David Karger

1. David Karger

2. Checkered Past • Core Algorithms • graph algorithms, randomization, combinatorial optimization • min-cuts, max-flows, shortest paths, minimum spanning tree, TSP • Still do some work • Applied Algorithms • Lots of collaborations • Compilers • Web caching  Akamai Technologies • Peer to peer systems • Networking: Denial of Service, SPAM blocking, Censorship evasion • Coding theory: Turbo Codes, Network Coding • Machine Learning, graphical models • Natural Language Processing • Computational Biology • Can’t resist a good problem

3. One Big Question Publish How do we make it easier for regular people to deal with information? Annotate Capture Share Organize Query Retrieve

4. Many Answers • Use any applicable domain • HCI • Information retrieval • Databases • Machine Learning • Social networks • Crowdsourcing • Semantic Web • Full-cycle research

5. Listit Handling information scraps that don’t fit anywhere

7. Needs • Too much effort to write it down/put it in “If it takes three clicks to get it down, it’s easier to e-mail [to myself].” • No tool for it / it doesn’t fit “I wanted to assign dates to notes, but [it] would only allow dates on tasks.” “Where else would I keep my { guitar tabs / poetry }?” • Too hard to organize “It’s too much work to decide which section it should go in –sometimes things don’t fit in just one place. It’s hard to decide what to do.” • Visibility and availability “If it’s not in my face, I’ll forget about it.” “I need it with me at all times, so I have no choice.”

8. Listit • Minimal Tool • Firefox plugin • One-click entry/access • No organization • Text-search retrieval • Deployed in 2009 • 19000 users • 2000 study subjects • 120,000 notes Try it! http://listit.csail.mit.edu/

9. Atomate Automatically handling incoming information streams

10. physical locations desktop activity messages sleep travels friends/enemies music listened to running events documents

11. Design • Parse data streams from the web • Build a structured model of user state • User writes rules in Controlled Natural Language • Refers to items and properties in data model

13. Feedme Friendsourced Content Sharing

14. Suggestions

15. Send Choose

16. Results • People sent more • Right recipients recommended • People liked what they got Try it! http://feedme.csail.mit.edu/

17. NB Collaborative Lecture-Note Annotation

19. Deployment • Used in 15 classes at MIT, Harvard • Students see/answer each others’ questions while reading • Faculty learn what’s confusing • Close study of 6.055 Fall 2010 • 100 students created 20,000 notes • Initially, hated being forced to use the tool • By end, were praising how it increased their ability to learn • Faculty found huge value in understanding what students were thinking Try it! http://nb.csail.mit.edu/

20. Exhibit Easy Data Publishing

21. Regular User

22. Pro Site search filter sort template

23. Pro Site

24. Exhibit • Pro web sites require databases and programming • Exhibit lets people author data and visualization in plain html documents • Deployed 2005 • Several 100 sites • Including newspapers and other professionals

37. Datapress • Wordpressplugin • Upload or link to data • Spreadsheet, JSON…. • Then WYSYWIG your visualization • Using usual Wordpress blog post editor

38. Botanist

39. Music Lover/Entrepeneur

40. Pro Blogger

41. More Info http://haystack.csail.mit.edu/ Download/try most of the tools