NorthStarNerd.Org

The Power!

Hey thanks!  If one searches on <engineering> and <wiki>, our Engineering Learning Wiki is up to #6 in Google Results. Enclose that phrase in quotes and we rise to #4! Watch out Wikipedia! (just kidding)

Just today, Mr. Anonymous added to the engineering manuals section:

• In Pictures (In Pictures online tutorials are based on pictures, not words.)
  • Dreamweaver
  • HTML and CSS
  • MySQL Basics
  • PHP Basics
  • Perl Basics

What's even more cool, is Mr. Anonymous sent me an email to ask permission first.  I obviously know this person's name, but without permission I would never post personal information ... even a name! Thanks Mr. Anonymous.

What this does show is that I needed to trust the collective web and allow for anonymous posting. Folks really hate signing up for another account, but are very willing to help and collectively help build knowledge.
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Web 2.0 Partner in Crime

I was introduced overnight via a friend's email to Simon Revell’s blog, Corporate Punk. He leads Pfizer's charge into the use of Web 2.0 tools. It was intriguing to see how his company is adopting many of the same tools in which I have interest. I even like the name of his blog!

Seriously, it is cool to see additional companies installing these kinds of tools, which leads me to a podcast series my Google RSS feeds discovered for me last night (what ... you don't have Google RSS feeds??! ... get with it). MIT's library has a new podcast series, which has initially focused upon digital rights and innovation via the web.  I just downloaded Professor Eric von Hippel's podcast in which he talks about his experience publishing his book, Democratizing Innovation. This book is freely available via the web.

Digital Library for Physics and Astronomy

Depending upon your background, you may wish to spend some time on this web site / online library which is jointly hosted by NASA and Harvard:

• Digital Library for Physics and Astronomy

In addition, I've added this site as a link on the engineering learning wiki ... both the physics and the engineering manuals pages.
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Innovation and Networked Economy Podcasts

This post contains my favorite Innovation and Networked Economy Podcasts. In all instances the podcasts are interviews with the authors who review the major theories and themes of their respective books.  A podcast's appearance in this post does not reflect its overall ranking; rather it is indicative of when I first sourced a given podcasts (starting in January of 2006).

As new books make "my cut" in the future, I will edit this post to reflect those podcasts! Subscribe to my blog's RSS feed to be kept informed of changes.

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Innovation Podcasts
(skip down to The Networked Economy podcasts)

	Smart World: Breakthrough Creativity and the New Science of Ideas. . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Enterprise Leadership . Date Posted: December 10, 2007
	Smart World: Breakthrough Creativity and the New Science of Ideas. . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Friends Talking Podcast Date Posted: December 10, 2007
	Content below from original post: October 29, 2007
	Smart World: Breakthrough Creativity and the New Science of Ideas. . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Harvard IdeaCast
	The 4 Hour Workweek . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: iinovate Blog
	The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Business Week CoverCasts
	Open Innovation - The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Harvard IdeaCast
	Payback - Reaping the Rewards of Innovation . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Knowledge at Wharton
	Made to Stick - Why Some Idea Survive and Other Die . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: TechNation - NPR
	How the Paper Fish Learned to Swim - A Fable About Inspiring creativity and Bringing New Ideas to Life . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: 800CEORead
	The Elegant Solution - Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: 800CEORead
	They Made America - From The Steam Engine To The Search Engine: Two Centuries of Innovation . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Cranky Middle Manager
	Making Innovation Work . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: TechNation - NPR
	The Ten Faces of Innovation . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: TechNation - NPR
	Innovator's Solution . Podcast (right click to download) . Presentation Slides (pdf) . Podcast Series: Open Source Business Conference
	10 Rules for Strategic Innovators . Podcast - 800CEOread (right click to download) or Podcast - Harvard IdeaCast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: 800CEORead or Podcast Series: Harvard IdeaCast

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the Networked Economy Podcasts

	Here Comes Everybody - The Power of Organizing Without Organizations . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: On the Media from NPR . Date Posted: March 06, 2008
	The Age of Speed (Learning to Thrive in a More Faster Now World) . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: TechNation - NPR . Date Posted: December 20, 2007
	Everything is Miscellaneous . Podcast  (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Harvard IdeaCast . Date Added: November 6, 2007
	Content below from original post: October 29, 2007
	Dreaming in Code - Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software . Podcast #1 (right click to download) Podcast Series: NPR: The Agony Podcast . Podcast #2  (right click to download) Podcast Series: Open Source Conversations
	Wikinomics - How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Harvard IdeaCast
	The Perfect Thing - How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: TechNation - NPR
	The Business Podcasting Bible . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: The Podcast Academy
	The Wealth of Networks - How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Audio Berkman - Harvard
	Wal-Mart Effect . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Motley Fool Podcast
	Naked Conversations . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: On The Record
	The Google Story . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: CSPAN - After Words
	The Rise of the Creative Class . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: PopTech 2004
	Freakonomics . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Penguin Books
	The Battle for the Soul Of Capitalism . Podcast (right click to download) . Podcast Series: Digital Debates

End of post.

Patents at 7:30 a.m.

Good Saturday morning. As I wait for the sun to rise and warm the air a bit (36 degrees) before leaving on a 12 mile run, I'm focused upon patents?! As much as I prefer to avoid lawyers, engineering content requires that one pay attention to this domain. Via one of my Google keyword RSS feeds, I stumbled upon "The Invent Blog". My curiosity was piqued due to the reference to a screencast about PatentFizz. Wow, I thought ... maybe here is a challenge to network media shows like Lost!

Sadly, Lost will still reign supreme, but The Invent Blog seems to be a good place to hang your hat if you need to subscribe to at least one blog that focuses upon intellectual property and the law.  I did both  Google and Technorati searches, and the results were good. Stephen Nipper has been blogging since January of 2004, and seems to know his stuff.