itsMeta

GeekOutSummit is now "itsMeta . com". I've been thinking about doing this for some time, and with the desire to post about many more subjects, many of which don't necessarily fall under the GOS model, I wanted something a bit more generic. For awhile, I've been saying "it's meta!", trying to introduce a new adjective into my peer group. One thing led to another and to my surprise, itsmeta.com was available. The Geek Out Summits will still be occuring, albeit a little more spaced out with a little bundle of joy to be joining the family soon ;p

You have a personalized email address (name@domain.com), or use GMail as your primary personal email account. You also carry around a corporate BlackBerry. So... why not get your personal email on your blackberry?

How? Easy - First, use GMail as your personal web mail client; then install the Gmail Blackbery application on your blackberry. Viola, along with getting your work email on your bb, you’re now also two clicks away from managing your personal email.

The how to:

If you only have a gmail account, skip to step 3.

1 – configure Gmail as your personal webmail client. This assumes that you have a personalized email address that you can connect to via POP3. In Gmail, click on settings, select "add an account", and follow the directions...

2 – install Gmail on your BB Bring up your Blackberry web browser. Navigate to www.gmail.com the page should prompt you to download the Gmail client. That same page will know what version you need, so all you need to do is click on download and install.

3 – Log into GMAIL. Login using your user name and password.

You should be all set.

Have other BB hacks? Post them here

In the case of XML, a Content Interpreter is an architecture that consists of an XML database that stores and indexes XML, with a business layer application that provides business intelligence and content transformation capabilities.

These specialized functions are not mature features within ECMS or DAMS. To gain these advantages it is necessary to look for a 3rd party package to integrate into the ECMS or DAMS. In the market, there exists a number of mature XML Database solutions including but not limited to Mark Logic and the open-source eXist.

The key points of implementing a Content Interpreter are:

1. Integration with the content repository.

2. Scalability.

3. Speed.

4. Configuration.

5. Lightweight.

To meet these five key points of implementing a Content Interpreter, a sophisticated programming language that is simple and lightweight is required. Since the architecture is comprised of an XML Database and a business logic layer, the natural choice is XQuery (XML Query Language). XQuery is a natural fit because its inherent capabilities are to execute tasks such as combining, searching and comparing data.

The Content Interpreter’s layers

The implementation of a Content Interpreter is more an exercise in setting up the appropriate architecture and sticking to a key set of rules as opposed to what tools and technologies are used. Looking at the Content Interpreter from the bottom up, the following outlines its four logical layers:

1. XML or structured content layer – the physical content.
2. ECMS or DAMS layer – the management of the content.
3. XML Database layer – the indexing and searching of the content.
4. Content Interpreter layer - the business application layer.

The critical prerequisite for a Content Interpreter is having the content in a structured and organized manner. There are two core components to a successful content management strategy.

The first is the versioning, storage and maintenance of the master copy of the files. This is the realm and strength of industry standard Enterprise Content Management Systems (ECMS) and strategies.

Second, content must be made accessible for content managers in a way that allows them to determine the feasibility of a new idea quickly and easily. If a product manager sees an opportunity to provide a collection of content to a partner in a particular format, he should be able to nimbly gauge this opportunity during the time he on the phone with this partner. If an editor wants to create a collection of assets to give out at a conference, she should be able to browse the content, chunk relevant sub-sections from larger publications, and create a customized publication for this specific occasion with rapid ease.

These advanced content browsing and creation capabilities, however, are outside of the capabilities of traditional ECMS. What’s needed to meet these needs is a Content Interpreter: a system that sits on an ECMS or Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) and converts relevant digital content from a large repository into human comprehensible content.

In the next post, we'll go over the conceptual architecture of the Content Interpreter.

Business users need to interpret and evaluate their content to best leverage it. To do so, business users need to execute searches across content with an eye to what information might be monetized, how that content might be grouped, packaged, or syndicated, and how the content will appear across various digital distribution channels.

For such activities to occur effectively across very large content collections, content must stored in a structured format: broken down into contextually-defined atomic parts (i.e. sections, sub-sections, paragraphs) in order to facilitate effective searches. Because of its ability to contextualize and structure content, XML, as we all know, is the natural format for delivering content over the internet.

Unlike PDFs, Office, Quark, InDesign and other digital formats, the XML format contains all of the data characteristics and structural information needed to aid effective searches and group data effectively. Well-designed XML is contextually self-aware because it not only defines what a specific piece of content is – but it also defines its contextual location. For example, XML may show that a particular piece of content is within a sub-section of a section of a larger object and is in the same layer as other objects, etc.

Many content creators are already storing their data in XML, and most content syndication is done through an XML format. The bottom line is that the glue that’s tying content together on the internet today is XML. Even MS Office 2007 now stores its documents natively in XML as zipped up collections of XML files under the .docx or .xlsx extension.

In the next post, we'll discuss how to manage the XML in preparation for use within a Content Interpreter.

Publishers and content-driven enterprises are facing the challenge of how to best leverage their contents’ value in the digital age. Many publishers and content creators are struggling to compete in a world where user-generated content is commanding as much attention as professionally-generated content, and where companies without publishing or content creation backgrounds are vying to re-define how people consume content.

Some traditional publishers have been late to realize these difficulties – which arose for them with the advent of Web 2.0 – and even more challenges and opportunities are on the horizon. Looking forward to Web 3.0, early speculation is that mature internet users will be seeking premium content, and the internet will become a worldwide database necessitating content that can be adapted quickly and plugged seamlessly into new digital formats.

Faced with current and future challenges, the goal of all publishers and content creators must be to leverage their content’s value to its fullest potential through digital distribution, syndication, and other content re-purposing strategies.

Today there are three main hurdles that all content-centric enterprises must overcome in order to thrive:

- Preparing and managing content.
- Researching and interpreting content to leverage its greatest value.
- Deploying content over digital distribution channels.

We'll be looking at these items in our upcoming posts.

Over the next few weeks, I want to experiment with fleshing out the concept of a Content Interpreter, a content logic pattern that allows an enterprise to best leverage their content's value.

Today, content creators and publishers are challenged with how to best leverage their content’s value. Many are struggling in this digital world where user-generated content is king and a few niche players who don’t have a content-creation background are vying to re-define how people consume content in the digital age (hello google). Looking forward, early Web 3.0 speculation is that mature internet users will be seeking premium content and the internet will become a worldwide database requiring content that can be adapted quickly in order to plug seamlessly into new digital formats.

I'm thinking that the concept of a Content Interpreter - a system that allows content-centric enterprises to leverage their content’s value by making it easily available in comprehensible formats would help content creators overcome this challenge. A Content Interpreter is the key to empowering content, especially when working with a large digital archive.

Next - the challenge of leveraging your content's value and more about the content interpeter...

Thanks to all those who came out to the July 22nd GOS. The presenters rocked given the circumstances of no internet access due to a Verizon blunder; we pre-loaded as much info as they could off a slow shabby open wireless connection.

Pictures can be seen here: http://silvio.gallerama.com/gallery/719

Here are some URLs and resources that were discussed during the summit:

Allan:
http://www.geocommons.com/workspace/show/1892
http://labs.live.com/photosynth/video3.htm
http://www.swivel.com/graphs/show/13333462
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8030785497.html
http://www.google.com/search?q=nokia+n95

Michelle:
http://www.themindfuleater.com/
http://www.zhauswellness.com/

Roger:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/mosaic.jsp

Chad:
http://www.nyc2123.com/

Thanks again, and see you all next time!

It's been awhile, and I'm stoked about this next GOS, especially the Multimedia & Interactive aspect of this installment; we're going to really utilize Monkey Town's AV offering. This time around, 5 inspiring individuals each hold court for 15 minutes with a 5 minute Q&A as they GeekOut over the following...

Geo-Aware Mobile Web Applications
By Allan Benamer
Authors: www.nonprofittechblog.org, Founder: www.socialmarkets.org
Allan brings with him from the Left Coast many new URLs that he'll demo for our enjoyment. He will show us the beauty of Geo-Aware applications, what's coming down the pipe in mobile computing, puzzle us with why one of these apps is valued at over ten million dollars, and will discuss his startup -- Beeble.

From Bombs to Twinkies: The fascinating history of the modern food industry in 15 minutes or less
By Michelle Zassenhaus
Authors: www.themindfuleater.com, Wellness Consultant: www.zhauswellness.com
We're just now starting to awake, as a culture, from the 50-year whirlwind that resulted in the industrial food industry - in which most of our food is produced today. But what were the dizzying chain of events that created a thriving market for less-than-a-dollar food products such as twinkies? If the "Omnivore's Dilemma" is on your reading list but it just isn't happening for you, attend this entertaining 15-minute rundown instead.

Product Spotlight: MLB.TV 's Mosiac
By Roger Williams
Pan 'n scan, encapsulation, composite streaming, new levels of video quality, and click 'n drag are just some of the concepts that make the second release of MLB.TV's Mosaic one of the most compelling media experience online. During this interactive session, we'll see how Mosaic is changing the ways in which fans of any sport consume rich content going forward.

Creative Commons Licensing as Viral Marketing
By Chad Allen
Creator: http://nyc2123.com, Is: www.chadallen.net
When Chad and his brother decided to write a graphic novel, they knew it would be a blast, but they also wanted people to read it. So they wrote a sci-fi comic for the PSP and tapped into a ready audience of geeks looking for original content. By giving away the comic under a Creative Commons (CC) License, they allowed fans to create a wave of translations, remixes and mash-ups. There's no movie deal yet, but the viral effect of the CC license allowed two guys in a garage to find over a million readers and a Hollywood agent. If this sounds boring don't worry: the presentation also includes illustrations of cyborg ninjas fighting and stuff.

Get there!
Monkey Town
58 N. 3rd St (btw Whyte & Kent) Brooklyn, NY, 11211
718.384.1369
(7:30pm) Free | $10 Minimum
GOS Monkey Town Page

The GeekOut Summit is hosted by Silvio Galea

A few months back, I wrote a little snippet about rolling your own CMS. Although still my preferred method of tackling the IT Industry wide CMS problem, you sometimes need a solution up & running with the quickness. So if rolling your own is not an option and you need something profession, cheap and in a demonstrate-able state ASAP, consider Alfresco.

Although it's billed as an Open Source Enterprise Content Management System, it does have Web Content Management Capabilities through a Web Content Management Module. (This may sound like an afterthought, but it's not; it's actually quite robust and is built on a very powerful enterprise scale infrastructure).

Alfresco is an open source J2EE application built on Spring, Hibernate, Lucene, JSF, and all your other Java best of breeds technologies. Best of all, it's founded & built by some of the people behind Documentum and Interwoven (among others). They've brought together their lessons learned and best practices in both the Web & Enterprise Content Management spaces and built Alfresco in an open source manner. It's really a beautiful thing. Their business model is the RedHat model - provide a kick ass product and make your money off support.

Have questions? Post a comment.