People who prefer print books over e-books may still want extra digital material to go with them. That’s the idea behind Sorin Matei’s project, Ubimark, which embeds books with two-dimensional codes that work as hyperlinks when photographed.

A video of the pilot book, Around the World in 80 Days:

Mr. Matei, an associate professor of communication at Purdue University, says that the initial book is just “an exercise in pushing the envelope as far as we can,” and that scholarly publications will be available in the future with the embedded feature.

Naturally, this derailed my entire morning.

Running Cory Doctorow’s Makers through Tom Taylor’s Microprinter:

Using the microprinter and the Guardian’s data on MP expenses to print out all the MP’s receipts, with QRCodes linking back to the original data:

Printing information out like this seems to be an interesting way to visualise and perhaps understand any type of activity stream.

I won’t reproduce the whole thing here; instead, I urge you to read it yourself.

Finally, Ben announced TextCamp.

A day spent learning and playing with (electronic) texts, manuscript images, letters of correspondence, memoirs, and paper goods.

It’s supposed to be in September, in the UK. I wonder if I’d be able to make it…

(Via Infovore.)

His concept of the PaperNet struck such a cord with me, I have attempted many of my own PaperNet browser creations – some bearing more fruit than others. I have even given a few presentations about my adaptation of Aaron’s original idea. Everyone seems to look at it and say “Yes, that is exactly what we need” – then strangely no one ever calls me back.

I empathize.

(Via Aaron Straup Cope.)

One thing that’s very interesting to me is using this rapidly-produced thing then becomes a ’social object’: creating conversations, collecting scribbles, instigating adventures – which then get collected and redistributed. A feedback loop made out of paper, in a place.

(Via Warren Ellis.)