Everything is Miscellaneous Ch. 1-2

I liked how David Weinberger’s first two chapters in Everything is Miscellaneous were written to capture a contemporary audience that can easily relate to what he had to say. He did not find it necessary to use big fancy words just so he could sound intelligent and gain credibility. He also did not drag out his ideas in as many ways possible. He got right to the point and used examples that could help his readers visualize the things he wanted to get across and why. He begins chapter one by bringing you in and showing you what he has to say instead of just telling you. Weinberger is straightforward with his scenarios on how people tend to prefer order over miscellaneousness, and he shows us this by pointing out the way we order things naturally, like when serving a meal, going through the mail, etc. He was able to get my attention by using examples like iTunes and Flickr.

I was especially able to relate with the talk of digital cameras and having thousands of pictures stored on your computer, as well as the differences between digital photos and print photos in albums (or in my case overflowing shoe boxes or dresser drawers—which absolutely drives me nuts). I realize that I do not take as many pictures now as I used to because the more pictures I have the more complicated and confusing organizing them seems to get, even on the computer. I like how after Weinberger used familiar examples that I could relate to, he then moved on to ones that I was not familiar with. Using those more familiar types of examples first gave me the chance to better comprehend the ones I was not unfamiliar with, such as the catalogers within the Library of Congress, Bettman’s second-order organization, and the digital order at Corbis.