Web 2.0 Facebook, the Giant ! (?)

As part of NetTrek training, I took a good look at the Web 2.0 Awards. Wow, what a variety! I thought about looking at Cocktail Builder from the Fun Stuff category, but then remembered... I have no liquor cabinet. What else is on this list?

Twitter... oh save me. I will not tweet. Or be a tweet. Or however the Twitter lingo goes. Can I just call them all birdbrains?
Yahoo Answers... I used to spend a lot of time there, before I realized you could really make a job of just trying to correct the idiotic things people say. It just shows that some Web 2.0 things, like wikipedia, aren't always reliable no matter how many people participate.

Oh, there, look in Social Networking Mainstays! It's Facebook! Wow, it's only in one category? What's happening to the website I visit for at least an hour each day? I do believe it may have jumped the shark. Really, you say? But, it has so many users, so much to do! I've got some reasons, and I'm not happy about all of them.

1. Too big for its own good. Facebook was cool when it was focused on connecting college students. But when everybody piles on the bandwagon, it loses some of the draw for the fringe folks that make it so cool.
2. So much to do, it loses focus. Wow, look, I can play games! Okay, so they're called apps, but still they're just games. Hmm, my cousin wants to chat, I suppose I could do that for a while. Ooh, my friends want to see pictures and videos! But, couldn't I just send them to YouTube or Flickr for that? News articles! Great, I can read up on today's events! Right after I play yet another app...
3. Removal of regional groups. The Internet is anonymous enough as it is. You feel isolated because of distance. You like Facebook because it tells you who is close to you! And now they've sort of taken that away. It makes the site just more like so many other places on the Internet. Sure, it may be what people ask for, but maybe it's not best for them (or Facebook) in the long run. It was the logical extension of the school groups which got the site going, and is another example of the loss of focus.
4. Other options popping up. Facebook gave us Status Updates, Twitter does it better (so some say). Facebook lets you search by job category, but perhaps the fact that the Web 2.0 Awards has a category called "Professional Networking" shows us that a more focused site could do better anyway.

I'll still go on Facebook, until I burn out on it. But that may be sooner than later, since I'm pretty sure this networking giant is on the wane.

The Moebius

A Moebius strip is a curious topological construction. It has a single edge and surface. Yes, it seems odd, but just try taking a long narrow strip of paper, giving it a half-twist, and taping the ends together. There's your moebius. To see how the "single surface, single edge" thing works, take a pen and start writing on one edge of it. Keep going and going and going, and you will eventually meet the beginning of your writing! Curiouser and curiouser, right?

Now, what I want to know is, who really first thought of doing this with knitting? And not just knitting a strip, twisting it, and grafting the ends together as we did with the paper strip. No, someone came up with a way to knit on either side of a circle of stitches, so that the Moebius grows out from the center, wider and wider! What a thing. Cat Bordhi, a knitter and mathematician, if I have heard correctly, did a fabulous book on this. I took one pattern, and came up with this fabulous short scarf.

So what does this have to do with NetTrek, Web 2.0, or anything like that? Well, you can find Ms. Bordhi's book at our lovely library, if it's not checked out all the time. Also, don't you think it's a fine example of lifelong learning? Take something as simple as a scarf, as mundane as knitting. Apply verrrry interesting mathematics. Result, a cuddly lesson in Euclidean geometry.

I can't wait to try one of these with stripes!

Trying out Google Docs with a Knitting List!

So, with Christmas coming up, as well as my birthday, I'm of course freaking out over getting gifts made. Then on top of it is NetTrek 2.0! I should have known work would be crazy too, what with so many people tackling classes and finals as well as the holiday chaos.

I shall try to be caaaaalm, peaceful, and think about how much Web 2.0 has done for me and my hobbies. I use Wikipedia a lot, and sometimes enjoy laughing at the antics on YouTube. I just never called it "Web 2.0." I think it'll be such a part of people's lives that they don't really think of the days before the internet was so interactive. It just really seems like a natural progression.

I'm actually going to participate in some "social media" once I get a pattern done and put it up on http://www.ravelry.com . It's such a good website for knitters and crocheters. Sure, there's that whole registration wait, but it's well worth it. I really need to put project pictures up there (and here, right?)

So here's my Google Doc, all ready to mess with anywhere, anytime.
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhm43265_0ckxqp8fr

I expect it to have tons of changes as I learn new skills!