#17: Technology

Technology n. 1a. The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives. b. The scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective. 2. Electronic or digital products and systems considered as a group: a store specializing in office technology. 3. The body of knowledge available to a society that is of use in fashioning implements, practicing manual arts and skills, and extracting or collecting materials.

Blogging about anything related to technology is almost like asking someone to blog about anything related to the environment or to history. I suppose I could focus this post on bras, automobiles, kitchen cupboards, or books. All of these are technologies. I don't mean to be persnickety, but this is a difficult task for anyone whose entire life is surrounded by disparate technologies each with different lasting effects on culture and society.

All ranting aside, the technologies introduced thus far have many practical applications; nevertheless, some I perceive as being more useful to my life and work than others. I do have to say that I have a soft spot for LibraryThing. And I had a good time playing around with photo editing and Flikr. And....I had a good time making an avatar and trying to figure out del.icio.us. And I've already had very positive experiences with subscribing to RSS feeds and wikis. Maybe I'm just a techno-floozy !

#16: Wikis and Working 2.0

What I appreciate about the wiki format is that it is simple, open to editing by everyone or only a select few, viewable by the entire online world or completely private, and a means to create a digital workspace for however many people one so desires.

In libraries I see this as another effective and efficient tool for staff collaboration and (if monitored) an excellent way to foster creative engagement between our libraries and communities served.

#15 Library 2.0, or: How to Learn to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Future

I think the perspective that most resonates with my own and inspires me in my future work comes from Michael Stephens of OCLC, when he suggests that: "'the Library is human' because it makes the library a social and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience. Librarian 2.0, then, is the 'strategy guide' for helping users find information, gather knowledge and create content" (Stephens, Into a New World of Librarianship, 2006).

I agree that Library 2.0 must reach beyond simply engaging with new technologies, but also focus on facilitating patron use of new technologies in creative, community-building, and personally fulfilling ways. Expectations of the library as a social institution have changed; a massive shift towards more digital and less analog content may be becoming an increasingly real phenomenon; and the demand for more responsive, user-friendly, intuitive, and constructive systems has certainly begun out-weighing the need for info-mage intermediaries. But I consider the future to be bright, exciting, and challenging for all information professionals! Google may very well become the one-stop information shop of the future, but Librarians will always be here to separate useful from unuseful, unauthoritative information; to help our patrons interact with new technologies in successful ways; and to bring together communities and bridge communities - whether in physical buildings or virtual spaces.

#14 The Glitterati of Technorati

I could probably spend a little too much time on technorati searching for cool blogs (to again, spend way too much time indulging myself in), but found it to be a surprisingly interesting network through which to build and sustain communities, whether those focus on political affiliations, professional or personal interests, recreational pursuits, etc.

I thought it interesting (and somewhat perplexing) the way in which technorati determines "authority," as though having hundreds of blogs link to one individual's actually indicates that the one individual has more authority than a national, professional organization (...I won't name names...).

Hmmm...

#13 del.icio.us and social tagging

I find it appealing to be able to access my bookmarks anywhere (as, obviously, I am a somewhat selfish person who enjoys technologies that make my life easier and my work more efficient); I can locate excellent professional websites at home and scurry back to them at work (fabulous!), without spending fifteen minutes on google trying to retrace my steps!

But, moreover, I think if more and more groups and individuals took advantage of del.icio.us, research (for pleasure, for profit, for school, for work) could become an even more engaging, socially beneficial, and productive exercise. For librarians, investigating how our cyberspace users engage with information in a digital environment and how they conceive of its usefulness, determine quality, and conceptually categorize information can open up another sphere from which we can improve our services (both in person and through disparate technologies).

Nevertheless, I think it is somewhat telling that some of the most frequent tags include: blogs, blogging, opensource, linux, java, programming, software, and web design. Right now it seems as though del.icio.us is used primarily by the techno-literate and techno-front-runners (come on...linux, java, opensource...these are not the average men and women on the street). I think if we give del.icio.us some time, it will be an incredibly diverse and rich social environment of resource sharing, and shared resource discovery.

#12: Library Elf

I reviewed the demo and FAQs about Library Elf and it seems like an interesting and exciting service! Too bad I got the very unwelcoming message of:

Service Unavailable

Sorry for the inconvenience -- the server is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

Thank you for stopping by.

Maybe another time. I'll check back later :o(

#11: Library "Thang"

I started using Library Thing just a few months ago as I was finishing up library school. My father always kept a notebook of what he finished reading and when (I think he probably has them going back to the 70's...très cool) and I always really wanted to start keeping tabs on what I'd been reading for enjoyment.

Library Thing was actually recommended to me by the same woman who got me hooked onto Netflix. So far I haven't cataloged too many of the books I have read in the past and currently have hanging out on my shelves; I certainly haven't had as much time to write book reviews. But I've had a great time looking to see how "unusual" or "popular" the titles I'm reading are and what other people have on their virtual shelves. Highly Recommended!

Check out my Library Thing widget on my blog - and - check out my Library "Thang" catalog :o)

#10: A Me Avatar from Meez

I had a great time making my Avatar with Meez. I also checked out the comic strip generator, which was fun but made me slightly suspicious about whether or not all of the images available were licensed for use...hmmm...

#9 Finding Feeds...and everything glorious

As with bloglines, newsgator has its own search feature, which can prove both eye-opening and overwhelming in terms of the number of RSS feeds available from a variety of sources.

I think in the past it has been easiest for me to go through my favorites/bookmarks and check to see which of those sites have RSS feeds available, but the search feature through many feed readers can lead one to find both some of the most popular (as well as some incredibly unusual) feeds.

In experimenting with Feedster, Topix, Syndic8, and Technorati, I think my most favorite (and somewhat surprisingly) is Syndic8. Although it doesn't look as "pretty" or flashy as some of the others, I found it was the most easy to use, the most clearly organized, and an over-all great resource for searching. I felt with some of the others (Topix in particular), I got a little distracted from my task of searching for feeds...and just starting searching at random. Oh well...it was fun for a while.

Meredith's Recommended Reading: FEED

Since we've all be experimenting with RSS feeds,


Check out: M.T. Anderson's Feed

Titus is your average teenager - suffering through school, taking a quick "road" trip with his friends to the Earth's Moon, and interacting with the world around him much as every other normal person (enhanced by the ever-present "Internet"/multi-sensory hardware wired through their brains). Then one night out clubbing on the Moon, a hacker disrupts his feed...


Find Feed
@ HCPL

Amazon.com

#8: Feeds...mawhahahahaha...

I've been an RSS feed subscriber for almost two years now (with newsgator). At first I went a little crazy for it (subscribing to dozens of feeds) and I have since scaled back to a more manageable number (twenty or so). At the time I just kept thinking "Oh! The Kremlin has an English-language RSS feed...what are they saying, I wonder?"...or..."Wow! The White House Press Office has an RSS feed...I need to see this!" Now I realize that I didn't have time to be reading hundreds of articles each day before...so why should using the RSS reader change that...hmmm...

Since I got more used to it, I find it is a much easier way for me to go through news, to get updates on what my favorite bloggers are saying, what the Librarian's Internet Index has just added, what Netflix is recommending to me today, and what the "nerds" over at Slashdot find exciting. With newsgator I can save clippings (which I didn't have the option of doing before when I was just going to several websites each day) and the one-stop shop attitude has really cleared up some of my bookmarks/favorites space in my browser.