My regular readers may have already detected that I am a New Yorker magazine junkie. My friends can hardly fail to notice this, since I am always saying, "Yes, and that reminds me of an article I just read in the New Yorker," at which point I take over the conversation for a few minutes. In the olden times (before today) that was more than enough for my friends. But as of today it is just the beginning. Now I can go home to my personal NYer archives (dating from 9-11), grab the issue in question, put it through my scanner, and sit back while my computer receives the entire article in the form of a Word document (with columns, pages, and cartoons all properly configured) or a PDF (with text searching). I leave the rest of the story to your imagination, since this is a copyright-friendly blog.
If any of you just happen to be thinking about email right now, let me say--that reminds me of a great article I just read in the New York Times: "Enron Offers an Unlikely Boost to E-Mail Surveillance." I am a bit embarassed to be mentioning this article now. It was published very prominently on Sunday. But I have been so preoccupied with my new ThinkPad that real life is apparently passing me by. So thanks to Jim Murphy for clipping the article and handing it to me, in a quaint nod to life before scanners. Jim's gift prompted me to check Patti Anklam's blog and see her review of the article which she wrote the day after its publication.
The gist of the story is that a huge pile of Enron email is now publically available. The email provides a detailed look at communication from before the California energy crisis right up to the final bankruptcy scandal. This is an unprecendented resource for sociologists and computer scientists, who have proceeded to demonstrate not only the power of textual analysis (how often do people say "Dynergy" or "bankruptcy" week by week) but also the power of network analysis (who sends email to whom and when, regardless of the content).
The article features a beautiful network diagram:
Note the use of a hierarchical circular layout that places people in three categories: (1) periphery, (2) mid-level, and (3) core. That's a great way not to distract people with unnecessary detail.
The Enron analysis is being led by David Skillicorn, Kathleen Carley, and Michael Berry.
Want to try this at home? You can! Investigate your own email communication network by downloading Peter Gloor's TeCFlow.
The Enron analysis is being led by David Skillicorn, Kathleen Carley, and Michael Berry.
Want to try this at home? You can! Investigate your own email communication network by downloading Peter Gloor's TeCFlow.
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