Who's Bigger?: Where Historical Figures Really Rank -- Do they? Is this ranking global or local?

Who's Bigger?: Where Historical Figures Really Rank by Professors Steven Skiena  and  Charles Ward.

In identifying the most significant figures in human history the authors measure the impact of opinions. Thus the book, is a quantitative (aka metric) 'study' of opinions. Period. The ranking is based on a sample of the World's selected online resources, based on their format (i.e., web-based). It is not a rank by size of literature produced by a scholarly body or by historical period of occurrence or any other benchmarks of quantitative studies.

Summarily, this book is ranking of figures in human history by way of measuring the impact on opinions. WHEREAS, anyone who values facts, will not go near heresy/opinions/impressions/likes/dislikes, etc. Moreover a select sample of the Web, that includes the Wiki and similar community sources (attributed by academics as by and large anonymous, unreliable, and volatile nature), cannot be a means of a study to rank the sages of the ages. People who are looking at this pseudo-ranking approach, are getting excited that someone gets Top Rank. Is s/he really at the same NUMBER (based on the rule: What You See Is What You Get/vice versa, aka WYSIWYG/WYGIWYS) among the great historical figures??? Think twice, go check FACTS, and don't make historical judgments, based on opinions of Facebookers, Tweeters, clickers, likers, so on and so forth.

Hence, in deciding the place of historical figures, one must be careful. An Amazon's reviewer says: "Please don't buy this book. ...." [source: elmo]. In short,  opinions don't count, it is facts that are supposed to be used for ranking, and I would still recommend, The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History by Michael H. Hart.

Book Description: 

Is Hitler bigger than Napoleon? Washington bigger than Lincoln? Picasso bigger than Einstein? Quantitative analysts are rapidly finding homes in social and cultural domains, from finance to politics. What about history? In this fascinating book, Steve Skiena and Charles Ward bring quantitative analysis to bear on ranking and comparing historical reputations. They evaluate each person by aggregating the traces of millions of opinions, just as Google ranks webpages. The book includes a technical discussion for readers interested in the details of the methods, but no mathematical or computational background is necessary to understand the rankings or conclusions...

The 100 Most Significant Figures in History (first 25 ranked)
(image courtesy: miketrap.com/bostonglobe.com)

On the same shelf:

Who’s Biggest? The 100 Most Significant Figures in History ... ideas.time.com "A data-driven ranking. Plus, have former TIME People of the Year been predictive?" 

  The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History (Arabic Edition) Anis Mansour

The Film 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People in the History of the Movies Scott Smith

LIFE 100 People Who Changed the World (Life (Life Books)) Editors of Life

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History Dan Karlan

Reviewing website: Best Practices

Here is a best practice approach in evaluating Website:

Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology ( WCAG-EM ) @ W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Draft 7 February 2013

Application of this Methodology
The methodology defined by this document is flexible to allow its implementation in different situations and contexts. It is not required to carry out any of the steps and activities defined by this methodology in any particular sequence. For proper application of this methodology, use all the following Methodology Requirements:

1: Define the Evaluation Scope
2: Explore the Target Website
3: Select a Representative Sample
4: Audit the Selected Sample
5: Report the Evaluation Findings

Results, reports, accessibility statements, and performance scores can only be claimed to be in accordance with this methodology when the evaluation carried out meets these Methodology Requirements.

See also Google's approach
See also: Other best practices, worth visualizing:

Visual Appeal

What or Personality

Where or Design & Layout

How or Reader Usability

Why or Functionality

Meeting browser / visitor expectations, Adapted from: graphic-design.com

When or Interactive Features (dynamic not static)

Which or Content (and context)

Why or Layout (and site plan),Adapted from: Yellow Bridge Interactive's Checklist

How to use the Website

 Website of the Month guidelines ACRL

2013 Annual Website Review Checklist (with metrics to measure web sights)

Website Title, Website URL, Category to which it belongs (using a self designed or Library of Congress categories)

Overall Rating:
5 star- This website is really good! It doesn't need any changes.
4 star- The website is good. I would only change a few things.
3 star- The website is okay. It could use some major changes.
2 star- The website is bad. It needs a lot of improvement to be good.
1 star- The website is awful. I will never visit it again.
Adapted from: Review A Website | SmartGirl Suggests

To Link, or Not To Link: Revisited

PS. This is a continuing post, to be updated regularly. Linking a website, has led to a major debate. The following articles relate to the debate and give you insight on how libraries or law abiding institutions can avoid the problems:

Latham, Joyce M. To Link, or Not To Link. School Library Journal, May 2, 2002;48(5):20.-- Latham, J. M. (2002). To Link, or Not to Link. Library Journal, 127(7), 20. Abstract: Discusses the policies of libraries concerning Web sites considered to be important by the libraries. Importance to libraries of policies concerning links to library Web sites; Evaluation of Web sites; Need for libraries to be selective in Web sites linked to library sites; Mention of the Bettendorf Public Library in Iowa.

Pike, G. H. (2002). To Link or Not to Link. Information Today, 19(6), 20. Abstract: Focuses on the legal issues associated with hyperlinks and hypertext on Web sites. Copyright of Web site contents; Lawsuits which illustrate copyright issues such as that between Ticketmaster and Tickets.com involving the practice of deep linking; Changing nature of these legal issues; Suggestion that hyperlink issues bear watching.

Shkolnikov, T. (2002). To Link or Not to Link: How to Avoid Copyright Traps on the Internet. Journal Of Academic Librarianship, 28(3), 133. Abstract: Discusses the problem of avoiding Web-related copyright liabilities in library activities, including legal ramifications of linking and librarians' responsibility for the content of the linked sites. Major source of copyright conflicts; Details of various court cases about copyright liabilities of libraries; Recommendations for librarians.

Battisti M. «To Link Or Not To Link» (¹). Hyperlinks, liabilities and responsibilities. IFLA Conference Proceedings. November 2003;:1-12

Shkolnikov, Tanya. 2002. "To Link or Not to Link: How to Avoid Copyright Traps on the Internet." Journal Of Academic Librarianship 28, no. 3: 133. Abstract: Discusses the problem of avoiding Web-related copyright liabilities in library activities, including legal ramifications of linking and librarians' responsibility for the content of the linked sites. Major source of copyright conflicts; Details of various court cases about copyright liabilities of libraries; Recommendations for librarians.

Web Site Linking: Right or Privilege, by Richard A. Spinello, June 4-5, 1999

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use - Connecting to Other Websites --Two common ways websites connect to other sites are linking and framing.

Publishing and Linking on the Web - W3C Working Draft 18 September 2012 Abstract: Hyperlinks are an essential part of the web. They give additional information and added value to a website. But various court actions indicate that hyperlinks could also imply additional liabilities. At first, hyperlinks allowed the addition of cross-references. Today they also raise several legal issues. Other possible misappropriations arise from the non-observance of ethical guidelines or netiquette. The purpose of this paper is to present the various types of hyperlinks, then the liabilities which some of them could incur in order to avoid them, while keeping in mind the basic principle of freedom of information. Links and Law: Myths

Myth one: "A normal link is an incitement to copy the linked document in a way which infringes copyright".

Myth Two: Making a link to a document makes your document more valuable and therefore is a right you should pay".

Myth three: Making a link to someone's publicly readable document is an infringement of privacy. continue reading

Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) about Linking Ways to build if you choose to:

How to Build Links Fast: 101 Tips & Strategies, seobook.com

9 Mistakes You're Making on LinkedIn OWNERS' MANUAL | Jeff Haden

Review of a Website - A good example

Note: This review is not from my desktop.

This site has been removed: learn.senecac.on.ca/~mehedder/TCS301/Assignment1.html
Extract:
First Impression: I found this webpage to be very bright upon first look. There is some extreme detail, and the picture of the falls is as beautiful as in real life.
Navigation: The webpage was relatively easy to follow. Everything was broken down in categories so it was easy to manoeuvre your way through the site.
Current Information: The website was extremely up to date including upcoming events on dates from February onwards.
Problems Observed: The only problem that I found with this website is that it was completely in English. I know that the majority of people do speak English however, because Canada’s two National languages are French and English I think it should have the option for the site to be displayed in French.
Useful applications for customers: Some useful applications for customers that I noticed were links to tourism information (for where to eat, shop and stay), Transit information, event calendars, and a section called visitor’s favourites.
E-Commerce considerations: There are links on the website so clients can look at and select hotel packages and purchase online, so I would not change anything in this section.
Additional Comments: I was really impressed with the website’s ability to make myself able to find everything that I was looking for.
Improvements: Although the site was very interesting and helpful, it may have been a bit too busy, so I may have taken the clutter down one step by removing a few things from the front page and replacing them with links.
Rating: ***

Job Search Website Article - Excellent Benchmarking

This StarREVIEWS site measures and ranks each of the following Job Search Web sites:

Monster

CareerBuilder

The Ladders

College Recruiter

SnagAJob

Job Bank USA

Each site is analyzed for its performance based on the following analytics:

Overall Rating

Post Resume

Star Review

Search Resumes Employers

Career Resources

Potential Employers

Network Abilities

On the same shelf:
Just released: Job Search The Canadian Way
Buy our book:
Download Ebook @ $10 CDN
Buy softcover in print @ Createspace.com

Google Adsense Appears Anywhere, Anyhow

Thinking about competitive intelligence I have a moment's reflection. The question here is: How do businesses deal with competitors, and how they avoid each other? I found a search engine. In this context, isn't it against benchmarks of best practice in business management that Google Adsense should not be seen where Google is invisible. A competitor of Google, a less popular search engine, shows results from all other sources (READ AGAIN: it is minus Google) and has Google ads, the search engine is called Minus Google

And, about this new born minus-google, a news headlines says: Finnish blogger amputates Google from Google: A road map for regulators of the future, By Cade Metz in San Francisco


And, another question is: Why Does Google Allow Ads for AdSense Ready Websites?

Search for something like "work from home", "Internet jobs" or "make money online" on Google and you’ll see a flood of ads promising easy money through the AdSense program.
If you have ever tried AdSense on a site, you probably know how tough it is to make that first dollar but these ads, which are surprisingly served on the Google network itself, make things look so simple. Just order an "AdSense kit" for a few dollars and the money will start rolling in. continue reading: Digital Inspiration.

See also: The Google-Yahoo! agreement and the future of internet advertising hearing before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Tenth Congress, second session, July 15, 2008.

  Any clue, or at least a response to this reflection?

Reading now: Usage Statistics of E-Serials

Managing tight budgets, finding right service providers, selecting compatible-and-standardized tools to handle e-serials (data, access, licensing, technical support and usage statistics), motivating staff to adapt to the changing dynamics of e-librarianship, and finally meeting maximum user needs are all the crucial issues of today’s libraries. And for such a scenario here is a book--by David Fowler, presently Head Acquisitions Department, University of Oregon Libraries--as a resource, that helps in moving ahead in some of the significant areas of handling e-serials.

Incidentally, in the context of e-serials, cost (be it as single subscription or consortial bundles), purchasing decisions, library budgets, staff experience and exposure, and most importantly tools (especially,Issues with standardization of usage statistics) are all directly related to available and standardized tools for a ROI both for libraries, and information suppliers (aka information service providers). A few relevant questions, this reviewer can think, that are faced in dealing with e-serials’ usage data include:

a. What type and level of data do libraries want or expect in selecting / de-selecting e-serials (as discussed on p. 261)?

b. Is the supplier collecting legitimate numbers and facts and revealing this as-is to libraries (as discussed on p. 233)?

c. If data indicates a low use of a particular title (as discussed on p. 154, 220), does it mean first that the user is not in-need or otherwise unaware of ways and means to find it, or second, the library lacks a mechanism to create user-friendly gateway (especially the e-resources that may need a different path than what is required for a traditional print), or third there is a communication gap, in other words: lack of semantic synchronization (information seeking behavior matching with information provision)?

d. Is there a relationship between libraries using e-serials (be it on a stand-alone or consortial arrangement) in dealing with—transactions for instance, such as, a) Interlibrary loans, and b) document delivery-- and its impact on collection development / collection management?

e. Advantages and disadvantages of deriving usage statistics from local library management software (as discussed on p. 111), vis-à-vis supplier delivered metrics?

f. Shared-purchase and shared responsibility (as discussed on p. 43) is one size fits-for-all or requires customization by subjects / geography (e.g, Cancer library on p. 183; National Laboratory on p. 151; and Connecticut Academic Libraries, p. 79)? and

g. Electronic Resource Management (ERM) (as discussed on pp. 8, 130, and 252) is one part of the information management solution, but how about integrating a stand-alone resource and looking for an interface with enterprise content management (ECM) system?

While the above hypotheses are a good fit for a new book, and comparative librarianship always looks for such Web analytics, however, Usage Statistics of E-Serials addresses only a few of these concerns, issues and matrixes.

Usage Statistics of E-Serials, lacks a glossary of terms, such as, e-metircs (specifically in relation to web-metrics, librametrics, infometrics, etc.), usage (online, offline, and other modes of distribution permitted / adopted by libraries or end-users), access (in-house, campus wide, remote), tools (local, global, library vendor-supplied, publisher / service-provider supplied), techniques (standard, local), etc.

Further, the book lacks a conclusion. Any reader of a book on statistics is keen on finding an authoritative summary of all that is discussed in the book. For instance, a reader is left with no last word or opinion or ways to know if the editor agrees (fully, partially or not-at-all) with one of the author’s in this collection: ‘Lies, Damn Lies, and Usage Statistics: What's a Librarian to Do?’

Thematically speaking, the utility of the book would have been far more if it was focused on fewer themes or about any specific libraries. In this day of constantly changing dynamics, this book planned in 2004, data collected in 2006 (most cited references are pre-2006), published in 2007, today presents a little dated stories.

Hopefully the editor may consider a (qualitative and quantitative) sequel that is also inclusive of both vertical (within a library system: systematically analyzing budget, user needs, subject specialization, staff—generalists and specialists--storage, retention and deletion) and horizontal (across libraries on the above lines) usage statistics of e-serials .

Nevertheless, I recommend Usage Statistics of E-Serials as a useful resource for serials librarians and those involved in serials management in libraries.

On the same shelf:

• Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives: Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes ~ Robert E. Dugan
• E-metrics for Library and Information Professionals: How to Use Data for Managing and Evaluating Electronic Resource Collections ~ Andrew C. White and Eric Djiva Kamal
• E-metrics for library and information professionals: How to use data for managing and evaluating electronic resource collections. By Andrew White and Eric ... Acquisitions and Technical Services] ~ N. McDowell

How would you rate this situation that lets web visitors decide layoff

PS. As an independent market researcher and not paid by any to do so, I would highly appreciate your opinion on this technique:



In news today:
Ad agency lets web visitors decide layoff
Dec 21, 2008 04:30 AM

Susan Pigg LIVING REPORTER @ The Toronto Star
"A Brussels advertising agency has come up with a novel, new-age solution to the economic downturn – a social layoff site of sorts where you can help decide, with a click, which of its eight employees should be laid off come January.
"Take your courage in one hand and your mouse in the other," says the ironically named company, So Nice, which has created a website that's the online equivalent of The Apprentice – minus the limo rides and the rich rewards." continue reading

See also what comments are @ The Toronto Star +++ Snopes.com

NB. Thanks to BPWebNews for the polldady's lead

eMetrics or Web-Metrics or Webometrics - A new book for Library & Information Professionals

Web-metrics or Web analytics as a term is yet to get a standard and acceptable name (aka. Webometrics, Webmetrics, emetrics, etc.). Interentingly, Library of Congress prefers for a book on e-metrics a subject heading, such as: Web usage mining.

The other subject headings for a book on e-metrics are:

• Digital libraries --Collection development --Statistical methods.
• Electronic information resources --Use studies.

I am reading, now, E-metrics for Library and Information Professionals: How to Use Data for Managing and Evaluating Electronic Resource Collections ~ Andrew C. White

My 2 cents: This is an excellent book, easy to read, thematically organized, and focused exclusively on developing metrics for library's electronic resources. Those who were used to user-studies, traditional library use-studies, library performance measurements, and quantitative methods, so on and so forth will find in this book great help to move forward (and thereby get to know some newer ways of looking at numbers and use behavior of the digital citizens). Highly recommend to any librarian / techie / information professional and interested in virtual library collections, Web Analytics, library management, etc.

On the same shelf: Cyber Worship in Multifaith Perspectives

see here: Cyber Worship: Website Evaluation - Questionnaire and Survey Results 314-324.