Memory Miner Software

Good morning. Just a quick post to talk about a few websites I was told about recently. The first is really a software program called “Memory Miner”(www.memoryminer.com) This is currently a Mac-only beta program. But watch the Quicktime demo, it does some very interesting things with photos and timelines.

Second, is the search engine “retrievr” (http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr/). This allows users to sketch the shape of what you want to search–you draw it–no text. The idea is very exciting, however, the execution is somewhat lacking. Try it out, see what you think. At this time, it only searches images on Flickr.com, a free photo sharing website.

Finally, the beta e-commerce site www.Etsy.com uses some unusual search methods for products. Sometimes the small shops are the only ones to be bold enough to share new ideas. What’s this to do with archives? It is exciting to see how technology interfaces (or how it does not) with historic records. It also is interesting as we think about new and improved avenues of access to our collections. (thanks to U of M SI student Cathie Tosach for the heads-up on these sites).