Posts Tagged ‘Context’

It’s Not Information Overload. It’s Filter Failure.

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

Clay Shirky emphasizes that when we get too much information than the question that needs to be asked is: what filters do I need to stop unwanted information?

At the recent Web 2.0 Expo Clay Shirky gave an insightful account about our contemporary challenge of managing information. In a common sense manner he says that the issue is not information overload but rather the failure of filtering systems.

Clay Shirky astutely observes that information overload has been around since the Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press.
In plain language and using entertaining examples he simply says that we need to filter for quality and relevancy of information and not quantity.
 Please check out Clay’s keynote for yourself:
Clay Shirky emphasizes that when we get too much information than the question that needs to be asked is: what filters do I need to stop unwanted information?
I may add that the most effective filtering is done through context. It is context that defines our information needs and ultimately decides on the usability and value of information.

Download Context Organizer today.

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Summarization is an effective form of text mapping

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
 

With the Context Organizer for MindManager a text summary is instantly converted into a MindManager map without any loss of relevant text content.

The automatic map generation frees the user from tedious map charting while providing more opportunity to focus on shaping the visually mapped information.

 

Summaries lead the mind to focus on essential content. This enables faster evaluation and comprehension.  While summarising, the reader effectively engages in efficient contextual comprehension by gaining both the big picture and the detail expressions.

 
Summarization reveals text structures, while contextual associations are clearly revealed through highlighted keywords.
 
The Context Organizer provides the reader with the most relevant keywords as a guide to the most significant statements within the body of text.  The keywords work as quick filters enabling users to focus on the most relevant sentences of interest.
 
Further, the use of keywords navigates the reader through summarized content providing a superior visual format which is a more practical manager to rapid comprehension of content in context.
 
The advantage of using summarization for text mapping is that summarization provides the most accurate and direct text representation in the form of the most relevant keywords and sentences.
 
This direct approach by Context Organizer is superior to other graphical techniques which are abstract representations of text and always require further explanation.  Information mapping is a record of the reader’s comprehension, or lack of it. It’s not uncommon for graphical mapping to have little to do with the text, and the formats often used make it difficult to interpret, leaving too much for the reader to extrapolate and/or reconstruct.
 
Graphic organizers indeed have their place, I do however believe that summarization as a text mapping technique, effectively complements graphic organizers, by bridging the gap between texts and corresponding abstracted diagramming.
 
A summary as a text map provides superior expression for creating accurate and complete visual maps. This is one of the reasons that Context Organizer integrates seamlessly with Mindjet MindManager.
 
With the Context Organizer for MindManager a text summary is instantly converted into a MindManager map without any loss of relevant text content. The automatic map generation frees the user from tedious map charting while providing more opportunity to focus on shaping the visually mapped information. This is a unique and valuable addition that significantly enhances MindManager’s effectiveness.
 
Download Context Organizer today.

  

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A summary is worth a thousand of words

Thursday, August 28th, 2008
 
A summary is a shortened version of the original. The main purpose of such a simplification is to highlight the major points from the genuine (much longer) subject, e.g. a text, a film or an event. The aim is to help the audience get the gist in a short period of time. (Wikipedia)
 
The way we learn, remember and quickly recall has a strong relationship to the way we are able to process information without overloading our senses.
 
If our goal in understanding information is to quickly extract and convey meaning, then the use of summaries is essential. Summaries can be the key to understanding and reducing complex information to indispensable facts.
 
We can say that summaries are the bare models of thoughts and that summarized information represents the authorʼs best goals and intentions.

The act of instantly summarizing a web page can be an accelerator to quick understanding. By seeing the keywords in context, we, the readers, can quickly understand, connect and retain new information.

 
Summarization is relevant to all information workers, irrespective of their expertise. When we read, we always have to parse the text. We read and re-read to extract the main statements. We underline important ideas and arguments according to the main statement. We work hard to assemble all the pertinent facts in logical order. And once all of this is done we then check if the summary reflects the original conclusions.
 
All of these hard and time consuming tasks can be greatly facilitated with the use of Context Organizer. With the click of a button, the essential keywords, sentences and context are revealed and highlighted. The keywords serve as a back-of-the-book index to the key statements and facts.
  
You may think about the Context Organizer summaries as an instant help in making sense by focusing on the key facts and conclusions only.
 
Context Organizer summaries allow busy professionals to save time.  It helps them to daily sift through copious amounts of information and rapidly review, compare and analyze information.
 
 
You can download and try out Context Organizer for free.
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The Context Organizer Method

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
Context Organizer’s power to visualize critical information is akin to creating on the spot maps to help you effortlessly navigate through web pages.  In an instant, large amounts of information are simplified and reduced to the most essential storyline, which is easy to understand and learn.
 
Context Organizer summaries simplify complex text into an organized, easy-to-understand visual format.
 
At a glance,you see the essential keywords and summaries. You do not need to read the full text of  web pages, emails and documents in order to know what they contain.
 
Context Organizer summaries facilitate the rapid discovery of ideas, simplify complex content, inspire creativity, and save enormous amounts of time and effort. With a simple visual presentation, users can immediately focus on the critical information and make decisions.
 
Context Organizer’s powerful filters enable easy exposure of desired information. The Short Summary instantly spotlights the most important conclusions saving you time and effort by discovering critical findings and eliminating information overload.
 
Convenient note taking allows you to effortlessly text mine to rapidly create your own documents and notes. It is a handy tool for learning and studying.
 
Summarized Google search results save you time in reviewing and discovering the essential fragments hidden in web pages.  With Context Organizer’s review and summarization of Google search results is very fast and effortless.
 
Speed reading with Context Organizer is as simple as clicking on a button. Summaries and keywords ranked by relevance are instantly discovered and presented to you for review and note taking.
 
MindManager mind mapping is completely automated with Context Organizer. With the simple click of a button, you can instantly create a MindManager map.
 
In conclusion, Context Organizer’s power to visualize critical information is akin to creating on the spot maps to help you effortlessly navigate through web pages.  In an instant, large amounts of information are simplified and reduced to the most essential storyline, which is easy to understand and learn.
 
You can download and try out Context Organizer for free.
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How can Context Organizer help you with Google searches?

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

 

Answer: by simply clicking a button, Google search results are summarized by Context Organizer and displayed in tabs for easy review. 
See a demo of Context Organizer’s ability to summarize Google search results.
See a sample screen of Summarized Google Search Results.
Almost everyone searches Google to find information, and Google quickly rewards them by displaying a huge number of links for review. Certainly Google finds the information we are seeking, but the challenge is to find only the relevant pages  in the multitude of links quickly.

 

The challenge of web searches
Web navigation is driven by text. Keywords act as general directions for our searching needs. What we do not know before the search results are revealed is in what context these keywords are used in the documents found by Google.
In short, we need context to help us evaluate usefulness of search results.
Google, as any other search engine, is unaware of context. Google provides pages with keywords in the text regardless of the context of their uses.
By nature, web queries are very short and it is doubtful that a one, or two, or three-word query can clearly express users’ informational objectives.
This is where Context Organizer comes in to your help with Google searches.
With Context Organizer, your Google search results are automatically summarized! You always see the most relevant keywords in context! 
At a glance, you are able to recognize how useful any of your Google search results are. And to top this, you do not have to click on any of the Google links. With a simple click of the Search+ button, Context Organizer will keep summarizing Google search results and display the summaries in separate tabs for ease of review.
You do not have to click on the links, wait for the connection, and then read the page – this is all instantly accomplished by Context Organizer.
Say you summarize 20 top Google search results, you can theneasily review the key sentences, assess the relevancy of the keywords, and quickly form a comprehensive idea ofwhich of the search results are useful to you, in context with your objectives. Practically, compactly, and quickly, Context Organizer presents you with the most relevant content and keywords from Google search results.
See a demo of Context Organizer’s ability to summarize Google search results.
See a sample screen of Summarized Google Search Results.
 PS
Context Organizer also summarizes Microsoft Live Search results. The user has a choice of either using Google or Live Search engines with Context Organizer.
 
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How Context Organizer turns you into a speed reader?

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
 
With Context Organizer everybody, without exception, can become an instant speed reader. With just the click of a button, Context Organizer extracts the most relevant keywords and sentences!
Answer: by simply clicking a button, the essential summaries will jump off the page.
See a demo of Context Organizer’s speed reading power.
 
Students, bloggers, and journalists must read and understand tremendous amounts of material within short timeframes. Being able to read quickly is a vital skill that makes work and research easier.
 
Most speed-reading methods are based on skim reading first and in reading groups of words. It takes tremendous discipline, effort, practice, and a special aptitude to become a speed reader.
 
However, with Context Organizer everybody, without exception, can become an instant speed reader.
 
Reading speed is essential
It is certainly more satisfying to be able to read rapidly, instead of spending what seems like forever ploughing through the words, not knowing if what you read is useful or a waste of time.
Besides the enjoyment factor, you need to get through a lot of reading material in as little time as possible.
Efficient reading skills tremendously help with schoolwork and help improve grades.
 
Knowledge workers constantly read reports, countless web pages, and research material necessary for their jobs. If you can read faster, with greater comprehension, your chances for success are greatly increased. If you look around, you may notice that a lot of successful people are rapid readers.
 
Become an instant speed reader with Context Organizer
 
With just the click of a button, Context Organizer will extract the most relevant keywords and sentences!
 
You will instantly be able to know what the web page is about. The key points are highlighted. This brings your view into focus. You can view any part of the text that contains your favourite keywords. You can rapidly take notes with references. All of this is achieved with just a click of a button.
 
You get more done in less time. You don’t have to struggle with the text or train to become champion speed reader.
 
And you don’t have to struggle with information overload.
 
See a demo of Context Organizer speed reading power.
 
Here is an example of Context Organizer instant summary of this post:
 
 
 
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Scanning and Skimming instead of Reading

Monday, August 11th, 2008
 
Literally, at a click of the button in the web browser, Context Organizer instantly identifies the keywords and key sentences by relevance.
 
There are different methods of reading for different purposes.
 
The technique we choose depends on the reason for reading; for example, we can read for pleasure, for information, or to complete an assignment.
 
If we are appraising or reviewing, we may just skim a document. If we are searching for specific facts, we may scan for particular keywords. To get detailed information, we need to dig deeper into the text.
 
In effect, we adjust our reading speed and our focus depending on our purposes.
 
Some consider skimming and scanning search techniques rather than reading strategies. However, when reading large volumes of information, skimming and scanningmay be more practical than deep reading.
 
Usually scanning is the first thing that we do when we select a source for review. It helps answer such questions as:
·   Is source relevant to helping me find what I’m looking for?
·   Will this give me the answers I’m looking for?
·      Is there anything in this related to my interest?
In fact when we are scanning, we are zipping through the whole source, homing in on the important chunks. Scanning gives us a feel for the whole item; it works like a powerful filter and saves us time.
 
In practice, scanning is a particularly useful technique for reading web pages. For example, we scan Google search results rapidly checking for relevant keywords. We glance at the titles and summaries searching for phrases or keywords that relate to our search.
 
There is also a deeper rationale for scanning; when we scan, our minds are instantly matching the keywords with the purpose of our query. This instant contextualization is the main reason why scanning is a very effective filter for identifying the relevancy of information.
 
In my work on developing Context Organizer, we built-in automatic scanning and skimming filters. Literally, at a click of the button in the web browser, Context Organizer instantly identifies the keywords and key sentences by relevance. That means that the users instantly know if the web page is important to them and what the focal points are.
 
Jacob Nielsen provided a revealing study on How Users Read on the Web:
“People rarely read Web pages word by word; instead, they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences.”
 
You can try out Context Organizer and I would be very glad to hear from you on how it helps you with rapid scanning and reading.

  

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What is a Knol?

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

 According to Google:

A knol is an authoritative article about a specific topic.
The goal behind the Knol is to provide more complete and versatile treatment on the different aspects of the subject being covered. In short CONTEXT is provided to better understand the subject.  
So for example, if you were to read about a specific subject such as insomnia - you would be able to learn about variety of aspects about insomnia ranging from introduction, to sleep promotion, types of insomnia, diagnosis, medical and non-medical treatments, etc. – all in one article complemented with references.
From experience we know that content without context is difficult to value. Perhaps Knols are good attempts to improve understanding by conveniently providing well-researched context to content.
So far there’s no common format or standard on how to create Knols, how to comment on entries and how to collaborate on entries. However, Knol is an early beta project and it will certainly evolve so for time being we should keenly observe if it is going to help us in dealing with information quality.
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