identity

The Long Tail: A Long Stretch?

Becca Stern — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:12:09 -0700

I recently finished reading Chris Anderson’s “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More”.

The Long Tail is a statistical property which says that the majority of the population rests in the tail of probability distribution. The reason the Long Tail works is because today, with the accessibility of information, society demands variety. This demand stimulates the need to have a large number of unique items in relatively small quantities, in addition to a small number of popular items available in large quantities. Throughout The Long Tail, Anderson uses music as his prime example. The example works like this: Music is the general category. Within “Music” there are various genres that range from highly popular (Rock/Pop) to more unique (African Folk). Anderson explains that because there is a higher demand for Rock/Pop, it is at the front of the tail, while African Folk, which sells fewer albums, falls somewhere on the falling part of the tail.

The Long Tail doesn’t just apply to music. It can find a place in any aspect of the world because everything has a Long Tail. In Torah, the Long Tail is anything that doesn’t make it into a Dvar Torah (Sermon) or one of the greatest hits stories like Noah and the Ark or Moses and the Ten Commandments. For example, Eve eating the apple might be at the front of the tail, the Tower of Babel might be toward the middle, and Lot’s daughters seducing him might be toward the end of the tail.

The Tagged Tanakh (TT) helps make the Long Tail of Torah more accessible by incorporating tools to help users find what they want. It has moderation points that allow users to help sort and filter the most relevant content. User profiles enable people to share information about themselves so that they can find other people with similar interests. The mere act of adding tags makes info in the Torah more findable. Thus, the Long Tail of Torah can go on forever as long as people continue contributing remarks and tags to the Tagged Tanakh.

Tags, Janet Murray, and the Tanakh

Becca Stern — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:00:38 -0700

Though the Tagged Tanakh (TT) was conceived by JPS, the idea behind it was inspired by important people in academic, technological, and Jewish fields of study. Over the next few weeks I’m going to write a series of blog posts, each focusing on one of these individuals and how their work impacts the TT. My first subject is Dr. Janet Murray, a woman whose work has deep implications for the Tagged Tanakh.

Murray is an accomplished scholar in more than one field. She is internationally recognized for her work in game theory and interactive design. As the Director of the MA and PhD programs in Digital Media at Georgia Tech, Murray is also a member of their Experimental Game Lab (EGL). A prolific writer, Murray’s work is published in multiple languages, and in spring 2000, she was named to the Board of Trustees at the American Film Institute.

So, how does the work of Janet Murray impact the Tagged Tanakh? I read one of Murray’s articles, “Cyber-infrastructure as Cognitive Scaffolding: The Role of Genre Creation in Knowledge Making” in an attempt to understand the context of the Tagged Tanakh beyond Judaism and technology. Though confusing at times, Murray’s main point is that information is applicable to individuals based on how they categorize information. In other words, how we organize information conveys meaning. Tags are like post-its or labels that provide information about information (AKA metadata).

With tags, people can organize and group photos, videos, or any other form of data. By using ‘tags’ to define and organize the Tanakh, unconventional associations surface and anyone and everyone can find a way to connect to Judaism. As more people begin to populate the Tagged Tanakh, the network effect comes into play and the Tagged Tanakh’s value increases because more users create more tags, which creates more opportunities to interact with Torah. In this way, individuals eventually connect to each other via their tags and remarks.

Since the launch of the Tagged Tanakh in early 2010 some interesting tags have emerged. Some of my favorites include: JTW, environmentalism, and food.

I think that ‘tagging’ is an excellent process that creates an infinite number of access points to the Bible. Stay tuned as I continue to research and share with you the people who inspired the Tagged Tanakh!

The Delicious Connection Between Judaism and Technology

Becca Stern — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:56:15 -0700

Hello! My name is Becca Stern and I’m the newest addition to the JPS Interactive team. As the JPSI Summer Intern, I’ll be writing and contributing to the JPS Interactive blog and the Tagged Tanakh all summer, and I could not be more excited!

A little about myself: I’m a rising junior at the University of Pittsburgh where I’m studying English Literature and Children’s Literature. I’m a native of Philadelphia (go Phils!) and I love to eat and travel—especially at the same time.

One of my first assignments at JPS was to sort through JPS Interactive’s bookmarks. Using a web tool called Delicious, JPS staff have tagged and gathered interesting tidbits of information found online that relate to Judaism and technology. After hours of exploring three years’ worth of links (which I guess are kind of like digital bread crumbs), I started to conceptualize the path JPS Interactive and the Tagged Tanakh are forging.

If you would like to explore the links that JPSI has gathered you can jump to them quickly on the right hand side of this blog thanks to the Delicious widget we’re using. The links range from silly to serious, but they all share one common idea: Judaism and technology are not an oxymoron.

Personally, my favorite link not only connects Judaism to technology, but it adds humor to the mix. I like it because it shows how elements of Judaism can be appropriated and applied to modern society. Try not to laugh too hard…

Another interesting link lets you literally jump into the Bible—without moving away from your iPhone and Gchat. This virtual map tracks all of your favorite characters and their journeys, as told by the Tanakh. This could be a great way to enhance your understanding of the weekly Torah portion.

To sum it up, all of these Jewish-related websites are important because they make Judaism an accessible and relevant part of society.

Stay tuned throughout the summer as I continue to connect Judaism and technology!

Pulling The Torah Rather Than Pushing

JT — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:50:38 -0700

David Siegel would have us believe that the era of pushy salesmen and invasive marketing is coming to a close. With the dawn of the Semantic Web, pulling will become the more active verb (and business strategy) of the 21st century.

Siegel is an entrepreneur, typographer, and technologist and is one of the biggest proponents of the semantic web (aka Web 3.0). If you’re looking for a simple explanation of how the semantic web and its business applications work–check out this post Siegel recently composed for American Express or this post that discusses his work.

What does this have to do with Jewish educational technology? How does the idea of pull affect Jewish publishers, educators, and other community leaders?

Anyone who suffered through Hebrew School as a child knows, that if you don’t have a gifted teacher, interacting with Torah is generally a less than pleasant experience. As we grow older, we become more removed from the Bible, unless we decide to become a “professional Jew” or “adult learner.” For most American Jews, contact with the Bible is limited to uncomfortable encounters with Bible-thumpers, talking vegetables, or alienating conversations with supposedly more learned Jews. The Bible is repeatedly “pushed” onto people without clear and apparent justification beyond, “Did you know that the Bible says X about Y?”

I am often asked how the Tagged Tanakh will attract new readers to the Bible or at least engage audiences in new and innovative ways.

The Tagged Tanakh offers structured data associated with the Jewish Bible, blending vetted content with user-generated-content.

People seem to expect the Tagged Tanakh to push the values and ideas of the Torah onto unsuspecting noobs just like Hebrew School and other old-school institutions were supposed to. In fact, they couldn’t be more mistaken. The Tagged Tanakh will instead pull together students of all ages who seek out the wisdom of Torah. Passions, questions, and communities of practice will PULL people to the Tagged Tanakh because it caters to a wide range of needs and interests.

The Tagged Tanakh is a reflection of the Power of Pull in tandem with Torah study. On ReadWriteWeb.com, Jeff Stein sums it up perfectly:

“At the technical level, the Semantic Web has a lot of complexities. But the whole point of the Semantic Web is that with open data standards non-technical people can easily publish, link, mesh and look up data. Just like it doesn’t take a Computer Science degree anymore to build a good website.”

An Empty Middle School Dance Floor

JT — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:05:53 -0800

The Tagged Tanakh soft launch coincided with Tu B’Shvat at the end of January 2010. It was a quiet affair with not much pomp and circumstance. We released the site a tad prematurely, but we were so excited to get people tagging. We wanted to release early and release often.

In one year’s time, the Tagged Tanakh (TT) went from prototype to its first full release. Sure we couldn’t include all the cool features we originally wanted to, but we had made something unique – an online relational database of the English translation of the Jewish Bible.

The TT allows users to contribute remarks and tags to words and verses in the Bible. Vetted content provided by scholars and JPS staff is available alongside ideas and questions contributed by general users. People can create feeds that follow specific topics of interests or follow feeds made by other people. Feel free to take a tour!

We hope that it’s more than just hype, we want the Tagged Tanakh to be useful.
We want to conserve and stimulate conversations around Torah.

However, in order for the Tagged Tanakh to be of value it must take advantage of the network effect. Right now the Tagged Tanakh is like a middle school dance just after the doors opened. We need some brave souls to cut a rug and inspire more folks to join the dance floor so we can get this party started.

Access to the Tagged Tanakh is free, but you do need a registration code.
If you’re interested in getting in on the action simply send an email to me at:

jwaldman@jewishpub.org
Subject: Tagged Tanakh Registration Code Request

Happy Tagging!

People of the Comic Book- Round III

JT — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:09:16 -0800

More than two years ago we started a little contest to determine which comic book character exemplified Judaism the most. Round II is now complete and we’re left with the final four!! We’re gonna try and wrap this up by the end of Hanukkah, so please tell your friends to vote now!

Help us identify the comic book character that embodies the best aspects of Judaism and JPS Interactive will make a donation to the non-profit paired with the Jewish comix champion. Which of these heroes will be a light unto the Jewish nation?

Round 3 Fight 1

VOTE NOW!

Round 3 Fight 2
VOTE NOW!

Vote now to help us determine if manly nonfiction or feminine fiction best captures the spirit of Judaism within comix.

See our previous posts related to comix:
10 comix that should be made into movies

JPS at NYC 2009 Comic Con

10 best recent trade paperbacks

People of the Comic Book

The New Non-Profit: Convergence Culture Part 2

JT — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:11:13 -0800

Last week Philanthropy.com featured a fascinating report published by La Piana Consulting for the James Irvine Foundation. The report identified five key trends influencing the non-profit sector and gave examples of organizations that were effectively navigating our convergence culture.

After reading the report I felt a mixed sensation of vindication and dismay. Many of the conclusions validated the moves we have made with JPSI and the Tagged Tanakh and many other points reflected how much further we have yet to go.

I was actually quite amused by the number of topics mentioned in the report that we have blogged about on JPSI for the last two years. For example, the notion of non-profits as futurists reminded me of the BibleTech seminar I attended in March about the same topic. The discussion of collectively rethinking what it means to be an organization in the context of permeability and blurring boundaries have also been topics of interest on this blog.

The geek in me really appreciated some of the links in the end notes including this one on the non-profit sector’s leadership deficit…and this one for network mapping.

Here are just a few more of my favorite tidbits from the report:

“Being a futurist requires both individual and institutional curiosity, and a willingness to take risks.”

“The future will require nonprofits to understand how to share leadership across generations.”

“Begin by listening…then participate authentically.”

“The organizations that win are organizations that mobilize those resources to get deeper buy-in to the organization — and ironically, not only will they benefit from those non-monetary resources, but also get more donations in the process.”

“Nonprofits must design opportunities that both respect and appeal to the needs of an increasingly diverse volunteer pool — or risk seeing that pool turn its attention elsewhere.”

“Once again it comes back to culture — openness, experimentation and even risk-taking — and the capacity of leadership to identify and implement tools wisely. Having a cogent, thoughtful, and flexible technology strategy may be one of the most important requirements of success for the nonprofit of the future.”

“Being able to recognize when to collaborate and when to compete — and having the capacity to move with confidence between the two — will be key to non-profits’ ability to survive and thrive.”

All Quiet on the Philanthropy Front

JT — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:01:36 -0800

Yes, yes we all know that times are tough. And as of late, philanthropies have found themselves in the hot seat. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article lambasting foundations for tightening their belts too much:

“An increase in the payout rate to 6%, all in grants, would eventually add about $10 billion a year to the coffers of nonprofit organizations to the approximately $40 billion that it is estimated that foundations now give. Foundations have claimed that such an increase would jeopardize the perpetuity of their assets, yet a number of studies argue that their assets could be maintained with a payout of 7% or 8%.”

The five pages of comments related to this article indicate that indeed, this is a contentious issue. What I found interesting, and surprising in this article is that 35% of the charitable givings went to religious organizations. Which should bode well for us here at JPS and the rest of the Jewish American non-profit scene…one would think.

“Mobilizing community in response to economic crisis, and changing trends in philanthropy,” were hot topics at this week’s GA summit in Washington DC according to blogger Naomi Rosenblatt. But is this just more lip service?

As a non-profit professional working on a dynamic new project for an established Jewish organization, I find that funding prospects are few and far between. The cold, hard reality is that aside from the support from one foundation who provided the seed funding for the Tagged Tanakh in 2008, all the grant applications we submitted in 2009 specifically for JPS Interactive were declined, citing the economy and or obligations to previous grantees. Donors seem hesitant to support “innovative” (read as risky) projects/organizations, and most funders are justifiably overly cautious in this economic climate.

It’s very easy for the prospective grantees to sit on the sidelines and kvetch that no one is supporting their righteous causes. Jewish upstarts, PresenTense, dedicated an entire issue to the state of Jewish philanthropy. Some of their writers suggested funding people not projects and pointed to supporting peer communities like the Bronfman Youth Fellowships and ROI Community as a way to catalyze individual action within a structured framework.

As someone who has been in the Jewish fundraising trenches for over two years, I guess my greatest frustration is the amount of time I dedicate to fundraising, as opposed to doing my job to create an engaging online experience with Jewish text. I guess it’s similar to the crunch politicians feel with funding their campaigns rather than focusing on their civic duty.

If only this pickle came with a juicy Reuben to satisfy our needs!

P.S. My next blog post will focus on the role of non-profits and their responsibility to become more efficient and viable in this new market. It takes two to tango, and the onus to keep important services available falls not just on the choreographers, but also on the performers dancing the steps.

Tools and Resources for the Network Age

JT — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:58:11 -0800

Is the Information Age at an end? With a new decade nearly upon us, some have been saying that we are now entering the Network Age– a time when men will mine for data, not oil. Ranking and figuring out how people share their sentiments will become the driving force of community management and business growth.

In the book Authenticity, the authors describe “rendering experiences” for customers as the foundation of this new emerging economy. Digital Anthropology jobs and community management tools will drive the 21st-century economy. Eventually, we’ll all climb aboard the Cluetrain and ride off into brighter, more lucrative future.

And yet, most people still scratch their heads when social networks are mentioned. They seem to think that social networks equal Facebook, which is akin to saying all vacuums are Hoovers. The founding executive editor of Wired Magazine, Kevin Kelly, describes participation in social networks as organic behavior in a technological matrix.

In case that pithy statement didn’t shed some light on this matter, here’s a great presentation made by my buddy Gagan over at DesignStamp in Vancouver. Connecting with customers and rendering positive user experiences helps transform brands from products to lifestyles. This is the core of social networks, in my opinion. Businesses and organizations that understand this will thrive in the new millennium, those that disregard it are in for a bumpy ride.

Social media 101: Connecting with your customer

View more documents from DesignStamp.

The Future of the Tagged Tanakh

JT — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:56:10 -0700

It seems like everyone these days is talking about the future. Will people still read books? Can global catastrophe be averted by not eating meat?

According to the CEO of Google, in five years we’ll be surfing through mostly Chinese content online. According to a former muckity-muck at Facebook, the future is not information, but networks. While architectural students in London envision a future made up of, “car-crash spaces that occasionally come into focus as giant mechanised spindly crustacea.”

If the future is not our own, then how can we shape it? If entire conferences dedicated to the future of the web can’t predict how Google Wave will change our lives then how can us regular folk develop content and technology strategies that don’t become redundant thanks to the actions of Amazon or Twitter?

Originally we had imagined building the Tagged Tanakh in private development. We wanted to design and then release to the public a fully populated and rendered experience of accessible, relevant, and dynamic Jewish content. Our plan was to curate and refine the Tagged Tanakh and include all the bells and whistles: bi-directional Hebrew/English display, integration of third party datasets like The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, or cool APIs.

But now we see the error of our ways. It’s actually better to share our work with the public sooner. This will help populate the Tagged Tanakh, identify usability issues, and clarify which features are the most beneficial. As founder of Meebo, Seth Sternberg recommends, “Launch fast and light, and listen to your users for feedback.”

So when will the fast, light, and PUBLIC version of the Tagged Tanakh be available?
Stay tuned to this blog for more information.