The Last Six Months

I’ll be away from my blog for the next two weeks, so until then, here’s a look back at what I consider to be my best posts from the last six months. As I explained when I started this blog, my goal has been to try to avoid adding yet more echo to the echo chamber of the blogosphere, and instead to try to write mostly longer pieces on the intersection of computing, scholarship, and the humanities. I haven’t always succeeded—I have occasionally succumbed, like so many others, to mindlessly blogging about the latest moves of the Googles and Microsofts—but for the most part, I’m pleased with most of what I’ve written, especially the following list. More importantly, I hope you’ve found this blog helpful.

My series on creating this blog from scratch (includes thoughts about the nature of blogs, RSS, search, and other topics):
Part 1: What is a Blog, Anyway?
Part 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of Popular Blog Software
Part 3: The Double Life of Blogs
Part 4: Searching for a Good Search
Part 5: What is XHTML, and Why Should I Care?

Practical discussions about using web technology in academia and elsewhere:
Using AJAX Wisely
Search Engine Optimization for Smarties
Measuring the Audience of a Digital Humanities Project

Thoughts about the nature and uses of digital works:
The Wikipedia Story That’s Being Missed
Wikipedia vs. Encyclopaedia Britannica for Digital Research
Wikipedia vs. Encyclopaedia Britannica Keyword Shootout Results
The Perfect and the Good Enough: Books and Wikis
When Machines Are the Audience
What Would You Do With a Million Books?
Rough Start for Digital Preservation

The impact of the web on learning, teaching, and testing:
The Single Box Humanities Search
No Computer Left Behind
Mapping Recent History

On copyright and related matters:
2006: Crossroads for Copyright
Impact of Field v. Google on the Google Library Project
Clifford Lynch and Jonathan Band on Google Book Search