Quotebook.net - online Reference & (Social) Knowledge Management

Golden Ticket: Our farewell gift

Daniel — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:21:16 +0000

It is time: we are now issuing the first Golden Tickets (exclusive log-in codes for external users).
I had promised that you would be the first to test “scholarz.net”, and this promise shall be kept:
Every reader of this blog will be granted an exclusive golden ticket on request. Just send me an email (via the contact form below) and I will send you your code and the link to “scholarz.net”. Despite of our internal testers, you’ll be one of the first to take a look at and use scholarz.net. For free, of course, and without any technical limitation.
In this blog I have told you quite a lot about the planned platform. Now you can find out yourself whether I’ve been telling the truth.
I’m looking forward to hearing your opinion and would be very grateful for feedback!
[contact form]

Auf wiedersehen at the “scholarz.blog” – The Ende and a new beginning

Daniel — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:47:01 +0000

This ist the Quotebook-Blog’s last (but one) posting.
- But do not worry, this is not the end of the story! While the “quoteblog” ends, the real story is just about to start. Let me invite you to our new blog: “scholarz.blog”:

http://scholarz.net

http://blog-en.scholarz.net/

Quotebook is slowly growing up. So it is time to abandon the working title. “Quotebook.net” becomes “scholarz.net “. Just a rebranding? No, it’s much more. Quotebook.net was the vision of a software, “scholarz.net” will be much more: A scholar is a learner, a researcher, a scientist. That describes what we are. The “net” means “network”. The “z” illustrates our target group: young, clever, ambitious researchers. Conclusion: We want to be a software for your personal scientific work. And we want to be a research network, connecting you and your work to other scholarz. Is that crazy enough?

Hence a new page and a new blog. This also marks the end of the preparation time. The software will still remain in beta stage for a little while, but it is alive and working and more than a mere idea or project. Our Quotebook research project ( “Scientific work in the Web 2.0- An interdisciplinary research project at the University of Wuerzburg”) is also coming into the hot phase. But that is another tale to be told on “scholarz.blog”.

The “scholarz.blog” will not only come up with a broadened range of topics, but also with a list of authors. I will no longer write on my own, and it is not just about software anymore. Our vision is a communication platform for young academics. By Ph.D. students for Ph.D. students, post-docs, and young scientists. We are writing about everything that moves us, especially our experiences with our dissertations and research, just as well as the academic, campus and extra-curricular life as a researcher, writer and academic lecturer. Hence the new slogan: “spotlights on academic life.”

Let me thank you for the attention you have been granting us (and our baby) in this blog! And I would be delighted to welcome you to “scholarz.blog”, to meet you again and hear from you!

Until then, I wish all our readers a merry Christmas time and a happy New Year!

BTW: why was this the “last (but one)” posting? Because I have a promise to honor: When the time comes, you will be the first ones to receive a Golden Ticket, and thus access to the new software. That will be your quoteblog farewell gift.

The hot phase, or: Quote Book-Beta

Daniel — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:22:56 +0000

It’s getting exciting: Marc has done a really good job and my eyes are happily looking upon… Quotebook.net. Finally, after months of hard work and long waiting, the idea has become reality. What had only been existing on paper is now alive in my browser. The first version of Quotebook.net is completed and operational. I can gather data, create sources, projects and
keywords, assign notes to several folders and share them with other users.
All basic functions are running. And it works just like I had imagined.

Quotebook.net will be a great ease for my researching. I am thrilled. Of course, the software is still full of bugs, the usability needs improvement, it’s not too pretty, and anyway – there is still a lot of work ahead. But isn’t that what a beta phase is for? The main thing is: the core is running. Now it’s
getting exciting.

The platform is still in Private Beta (i.e. nobody except us can use it). But you will be the first to receive access with a Golden Ticket. As a small foretaste I have two screenshots for you:
The cockpit: Your private homepage. From here, you’ll have access to the various functions.

Edit Sources: Above you see the bibliographic information, underneath the notes with summaries. On the left you have a sidebar for quick and easy access to other folders and to make assignments.

Quotebook.net turns into a University of Würzburg research project

Quotebook.net — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:06:22 +0000

So much happening … In short: The thing is too big and too exciting for us alone. Our investigations and deliberations to the needs of scientists have brought up a lot of interesting questions: What are their behavior patterns in the net? What kind of Web applications are interesting for researchers? How does the internet serve science etc. Of course, we could simply ignore these questions, concentrate us on our web software, and done. But just as an entrepreneur simply can’t ignore an exciting business idea, it is impossible for a passionate researcher to leave a fascinating field of research lying fallow.

We have therefore decided to set Quotebook.net into a larger context and merge it with a large-scale scientific investigation to rise.

We have therefore launched the interdisciplinary research project “Scientific work in the Web 2.0″ at the University of Würzburg. Under the
Auspices of Professors Berthold (Economics) and Thome (Information Management) a team of humanities, natural scientists, computer scientists and economists researches on the major issues that we are facing:
How do scientists use the Web 2.0? What services exist for them, where are the gaps? What are the needs of researchers, what could offer them help? What can the new web-technologies offer, to make research more efficient and better?

At the same time, of course, we are continuing the development of Quotebook.net. It will not suffer under our research, but, quite the contrary, benefit from the results and thereby become even better.

Everything is moving. What the many hardworking hands, heads and smoking glowing brain coils produce at the end, we don’t know yet. But it is exciting to be there. We’ll keep you up to date. I have to go …

A real baby (and a small exception)

Quotebook.net — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:22:15 +0000

When you work on a special project it’s sometimes like having a baby. You spend time and energy, thoughts and sleepeles nights on it. You put your heart and soul into it’s well being and development, and you are happy if it flourishes and others like it. Quotebook.net is such a “work-baby” for us. That’s a great thing to have and we love it.

But an even greater thing to have is a real baby! And I am delighted an proud to announce the birth of my first child: a cute baby boy named David. We usually don’t use this blog for private postings, but I thought this was worth an exception.

So now I have two babies. And I’m looking forward to spending my time with them.

Quotebook.net 2.0 – a new beginning

Quotebook.net — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:14:34 +0000

During the past few weeks we have based quotebook.net on a completely new foundation. This took us a lot of strength and time, but it was definitely worth it, as quotebook.net is now standing on quite solid ground, which will pay off for the user as well. I’m terribly sorry for the long period of silence in this blog, but we didn’t want to announce uncertain information.
So what has been happening?

1. A new team: Our programmers Benedikt and Thomas had to quit because of their studies. A complex, high-quality platform like quotebook.net can’t be programmed alongside. We have considered several ways to go on – and we have decided to hire a professional. Marc Willwacher is a well experienced programmer with all the know how necessary for a job like that. And it’s a pleasure working with him. Welcome aboard, Marc!

2. A new look: We have completely revised the design and the user guidance of quotebook.net. Everything has become easier, user-friendlier and more appealing. Quotebook.net ist ment to be a tool for scholars, but why should’t using it be fun as well? Quotebook.net should help us managing our complex research data, but it should also be child’s play to handle it.

3. A new function: The three main functions of quotebook - reference management, knowledge management and social knowledge – will be extended by a fourth function. We don’t want to go into further detail at the moment, but this new function will definitely make quotebook.net an even more valuable tool for scholars.

4. A new timetable: (Nearly) Every advantage comes up with a disadvantage: We have to start the programming all over again, and this will take time. We fear that the Beta-Version will not be ready until October. This is very sad, and we want to apologise to everybody who is awating quotebook.net as longingly as we are. But we are sure, it’ll we worth it.

Description of the Knowledge Management

Quotebook.net — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:09:58 +0000

A user gathers information (like quotes, images, excerpts) in notes (the purple boxes).
These notes are assigned to the different elements (like sources, projects & keywords) with tags. When viewing an element you get all notes assigned to it.

Example:
Note 1 is a summary of a chapter of Source I. This information shall be used in Project A and thematically belongs Keyword X.
Depending on the chosen view you see
• the content of a source (Note 1 & 2 for Source I)
• all information that shall be used in a certain project (Note 1 & 3 in Project A)
•every note, across all data, that belongs to a certain topic/keyword (Note 1 & 4 for Keyword Y).

So how does that help you with your academical writing?

When you write something new, you usually start of with reading a few sources to get an overview. Then you start writing. That’s when the searching begins: Where was that quote I wanted to cite here? Which source was I planning to use to support this proposition? Wasn’t there some idea that I haven’t mentioned yet? …
Myself for example used to write summaries in long Word documents. And when writing my papers I scrolled through endless texts, searching my information.
No more of this! With Quotebook.net you can assign all the relevant information to a project, even to a certain chapter of that project, while you are reading. It’s as easy as winking: just drag & drop. And then, when you start writing, you’ve got all the data you gathered just where you need it. No more searching, no more skimming through sources, no more data-chaos. And you’ll never forget an idea or source anymore.

Or imagine another situation: you want to write a new paper to a topic you already have read about. With Quotebook.net it’s only half the work as before. You don’t have to search and read everything again. Just check the keywords you need in Quotebook.net and assign the helpful notes to the new project. And immediately you can start writing and even have all bibliographic data at hand.

And if you simply want to see what a certain source is about, just check the source-view and you’ll get everything you (or others) have noted to this source.

That’s the knowledge management function in Quotebook.net. It will dramatically ease academical writing and I am sure looking forward to using it for my own dissertation.

Start spreading the news: The preview-site

Quotebook.net — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:56:43 +0000

Today our preview-site and this blog are going public. Think of them as the heralds of Quotebook. We want to announce our project and interest potential users. Soon there will be the first screenshots on quotebook.net. With this blog you’ll stay up-to-date.

Please help to make Quotebook well-known. Tell your colleagues and friends, tell other academics about Quotebook. The more the community grows, the more the single user will benefit from it.

You’re interested in Quotebook? Sign in as a beta-tester and get the exclusive chance to test Quotebook before it’s officially released!

You’ve got questions, suggestions or comment? We’re looking forward to your email!

When will QB be available? – The timetable

Quotebook.net — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:49:45 +0000

It is now possible to arrange a timetable: The programming should be done by April 07. Then the first beta version will be ready in May, public beta will take place in June. (Be one of the first exclusive beta-testers! Just sign up here to apply for a golden ticket!). The grand launch should follow in summer 07, which means that the site will be open to the public. Let’s hope that this schedule is working out. I’d prefer an earlier publication date, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. And we certainly don’t want to offer you something unfinished.

What about Copyright? – Judical questions

Quotebook.net — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 22:46:32 +0000

During our work we’re continuously faced with questions of copyright. Could it be that we’re violating copyright by allowing users to share their summaries? We wanted to make sure that we don’t and hired a lawyer to check our case. The result is comforting: Despite of the uncertain legal situation it is quite sure that we’re not violating copyright. Private knowlege management isn’t a problem anyway. Everyone is allowed to note and store what he or she likes. But sharing this information isn’t a problem either, as in our case no complete books or other sources will made public. Sharing quotes and summaries won’t substitute their originals. On the contrary, it will rather be a kind of advertising, as a true scholar won’t just adapt without checking the original. Quotebook will help finding information and show which sources are of interest, but will not substitute the original.
To make sure we’ll nevertheless inform every user about copyright.

Difficulties with my paper – I’m longing for Quotebook!

Quotebook.net — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 22:43:02 +0000

While I’m very excited about Quotebook I’m still spending most of my time on my dissertation and my work at the university. Presently I’m writing a paper, and it drives me crazy! All the time I have to deal with the problems we want to solve with Quotebook: “Where did I put this down? I’m sure I’ve already read something about that! I’ve even got a summary on this book by one of my colleagues, but now I have to scan tons of text in search of one tiny bit of information. And I always have to carry a USB-Stick around with me, so I have my data everywhere. … When will Quotebook be ready? I’m missing it every day I have to work without it.”
But besides all of this frustration I’m also feeling a great encouragement: We’re working on a good solution! QB is something academics need in their daily work.

Even more positive feedback!

Quotebook.net — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 22:41:17 +0000

While the work on Quotebook is making progress, I’m telling other academics about our concept. The response is mostly very encouraging. There are, of course, some that don’t think they would need a tool like that, and some other who can’t imagine the possibilities such a tool would provide, but most reactions are like: “Hey, that sound cool, this is exactly what I need! It would be saving me a lot of time and energy! When will it be online?”

The very best of web 2.0

Quotebook.net — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:37:29 +0000

Creating something new doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel again and again. Often you can create something new by just combining and improving things that are already existing and enhancing it with something new. That’s partly how Quotebook is working. We will be using some of the most successful concepts of web 2.0, adapt them to our own requirements and add our own ideas. The concepts will be varied, combined and extended in a way, which will make them a supreme tool for academic writing.
Here are only a few ingredients that will make Quotebook a unique recipe: Store Notes easily and well arranged as in Google Notebook. All information can be tagged, as in Del.icio.us. Online source management, as in CiteULike. Creating bibliographies easily, as in Endnote (though that’s no web service). Share your knowledge, as in Wikipedia. Manage your knowledge as never before. Quotebook is going to unite all the advantages of these different applications to create tool especially designed for academical writing.
Quotebook is going to be programmed in PHP, Ruby on Rails and Ajax. This will make it possible to combine the comfortable handling of a desktop application with the supreme advantages of web applications. Drag and drop, dynamic website content, no reloading of the site every time you change something …

The team’s formed, let’s get it started

Quotebook.net — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 22:30:52 +0000

The most vital components of every project are the people carrying it out. The concept’s ready, there’s a need for the product, now’s the time for getting real. I’ve been doing a lot of conversation, and now the team is formed:
Aboard are Martina Maier (postgraduate engineer), Martin Mündlein (business economist and my partner in former projects), Thomas Eisenbarth, Benedikt Gleich (both students of information technology) and, of course, my humble self (Daniel Koch, postgraduate economist).
Martina and Martin will help me with the product design, the management and the user support. Thomas and Benedikt will be concerned with the core of the project: the programming. Their job will be to convert the concepts into bits and bytes.

BTW: We all work an Quotebook during our spare time, because we believe it will help us with our research and because we want to build up a new academic community. No one of us is getting rich with this. If any one of you is as thrilled about this idea as we are: feel free to help!

An ingenious new feature: Social knowledge or Quotebook Wiki

Quotebook.net — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:26:27 +0000

There are various books and other sources that are read by many people. Why not create excerpts and summaries together or share them with other academics? Why not create a kind of Wikipedia for sources needed by many academics?
That’s why we’re going to make it possible to share your data with other users. Of course, you can choose whether other users will be able to “read only” or to change the content. This will make Quotebook far more than just a tool for individuals: It is going to be a knowledge database. The more people join in and share their data, the more helpful this database will be for us all.

Of course, you’ll also be able to save everything as “private”, so only you can see and alter your data. My ideas for my papers and dissertation are only for my own eyes, at least until they’re published. So I’m going to share my summaries and excerpts and keep my ideas private.

What do other academics think of Quotebook?

Quotebook.net — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 17:03:16 +0000

Of course, I’m convinced of my own idea. But what are potential users thinking of it? Are my sketches promising? Will the concept work? Is there a need for such an application?
To solve these questions I talked to several colleagues and friends of mine…
The response was overwhelming! My concept hit the bull’s eye. Apparently, I’m not the only one with these problems. And apparently, Quotebook is the perfect solution for these problems. There is, of course, not only praise, but fair comment as well. I’ve already modified a few things. But in the whole the response is very encouraging – Quotebook is on the right course.
Since that time there’s hardly a meeting with those colleagues in which they don’t ask me: “When will Quotebook be online? I’m awaiting it eagerly!” An I’m feeling the same.

Nomen est omen: name & logo

Quotebook.net — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 16:58:03 +0000

Our baby is born, and it shall be named “Quotebook”, because it is going to be a giant notebook for everything we’d like to quote. All quotes, information and ideas will be found, stored, and managed properly.
The name can be easily understood by international academics and expresses the different functions of our application. Another advantage that is not to be underestimated: the .net domain is still available.
The logo is going to be a notebook with a “Q” on it. The meaning is, of course, figurative: The “Q” is for the “quotes”, information and summaries that we’re going to store and manage within our notebook.

The solution is taking shape

Quotebook.net — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:55:56 +0000

What is it that our solution should be able to do?
It should, of course, be able to find and store relevant data such as bibliographical information or excerpts. But there’s plenty of software for tasks like that.
But what we require is more than just some finding and storing: We need knowledge management. Data shouldn’t just be stored, but tagged and stored multidimensional. One should be able to visualize information the way one needs it. That means sorting it by topics, assigning it to certain projects, so that it is no longer necessary to search for the information one already has.
Moreover, it should enable the user to work independantly, which includes not being bound to a single operating system or even a single computer. One’s data should be accessible everywhere.
The combination of these features would be something unique and brand-new, something that would revolutionize academical writing.

An idea is evolving

Quotebook.net — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:53:47 +0000

If you want to get something done you’ve got to do it yourself. And if there’s no appropriate solution, then we have to create one ourself.
It has to be a solution that is technologically up-to-date, one that is exactly what academics need – and one that isn’t too expensive. The internet has recently seen a lot of progress, the web 2.0 offers an immense range of new possibilities. Me and my partner Martin Mündlein had founded Elardo GbR some time ago. With our recent project, Taggle.de (which has been sold to mister-wong.de in the meantime), we have already had opportunities to gain some experience in this sector.
Why shouldn’t we use all these possibilities for academical purposes? Why should’t we create an entirely new application that makes academics able to use these possibilities and that eases academical writing radically?

No proper solutions on the market

Quotebook.net — Tue, 16 May 2006 16:52:12 +0000

After I’ve defined what I need I’ve started looking for proper software solutions. But the result is disillusioning: there is various software for specific information management, but not for widespread knowledge management. What’s the use of using Endnote for storing all my bibliographical information if I still have to create Word documents to gather my excerpts? What’s the use of it if I have to start a search-and-scroll run for every tiny bit of information I need to prove some statement.
There is even another problem: I don’t want to be tied to one computer, I want to access my data on my Mac at home as well as on my PC in the university. (Not to mention that most of the software prices are starting at 100 €.)