Google Public Data just launched today, and it looks as if it is going to be an exceptionally useful for planners, strategists and anyone who needs data for building decks or audits. Google has rolled Public Data into their Labs, allowing users to look at all sorts of data by state or country. Key metrics like internet access per 100 people, STD rates by state/sex, CO2 emissions per capita can all be easily aggregated and charted. Have a look!

As interesting as I think the Joshua Bell stunt was, I don’t know that it proves much. For the vast majority of people who walk through a subway station is there really a significant difference between one of the finest violinists in the world and someone who has played classical music for 25 years but has never made it to the pinnacle? I think not.

A more interesting angle on the socially constructed appreciation of art phenomenon, and something that is a lot more rigorous from a research standpoint, would be the Music Genome Project and Pandora. Tim Westergren and his colleagues would posit that they can determine what you should like based on your honest feedback to a series of songs.

They suggest that the influence of your social peers in stated music preference is massive. You like Jack White because your friends do and you hate Celine Dion because they do. Take away all outside influences and just listen to the music alone and your preferences will be different.

Here’s a good read on Pandora.

As an aside: they’ve since determined that there’s nothing special in the varnish that Stradivari used. Just oil and resin.

Fascinating.

The Washington Post conducted an experiment in the Washington Metro. Joshua Bell, one of the world’s most talented violinists, played some of the most intricate and complex music ever composed for the violin (Bach) on a $3.5 million Stradivarius. In the subway.

After 43 minutes, hardly anyone stopped to listen, and he only made a few dollars. Quite a stark contrast to selling out concert halls where seats cost $100+.

The Post wanted to examine what determines our appreciation of beauty…is it totally socially constructed, dictated? Can we appreciate a work of art that is not in the expected frame?

Check out the clip on YouTube below, and read the article here.

Productivity apps have become necessary for anyone who has to compile research or keep information manageable. While crowdsourcing reviews from App store users is helpful, most users don’t offer more insight into apps than a hasty sentence. Productivity apps don’t seem so productive when you have to sift through blogs to find impartial, detailed reviews.

I spend a lot of time researching and testing apps. It’s time well spent for me, as it informs my work and gives me access to the best of what’s available. Here, in no particular order, are my three must-have productivity apps for knowledge workers:

1) Evernote: Alright. If this list were in order, this App would sit at the top. Lots of you probably already use Evernote on your desktop or online. It’s a simple, freemium program that allows you to clip and paste information from anywhere (ie. webpages, PDFs, Power Points) and add tabs. Evernote also has a free browser button that will clip a whole site along with images and a permalink. Evernote makes the text within your clippings searchable and allows for a filing system of “notebooks.”

There is simply no better way to keep track of everything you stumble across. The Evernote iPhone app lets you take the best of Evernote with you on the go. The clean interface allows you to access and search all of your Evernote notebooks wherever you are, and it’s easy to take notes or add photos using the iPhone camera within the app. It’s hard to overstate how great Evernote is. If I could only have one app on my phone, this would be it. Find out more here. (Available on iPhone/Blackberry/Palm/Android)
 

2) SnapTell: Many of us read a lot for work. Keeping a ‘to-read’ list can be daunting, especially when you need to compare titles and figure out what to buy or borrow.  I often find myself at the bookstore without a pen, staring at a book that would be perfect for me to read for _________ research once I’m done the next few books on my list, and vowing to return and purchase it later. In my experience, later really means never if you can’t note titles on the go. Enter SnapTell, a brilliant app that lets you photograph a book or DVD cover in-app. The app will sift through databases to identify the book by its cover and even give you pricing info from (mostly American) retailers. Reviews are also easily accessible. This app is a great example of the merits of doing one thing really well. (Available on iPhone/Android)

3) Twitterfon: A Twitter app? Productivity? Yes, really. For anyone who monitors brands on Twitter (or follows co-workers *cough*) this app will cut down on your Tweet-reading time. It’s also easily the best Twitter client for those looking to tweet on the go. I keep going back to this app because its simple, easy to use freemium interface is much nicer to interact with than those of other fancier apps. You can follow, unfollow add photos and retweet/reply to your heart’s content in-app. The best feature: it automatically scrolls down to the last tweet read upon launch. (iPhone only)