Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thing #17 - Add an entry to the 2.0 SandBox Wiki
The 2.0 SandBox Wiki was fun. I guess it was just an opportunity to get people to see how easy it is to add content to a wiki, as well as to see that you can use a wiki to share neat ideas with others and get neat ideas from them. So simple!
Thing #16 - Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them
These wikis seem pretty useful in a library setting. I like what our library is doing as far as staff wikis go. The 23 things wiki, the DVD locked cases wiki, the Staff Development wiki, etc, are all pretty useful, and easy to use.
As for what other libraries have done with wikis that the public can use, I like the Book Lovers Wiki from Princeton Public Library. Reviews are a nice way for the community to connect, and makes people feel involved with the library.
As for what other libraries have done with wikis that the public can use, I like the Book Lovers Wiki from Princeton Public Library. Reviews are a nice way for the community to connect, and makes people feel involved with the library.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thing #15 - Read a few perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 etc.
For the most part, these articles did not grab me. I was fairly uninspired. I was most interested in Dr. Wendy Schultz's article To a Temporary Place in Time. I like her idea that individual books might have their own avatars and online personalities. I would love to have the job of creating avatars for books!
I liked the way she explained Library 1.0-4.0. The thing that keeps getting brought up is that Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 is that it's about community, and about user involvement. I think in many ways it's about relying on community instead of experts. The library keeps trying to find ways that it can get in on the 2.0 thing. I think that by definition, almost, libraries are too much an institution to really be 2.0. The idea that people will "collect" virtual librarians is wishful thinking, in my opinion. Ultimately, I think we will continue to be mostly 1.0. That doesn't mean we shouldn't learn about 2.0, or shouldn't pursue it to some extent. I think libraries should support 2.0 technology, and be 2.0 savvy. I just don't think that the concept of "librarian" is 2.0, so let's not kid ourselves. Fortunately, in Dr. Schultz's vision, Library 4.0 won't replace 1.0-3.0, but will incorporate them. That's the most sensible thing I've heard yet.
I liked the way she explained Library 1.0-4.0. The thing that keeps getting brought up is that Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 is that it's about community, and about user involvement. I think in many ways it's about relying on community instead of experts. The library keeps trying to find ways that it can get in on the 2.0 thing. I think that by definition, almost, libraries are too much an institution to really be 2.0. The idea that people will "collect" virtual librarians is wishful thinking, in my opinion. Ultimately, I think we will continue to be mostly 1.0. That doesn't mean we shouldn't learn about 2.0, or shouldn't pursue it to some extent. I think libraries should support 2.0 technology, and be 2.0 savvy. I just don't think that the concept of "librarian" is 2.0, so let's not kid ourselves. Fortunately, in Dr. Schultz's vision, Library 4.0 won't replace 1.0-3.0, but will incorporate them. That's the most sensible thing I've heard yet.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Thing #14 - Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts
Technorati leaves me cold. I didn't feel particularly inspired by this Thing, as I have with some others. Doing a search on Technorati seemed no less overwhelming and random than searches on the web itself. Like elsewhere, just a bunch of clutter and junk to prune through.
It seemed sort of redundant too, like it provided a lot of overlap with what del.icio.us provides. I created an account, just to see if that improved things (as I found with del.icio.us), but no. I felt that my bloglines account and my del.icio.us account provided much the same features, but were more fun, and easier to use.
It was somewhat interesting to see the differences between searching blogs and searching tags.
It seemed sort of redundant too, like it provided a lot of overlap with what del.icio.us provides. I created an account, just to see if that improved things (as I found with del.icio.us), but no. I felt that my bloglines account and my del.icio.us account provided much the same features, but were more fun, and easier to use.
It was somewhat interesting to see the differences between searching blogs and searching tags.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Thing #13 - learn about tagging and discover Del.icio.us
Well, I didn't think I was going to think much of Del.icio.us, but boy is it addictive. Just looking around was not all that interesting, but once I created an account and started adding my own bookmarks, I really got hooked. It was somewhat fascinating to me to find out how many other people had a particular site bookmarked, and what they had to say about the sites. This could turn into a huge time waster for me. I think it has a very similar appeal to LibraryThing. And like LibraryThing, while I was very enthused at first, I probably won't end up spending that much time on it in the long run. Still, I'm glad to have checked it out.
One thing I especially liked was adding bookmarks for sites belonging to friends of mine who are film makers, or are otherwise in need of publicity. I hope that someone will stumble upon their sites this way. For three out of the four like this that I posted, I was the first to post the bookmark. However, one was already out there, which pleased and surprised me.
Again, using it at work is not jumping immediately to mind. The possibilities are there, I have no doubt. I think this is another effect of working on the Circ Side (was that the Dark Side, you said? No? My mistake.) as opposed to the Reference Side of Life.
One thing I especially liked was adding bookmarks for sites belonging to friends of mine who are film makers, or are otherwise in need of publicity. I hope that someone will stumble upon their sites this way. For three out of the four like this that I posted, I was the first to post the bookmark. However, one was already out there, which pleased and surprised me.
Again, using it at work is not jumping immediately to mind. The possibilities are there, I have no doubt. I think this is another effect of working on the Circ Side (was that the Dark Side, you said? No? My mistake.) as opposed to the Reference Side of Life.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thing #12 - Roll your own search roll with Rollyo
Well, I explored Rollyo, and I registered with Rollyo, but I did not roll my own search roll with Rollyo. I think Rollyo is a neat idea, and I think I may have use for search rolls that other people created (for instance, the Squirrels search roll). However, the sites that I visit with any regularity don't have a whole lot in common. I don't have a lot of trusted sites on the same topic that I frequent. If ever I do, I will certainly roll up a search roll.
What bugs me about Rollyo is the name. It annoys me. And why is it called a search "roll"? There's probably a very good reason, but I don't know it.
Next day: Well I have gone ahead and created my own search roll after all. There's only two websites on it, but that's ok. It's for shopping for ecologically friendly products, and has National Geographic's Green Guide, and Co-op America. Could be handy.
What bugs me about Rollyo is the name. It annoys me. And why is it called a search "roll"? There's probably a very good reason, but I don't know it.
Next day: Well I have gone ahead and created my own search roll after all. There's only two websites on it, but that's ok. It's for shopping for ecologically friendly products, and has National Geographic's Green Guide, and Co-op America. Could be handy.
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