Module 4 - Evaluating The Web

As a part of the Concepts assignment I was introduced, in no uncertain terms, to the concept of evaluating and annotating my reference sites. At the time I really thought nothing of it and felt it was more a waste of time rather than to my benefit; really why couldn't those 200 words be better used writing ABOUT the concept.

Now with the assignment behind me and finally completing Module 4, I have come to truly appreciate and understand the need for this type of evaluation and annotation. As a direct result, I have become more and more reliant on tagging my bookmarks and writing a brief annotation about the page, if needed. In this manner I have began to really manage the information presented to me and cross reference it for future use.

What really intrigues me though, more and more online resources are allowing Internet users to do this quickly and easily. From social bookmarking with Delicious, Diigo's text highlighting or Google's SearchWiki feature. Browsers are even getting more in on the deal with Firefox now auto suggesting popular tags for sites and allowing notes (annotations) in bookmarks. It seems that information management is really starting to come to the fore.

So as we move forward on the Internet, these type of features are definitly becoming essential to manage the vast amount of information presented to us, and how we use these tools becomes even more important.

Module 4 - Tools For Using The Web

I have used most of the tools listed in this task at one time or another. Because of this I have gone off in search of some various "other" tools for the internet. As a result of my exploration what I found was an avalanche of tools allowing you to better utilise your time and be more productive on the internet. Without writing a thesis on the various applications I explored I thought highlighting the following three apps would give enough insight into my experiences.

Managing Bookmarks
First off is Webbla; a Mac application for managing bookmarks from all your browsers. Webbla allows you tag and add notes to each bookmark. The usual search and grouping options are present alongside some more advanced features such as site tracking (tracks updates to pages), popularity (your last visit and how many times) plus a very fancy page preview (view your page visually without visiting). All up Webbla was easy to install with lots of preferences and features to manage your bookmarks including hooking into OS X's Quick Look and Finder. In my mind though it was a little too complex and feature rich (bloated) for this simple task.

Managing Passwords
With the explosion of Web 2.0 sites, social media and web apps it seems we are drowning under logins and passwords. 1Password is a little application which helps manage all these logins and passwords plus a slew of other things relating to your online life. To make sure all your details are stored securely the app hooks into OS X's Keychain application to provide maximum security goodness. After using the app for a day I found it extremely useful and something I will probably use in the future. Downside was it doesn't auto fill logins such as Firefox's built password manager.

Managing Online Updates
Alert Thingy is an Adobe Air based application which allows you to manage and view all your updates from various social media sites. It's an interesting app as you can see status updates from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc in the one application without having to go to the actual site. Installation was simple although extended due to having to install Adobe Air before the app itself. Alert Thingy doesn't have a lot of preferences but it is very useful for keeping abreast of the growing status and update feeds associated with social media.

So what did I learn from all this? I think Internet users can sometimes forget (or take for granted) the most essential tool for our online lives: The humble browser. Pretty much all the above tasks can be completed by your browser, be it native or with an additional plugin.

My browser of choice, Firefox, allows management of bookmarks with tags (Keywords), annotations (notes) and much more. It has built in features for managing passwords with strong built in security for such. Various addons can also be installed to manage social media updates and the like, and that's just the begging of what it can really do.

It is this that makes the browser the most powerful tool for accessing and using the internet. Of course not all browsers are created equal and many people will have different preferences as to what they want from a browser. But it's worth remembering that your browser can offer so much more than just a window to your online world.