Intel is best known for making CPUs, but its research division continues to bring new ways for users to interact with data on the Web. Think Link, one of the company's most recent projects is attempting to help people spot misinformation, while providing the tools to correct it.
Similar to crowd-sourced typo-finder GooseGrade and SpinSpotter (coverage), Think Link is about bringing attention to mistakes, and inaccurate claims; be it blog posts, news stories, research papers or advertising. Where it differs is in giving users a relatively simple way to back up their claims of wrongness by linking to a reputable source, then letting others vote those ideas up (Google search wiki style), with the best rising to the top.
In other words: I make a mistake in an article, and instead of blasting me in the comments or via e-mail, you can very quickly create a case against something I've gotten wrong with a team of fellow contributors.
Items that have been disputed in Think Link show up with highlighting, and clicking them shows you the argument for and against.
(Credit: Intel)The only hitch is that to view and create Think Link content, users must have a browser extension installed. They'll then be able to see items other users have highlighted as disputed, or "interesting." Hovering over those items that have been disputed pops up with the most agreed-upon proof of something being inaccurate, or untrue.
You can also drill down to see arguments from both sides in something Intel calls the "argument graph." This tool pulls in data from related topics on Wikipedia, as well as other Think Link items, which can help whoever is reading a dispute to see a more complete argument with both sides.
What's really, really cool about this project is that... Read more
Atten.TV is pure vanity.
It's also slightly creepy. Atten.TV is a Mac-only client that lets individuals sign up to have their clickstreams--or records of Web sites visited--recorded and sent to a server. Anyone can then opt to watch what these other random folks are browsing, in the same manner as one might watch television.
The Atten.TV player is a viewing window with a menu on the left that displays the clickstreams that can be tuned in. Eventually there will be an Atten.TVGuide that lists who's on. Clickstreams can be recorded and viewed later, or tuned in live (with a slight delay).
Browsing several users' viewing habits at once.
(Credit: Atten.tv)Founder Seth Goldstein gave a demo before this week's SF New Tech Meetup, but he officially unveiled his nascent project at last week's Emerging Tech Conference.
Goldstein's thesis is that at least "a couple people out there are comfortable exposing their clickstreams." He compared the idea to Justin.TV, except instead of looking at his view from behind a camera, you're looking at what pages he is browsing.
How information like this will be used in the future is unclear. Behavioral marketing experts would love to have this kind of information, but Goldstein says he needs to get hundreds of thousands of clickstream broadcasters to sign up for Atten.TV--and voluntarily give information like gender, ZIP code and some personal preferences--before approaching any marketers.
- prev
- 1
- next
