December 06, 2007

Concluding Class

Electing BIT330 has been very helpful in advancing my knowledge of web-based research. Specifically, there were three types of information that I picked up over the course of the semester:

  • Things I thought I knew well but didn't...
    1. Major Web Search Engines: When beginning this course, I believed I knew about all there was to using Google and Yahoo (aside from the actual programming. However, I learned more than I could have hoped about how the actual set-up and design of these engines actually affects the returns that one realizes in entering a query. Also, learning how to structure queries with special terms and operators (such as 'inurl', 'intitle', and the suage of "s) really helped me to learn how to search with more specificity. Moreover, learning the key differentiating factors also helped me to better realize when using each engine would be more appropriate, and therefore better allocating my time.
    2. RSS and E-mail Alerts: Prior to this class I had some exposure and knowledge of RSS fees and E-mail alerts. I received several e-mail alerts from various sites, but largely thought RSS feeds to be useless. After this class my opinion completely reversed (I know prefer RSS feeds). This course has given me a much deeper appreciation for the 'passive' approach to information gathering (rather than my previously arduous methods of active research). Better understanding the involved in information trapping has already saved me vast amounts of time.
    3. G-Mail: Prior to enrolling in BIT330 I already had and used a G-Mail account. However, I now realize that I was using it nowhere near the optimal level. This course taught me quite a bit about the filter and search capabilities of mail and there applicability in information gathering. I now use plus-addressing quite frequently, and find that I have a much more tidy inbox than ever before.

  • Things I didn't know that I didn't know...
    1. Lesser-Known Search Engines: In my previous searching experience, Google and Yahoo were essentially the only two search engines in the entire universe (I knew others existed, but practically never used them). Now, given the more efficient and accurate search strategies I've learned, I am much more inclined to employ new, previously less familiar engines to take on the tasks of searching for specific information. I know use engines such as Bloglines, Techonorati, and Ask more frequently.
    2. Google Labs: Prior to this class I had no idea that Google Labs existed at all. Now, I'm an addict. There are so many cool projects generated by this program that I find myself constantly visiting the site to test-drive the recent additions.
    3. Yahoo Pipes: Yahoo Pipes is a fantastic resource that I never knew previously existed. It is a fascinating application that uses the equivalent of a visual programming language to manipulate online information (primarily RSS feeds). While I am still learning how to fully take advantage of this tool, I have certainly come to use it more frequently in informational searching and appreciate its potential.

  • Things I Realize I Will Use Regularly in Years to Come...
    There are plenty of things in this class that I will use in both my personal and professional life. My term project in carbon trading actually strengthened my curiosity in this topic, and I intend to use many of the tools I have set up to continue to monitor developments in this field. Other than that, other features I plan to use will likely be:
    1. Yahoo Pipes - I really like this one for manipulating RSS feeds in cool ways...
    2. Programs like Dapper and Feed43 - with work monitoring certain developments also often means monitoring the same web pages; why not save time through making RSS feeds?
    3. Google's Customizable Search Engines - I know that at work many of the searches I will tend to do will be similar and from the same resources; I can certainly bet on using these in the future...


    Overall, this course exceeded my expectations. However, if on thing were to be changed, I would recommend it to be elimination of one of the two term projects. I noticed that there was an inordinate amount of redundancy in the process, and I feel the effort expended could have been better used toward other resources. Other than that, great course! While much of what I learned could probably have been picked up on my own, I feel that one of the class's strengths came from contributions by class members. Professor Moore's teachings were very instructive, yet there were so many minds bent on each exercise that invariably someone would come up with a perspective or idea about searching that no one had looked at before. This multi-angle approach has made me believe that, while most of the content is able to be picked up solitarily, there is a definite advantage to applying this knowledge in a classroom setting.

    Posted by danepr at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

    November 20, 2007

    SWF Custom Search Engine Output


    Posted by danepr at 12:31 AM | Comments (0)

    November 11, 2007

    RSS Feed Check-Up

    The bulk of the RSS feeds that I have been tracking I found and maintain on my Bloglines account. Within these feeds, a division between my Carbon Trading and Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) feeds can be drawn (corresponding to my personal and business topics, respectively).


    Carbon Trading Feeds| For my personal topic I mainly have relied on feeds from specific sites across the net that are devoted primarily, exclusively, or, at least, largely, to topics directly pertinent to carbon, carbon markets, and climate change science.

    • Reuters Carbon News is a fantastic source. It is the newsletter/RSS feed drawn from the world-renowned news leader's carbon-dedicated site, Reuters Carbon Community. Sadly, the site itself is "gated" and only open to corporate subscribers. However, its newsletter is available to all, and is a great wellspring of knowledge on an assortment of topics related to carbon and carbon markets. It is updated multiple times daily, and is a great source of topical knowledge on matters of hydrocarbon science, political policy development, and economic and financial schemes involving carbon. Unfortunately, most of its postings end up being somewhat brief and not as specific or detailed as I might prefer. Still, a great resource.
    • The New Carbon Cycle RSS feed, drawn from the New Carbon Cycle website, has thus far served as my primary news source for developments in the political and business communities surrounding carbon schemes and climate policy. The main downside is that the feed does not generate news as frequently as other sites (it tends to only cover major developments). However, those postings that are generated are very informative and thorough. More importantly, the stories tend to be highly linked, providing a jumping-off point for further research. Again, great resource, just wish it were more frequently updated.
    • Point Carbon's News RSS feed is a great locus of knowledge from Point Carbon News. This has served as my main point of news on world carbon markets. It certainly has an international perspective, as it generates stories from all areas of the globe. However, its main shortcoming is essentially the photo-negative of the New Carbon Cycle feed: it is updated too frequently, producing a rather overwhelming cascade of information that is difficult to sift through and keep on top of. Fortunately, the postings tend to be brief and skimmable.
    • Climate Change Action hosts an RSS feed that I probably used as a source of research ideas more than any other feed. The feed, from the blog, Climate Change Action, is updated once daily with approximately one new post (each weekday). The articles tend to be thoughtful and timely. Moreover, they present some rather interesting takes and potential impacts of climate change. While the site is not explicitly devoted to carbon trading, the topic is frequently mentioned in feed items. The content, though slanted, does make an attempt to provide balanced content through addressing counter-arguments and alternative viewpoints. Solid resource


    Sovereign Wealth Fund Feeds| Unlike my carbon trading feeds, most of my feeds dealing with SWFs did not emanate from a single site. That is due to the fact that, as I somewhat aggravatingly found, there are remarkably few sites on the net devoted exclusively to SWFs. Also, since they are a somewhat exotic socio-economic contrivance, there are very few sites that provide regular commentary on them. However, there are a few:

    • Sovereign Wealth Fund Radar's RSS feed has been a godsend. While it is updated almost too frequently, this is somewhat necessary, as SWFs tend to be quite active in their financial activities, as they collectively make a number of transactions each day. The feed itself is drawn from the site swfradar.com, which is devoted to providing coverage on all SWF activity worldwide. Needless to say, this site has a very broad-reaching orientation. Rather displeasingly, however, the posts are VERY brief. They serve more as a source of further research (assuming the particular transaction mentioned interests me).
    • Australia's Future Fund is one of the few SWFs worldwide that provides an active RSS feed for its site. It is hosted by the Australian Government, which manages the fund. The feed is useful, and I wish more funds provided this type of service.


    Thus, my main problems in this project (as far as RSS feeds are concerned) has been a lack of centrality of information. Fortunately, Bloglines has the capacity to create feeds from searches of postings using key terms. I did just this for a search of "sovereign wealth fund" and it has proven to offer some very helpful updates and insights. The only problem is in having to scan the authorship of the postings for validity and credibility, which can be tedious when non-familiar sites contribute.
    An additional problem I encountered was that, since many SWFs are stationed in non-English-speaking locales, their sites are not in English. Therefore, creating RSS feeds of these sites manually through resources like Dapper would be useless (unless I were to learn a new language). Therefore, I created posting searches on Bloglines for the major funds. They tended to be helpful, even if some were infrequently updated. Again, the sporadic nature of the information created validity issues, and I wish there were more credible sources of information for individual funds.