a step change in the efficiency of how we do science lies in all the small things that could be done better, the collaborations that are not currently sought out, and in particular, the data that languishes somewhere because there is never quite enough for a paper. - Meryn Stol
Any new tool must clearly outperform all the existing tools that it will replace in the relevant workflows without the requirement for network or social effects. Its got to be absolutely clear on first use that I am going to want to use this instead of e.g. Endnote. - Meryn Stol
My dream would be to see an open source framework with an open data model that allows people to move their data from one place to another depending on what features they want. Then the personal networks can spread through the communities of all of these sites rather than being restricted to one, and the community can help build features that they want. - Meryn Stol
1) The peer pressure created by closed networks builds commitment and productivity. 2) The peer pressure created by closed networks reinforces groupthink and promotes mindless stereotypes. - Meryn Stol
I am CTO & Co-founder of Socialtext. Socialtext makes the best wiki software for collaboration in business. You are looking at a Socialtext wiki right now; I am using this wiki to be my home on the web. - Meryn Stol
We now have tools for ridiculously easy group-forming, and these are being used at the local level by non-techies. Indeed, social media are getting close to “normal” even for those who are not so young. - Meryn Stol
At the same time as these experts call higher education, as it currently exists, into question, it is interesting to note that in their criticisms these men did not address the major concern of the general public, the exorbitant costs associated with earning a college degree. Add that public concern to the growing list of criticisms voiced by these experts and the last bastion of American education could be in for a rude awakening in the not too-distant future. - Meryn Stol
Under a certification system, four years is not required, residence is not required, expensive tuitions are not required, and a degree is not required. Equal educational opportunity means, among other things, creating a society in which it's what you know that makes the difference. Substituting certifications for degrees would be a big step in that direction. - Meryn Stol
I think part of what I see in Eva's posting is a questioning of whether we need "reference managers" in the traditional sense at all - maybe something more like a browser history, your "reading stream" captured by a browser extension or desktop tool, where you can go in and share, highlight, or reference particular articles-you-have-read with a single click. - Richard Akerman
Well a browser stream plus the record of pushing a 'like' button. I think the bookmarklet model is a great one though - as long as it is responsive.The fact that I've made a little more effort to press a button and drop in some tags is worth recording and using when you then search through everything you've looked at. I'm finding I am using the firefox awesome bar as a kind of 'everything I've looked at' record - anyone else? - Cameron Neylon
Richard - no, that's not what I meant. I meant that people use things that they can use to easily write papers (and maybe collaborate). The tools that do that now are not meant for public sharing, but if that was built into these tools anyway, people would use it. It has to be useful to what they *want*, which is presumably to write papers efficiently. So citing was what I was trying to emphasize. Bookmarking seems to work pretty well with many tools. - Eva
Great post. I agree completely with the concept that the new tools need to be even easier to use than the old ones. Even though I am relatively computer-savvy (compared to my peers) and have an interest in web-based scientific tools with social aspects, several times minor inconveniences in a new software package has caused me to leave something behind that otherwise shows promise. - Jason Winget
More specific to this post, of the new wave of citation managers I prefer Zotero. It integrates best with my browsing habits, and does a better job than Connotea or CiteULike of properly parsing references. The two things I wish it had were: on-the-fly updating of a locally stored Bibtex database (I have to export it every time now) and a community feature, as mentioned here. - Jason Winget
@Jason The Zotero guys have talked about more Zotero server based features for version 2.0 (like sharing, groups etc.), but I don't know what the timeline is. - Richard Akerman
Friendfeed is so weird. More people like *this* than when it showed up in my own feed. - Eva
Network effect. Sometimes 2-3 people see it at a time and it gets shuffled up. if it gets buried, it gets buried forever - Deepak
Jason, Richard; Zotero is developing nicely. The latest release includes sync to a central server and back out to browsers on different machines. I'm sure other features based around this sharing are not far away. I'll be tempted back from CiteULike if the improvements continue. - Neil Saunders
@Meryn - I know, but a lot of people who liked this are actually subscribed to me! - Eva
Eva, this is a great post. I really like the notion of "online storage first, social benefits second". My main reason for moving bookmarks, references, photos, documents etc. to online services was the first reason: everything is in "one place" (the web), no more worries about self-hosting, backup, synchronising between machines, what to do when changing jobs etc. Maybe this aspect is the way to sell it to the sceptical. - Neil Saunders
Think about your friends and colleagues who only turn on their computer for work and e-mail. They’re not going to tag their favourite papers or discuss the process of research with total strangers on the internet. It’s an extra thing to do that’s not already part of their lives, and no matter how appealing they might find the concept of open data or sharing information, they won’t join these sites or movements because it’s not something they are already doing. - Meryn Stol
Facebook has done some negative things to retard its usefulness as a business utility. I chalk those up to being a young company run by young people who haven't had to work in huge enterprises very much. It'll be interesting to see how Facebook grows up as it gets more adult supervision. - Robert Scoble
I personally don't see what Facebook could add to what's there - and what's possible - on the open web. I think no one really likes there platform. Apple, on the other hand, provides with his iPhone platform a much better mobile experience than anything which can be build with (current) open technologies. I think that's the difference, and not so much the market/platform distinction Haque talks about. - Meryn Stol
Facebook is like my memory. I can't remember everyone I meet, but I can find them on Facebook and then look back at their details as necessary. What else could Facebook do? I love how HBS is always trying to monetize things reactively. - Ben Turner
With the usual exceptions, people on Twitter tend to fall into two main camps. There are responders, who use Twitter as a channel to interact heavily with other users, and broadcasters, who use it primarily as a micro-blogging platform. - Meryn Stol
Thnx for the link. I enjoyed the article and now know which Twitter camp I fall into! - Franke James
Twitter is an excellent, addictive tool for getting connected socially and building your personal brand. It’s also a simple tool, but there’s a lot you can do to improve upon it. Make use of these tips, tools, and other resources to make your Twitter experience better than ever. - Meryn Stol
People need to know a bit about you in order to want to spend time in conversation with you. This will not happen if you simply start and account, reveal nothing about yourself and your interests and then go around collecting follows. - Meryn Stol
[Extreme openness] simply is at odds with the need to “stand out”, e.g. make your own discoveries and publish your own papers, to have a shot at the limited resources, e.g. grants and lab space, that scholars desperately need to advance (their) scientific research and their scientific careers. - Meryn Stol
Authors Richard Leider and David Shapiro have come to the rescue with an elegantly simple definition of the good life: "living in the place you belong, with the people you love, doing the right work -- on purpose." - Meryn Stol
The people who best understand how science works are scientists themselves, yet building such tools is not something scientists are typically encouraged or well suited to do. Scientific institutions reward scientists for making discoveries within the existing system of discovery; there is little place for people working to change that system. - Meryn Stol
In the realm of Government 2.0, as elsewhere, advanced tools and services can play crucial roles, but only if we can weave them into the patchwork quilt of brutally simple systems that people understand and use. - Meryn Stol
With respect to the relationship between information technology and organizations, the last thirty years have been mainly about the technology; the next thirty years will mainly be about the sociology. The game has changed for leadership and management. - Meryn Stol
People are most amenable to change during times of crisis. Ask any psychotherapist. Rather than pushing a direct green agenda, a more effective approach is to grab people where they are hurting the most, at the pocketbook. - Meryn Stol
It’s clear that what the Kohana community is building is something big and ambitious that might, one day, be the best way of rapidly developing PHP applications. But the shortcomings can’t be ignored: lack of documentation and lack of modules mean that there are other frameworks that can get the same job done faster. - Meryn Stol
Some of the recently added features include improved budgeting tools and the addition of investment and brokerage accounts. Along with its new site design, Mint is also highlighting its new online resources covering “critical money management issues” like reducing credit card debt, saving for retirement and paying off student loans. - Meryn Stol
Unless we want another few decades of lock-in, this time in the cloud and created by Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft [...], Amazon, and others, we need to wake up and figure out how to make open source apply more effectively to the web. - Meryn Stol
