New-to-me, unaccessible tool

I knew there was software that made writing review and proofing easier for those involved than constant emailing or copying of files (pretty much every wiki software is made for that). I didn't know this company existed: http://www.scholarone.com/products_manuscriptcentral_aboutMC.shtml.

It looks so cool, it makes me want to submit a paper just to see it in action.

From email to . . . ?

I have to admit I really don't "get" social networking sites. I understand their purpose, but at this point they still feel like toys rather than tools in my hands.

MediaPost's Online Media Daily has a report from the Email Insider Summit, Habeas: Email Remains Primo Communication Method, that seems to suggest my views are still in the majority, even among younger users. Habeas' research shows that people still prefer email, and will for the foreseeable future, though the reporter mentions one college student who attended the conference would be content to use Facebook solely in his next (first?) job.

They're too intimate. I remember at least one anthropology instructor commenting on research predicting how many "intimates" (close friends and family) one could mentally keep track of, explaining relationships in the classic circles of a Venn diagram. Myspace and Facebook, in their current incarnations, seem to encourage "intimates" circles the size of the Assembly Hall across the street, with only token nods to physical and mental realities.

I have one work contact without an email account, and only a few more intimates offline. I think, for most small businesses (including publishing) email will continue to be a sufficient means of communication indefinately.

Web Page Highlighter

School Library Journal features awesomehighlighter.com in their Saved By the Bell: Sixty Second Tech Tip section. This could be an excellent resource for adults, too, saving all that printing and copying of web pages for meetings (such as our Web Committee meeting tomorrow morning).