Russell Davies on the role of 'widgets' in marketing, the intersection of new media with old media, our desires and aspirations and how information will be distributed to the right people at the right time to facilitate consumption. As usual, this is all fascinating stuff, a very human and well thought through examination of technology that has the power to be invasive, irritating and inescapable, yet could also be quietly and discretely helpful. For now, in this brave new world of dropped 'e' utility websites (kicked off by flickr, rolled on by tumblr, Dopplr, plundr, etc.), we are on the cusp of a world that is no longer ruled by things, but is ruled by processes.

Three percent, 'a resource for international literature at the University of Rochester' / trainstorming, design and visual culture / Blogtrotter, a travel weblog, with archives of journeys from the 1980s and the 1990s / From Way Away, a travel weblog / idealist, 'dreamed objects' / design corner, illustration and more / The Estrangement Gallery, especially the link to Jill Sylvia's ghostly ledger books.

The Sorted Books project by artist Nina Katchadourian: 'The process is the same in every case: culling through a collection of books, pulling particular titles, and eventually grouping the books into clusters so that the titles can be read in sequence, from top to bottom'. We also like Finland's Unnamed Islands.

Deridavow, a weblog / Untold London, 'discover the history of London's diverse communities'. Essays include The Chinese In Limehouse 1900-1940 / Tweaking your record player, a dispatch from an analogue past / tallest lift tower in Japan. The only one in the UK is the Express Lift Tower in Northampton.

Nascent Ideas, a weblog / a single trader 'paid $600 for the right to tell his grandchildren that he was the first in the world to buy $100 oil'. How much to tell your grandchildren you were the first to dig in a pristine wilderness? / Big Box Reuse / go back to analogue; the 36 Exposures Challenge (via Coudal). posted by things at 10:31