Back!
I’m finally back to blogging after a few months off. The risk of RSI is one drawback of relying on computers so much, but I’ve got it under control now. I’m still not going to risk playing computer games or musical intruments for a while though, and definitely no more woodcutting, which is what probably did for me. This post is a quick roundup of some things that happened while I was away.
First of all, the Military History Carnival always needs more hosts. Although it’s not my responsibility any more I’d like to see it continue, so if you can help please contact TJ at tj$linzy$@$gmail$.$com (remove the dollar signs)..
I’ve deactivated my Facebook account as I was finding the whole thing too annoying. I’ve opened an account at LinkedIn but I’m not sure if I’m going to use it. It seems very much aimed at The Businessman In His Suit And Tie. Does anyone use it, and is it any use? I’d like to see a social networking site specifically designed for academics. Maybe with facilities to self-archive our publications.
The Great War Archive (which I posted about here) opened on time in November, and looks really good. They’re also continuing to collect submissions through a Flickr group. Reviews in History have published a review by Esther MacCallum-Stewart and a response by Stuart Lee. This project gives us proof that there are lots of interesting documents in private hands and that at least some people are willing to share them on the web if given the chance. Although 6,500 documents sounds like a lot I suspect it’s a tiny fraction of what’s still out there.
The 1911 census has been released early (but some counties aren’t available yet). Although access is relatively expensive you get very good quality colour photos of the original documents: much better than the 1901 census.
EThOS, the British Library’s new online thesis sevice, is now in public beta. I’ll probably post about it in more detail later in the week, but for now I’ll just say that I’m very impressed.
Comment by Ben Brumfield — 7:59 pm, 2 March 2009 [permanent link to this comment]
Welcome back! Glad to see you’re feeling better.
Comment by sharon — 9:59 pm, 2 March 2009 [permanent link to this comment]
Good to see you back!
It’s not specifically for academics, but I’ve been hearing good things about http://www.ning.com/ as a social networking site with less Evil than Facebook.
Comment by Brett — 9:12 am, 3 March 2009 [permanent link to this comment]
I’m on LinkedIn (which I always read as Linkedln) but can’t say I see much point in it. Have you seen academia.edu? It’s kind of like Facebook for academics … doesn’t seem have the critical mass necessary yet, at least in history (just 4 people signed up from my department, the same number as a month ago).
Comment by Jan — 10:59 pm, 3 March 2009 [permanent link to this comment]
An alternative approach to social networking for academics is Mendeley (http://www.mendeley.com, I’m a co-founder).
Mendeley is two things: Free academic desktop software (available for Windows, Mac and Linux) for managing & sharing research papers, and a website where you can back up and access your research papers, discover research trends, and connect to like-minded researchers.
Our vision is to create a “Last.fm for Research” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzJbrA9EY7A), and we believe that a “social network” for academics should emerge based on the underlying data.
Let me know if you have questions,
best wishes
Jan (jan.reichelt@mendeley.com)
Comment by Gavin Robinson — 5:15 pm, 4 March 2009 [permanent link to this comment]
Thanks everyone! The more I think about it the less sure I am about what I want from a social networking site. Maybe I don’t really need to be on one. This blog is an easy way for people to contact me about history things. Comments and pingbacks don’t tell the whole story as I’ve also had lots of interesting e-mails through the mailform from people who are researching things that are related to my work. But the last few months have led me to realise that I might not have a blog forever. I want to keep IoaD going for now, but it’ll come to and end sooner or later.
I should have qualified the woodcutting thing with “by hand”. Today I discovered that I’m actually fit enough to use a chainsaw.
@Ben: I will finish putting up the Wenham letters sometime this year. Although they’re already on Flickr and the Great War Archive, From The Page has some big advantages. The wiki articles are the best way I have to pull together everything I know about family members and other people who are mentioned.
Comment by Ben Brumfield — 9:14 pm, 4 March 2009 [permanent link to this comment]
I’m glad you’re still interested!
We’ve finished transcribing two diaries, and I’ve been editing intensively over the last couple of months. I think that editing will be a more pleasant experience when you return.