Thing 8: Communication Web 2.0 Style

I have experience with IM-ing, text-messages, and web conferencing in personal, educational, and professional situations. As with almost all Web 2.0 technologies, these tools can be fantastic when used appropriately in situations that really necessitate advanced "things".

Chat resources, as well as online conferencing resources that lack sound, can be a great way to overcome limitations of physical space or proximity. And the immediacy is often a big help. I made a point to note online conferencing without sound because it is quite different from online conferencing with sound. The added layer of audio can frequently make a big difference in keeping attendees engaged and simply getting your point across. I am a fan of web conferencing; chatting and text messaging, however, have a particular negative aspect of which I am not a fan.

Where web conferencing strives to simulate conversations, meetings, and other "lengthy" interactions, chatting and text-messaging imply immediacy through interaction on (perceived) lower level. I am not taking issue (at the moment!) with the bad grammar and other various butchering of the written word; I am concerned with the focus on immediacy and speed, which is quite often a reason behind bad spelling, etc. The perceived level of interaction for most users is at a lower level than normal - body language, eye contact, etc are all absent. Yes, this can actually be liberating for some patrons; but it (immediate, informal, inconsequential interaction) also heightens impatience exponentially. If a patron cannot have an answer immediately, they sometimes do not want it all. The next day?; in an hour?; I have to check? - but I am IM-ing you, I want the answer back as fast as I can ask the question!

These "things" have their place - we just need to be aware of the cultural norms and expectationas surrounding these "things" in addition to knowing of them and how to use them.

Thing 7: Online Image Generators

I know we where supposed to "Create an image that illustrates your 23 Things @ NEFLIN activities"; but I wanted to see if I could create something a bit more functional.

With that in mind, I wanted to find something eye-catching yet familiar. I think I found it in this current creation. The colors and the image overall are visually striking; and the concept of the _____ for Dummies book is fairly well-known. So, most people who catch a glimpse of this image (and who could avoid it!) will immediately understand it is something (or links to something) that is intended to be helpful. I could easily use this in my library to grab attention and direct those unfamiliar with the OPAC to some basic searching instructions.

I found this image generator at imagegenerator.org. It is in the Make graphics with your text section; and all of the text is fully customizable and the cartoon man figure has a couple of options.

Thing 6: MAsHupS

I find 99% of Flickr mashups


That 1% is reserved for something I have not yet found. Mashups seem like another case of Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Perhaps some libraries can find these mashups useful; but, at the moment, I don't think I would use them for anything.

Thing 5; Flickr - your one stop shop for bad photos and bad grammar :-)

I took and uploaded this picture to symbolize how we often get patrons who are surprised to learn that our catalog is online. We turn our lcd monitors toward them to show them how to search; and they say things like, Wow, your stuff is online now. And it's actually more young people than you would guess. (Step away from the myspace! Pry your cell phone from your thumbs! Get your face out of facebook! Catch up with the Web 1.0 stuff that you've missed!)

As far as using Flickr is concerned, I found it rather simple - but that is the point. I've known about Flickr for a good while... and even after this exercise I don't know if I would have any use for it. If I want to share pictures on the web, I would just share the pictures. I have the space and the skills to do it; but some other folks might not have the same resources as me and I can see them finding Flickr useful.

It seems like moderation is definitely not the goal for most Flickr accounts, however. Looks like most users are just dumping everything from their cameras onto the web.

I don't think I would use Flickr in my personal life or professional life at the moment. It will be interesting to look at other posts and see if anyone has thought of anything for Flickr that I haven't.

Thing 4: RSS

So, RSS is a Web 2.0 solution to a Web 2.0 problem? We can use RSS to ignore imagery, etc - but Web 2.0 is so image/visual heavy. Web 2.0 is that kind of situation, though. The technologies are useful when they fulfill a purpose yet are quickly cumbersome and time-consuming when they are incorporated just the sake a being new technology.

I tried out Google Reader as an aggregator and it seems very user friendly after spending just a few minutes with it. I added NEFLIN's blah blah blah blog; a news package; marketplace.org's feed; and cnet.com's feed. I searched for a blog on technology in libraries and encountered an older feed from the ALA. There was a link to the new blog; but it was odd having a feed come back high in the results that had not had a new post in about 9 months. It seems it would be productive to have older blogs/feeds weeded out of the results or placed lower in the results.

RSS feeds seem like a really great way to get to the point and also stay up to date without really trying. I think RSS could have the same impact on my personal life as my professional life: Keeping up to date with the latest information, across a variety of subjects, in a very time-friendly manner. RSS reminds me of a listserv - you get very up to date information and communication on a topic of interest to you. The biggest difference I can see at the moment is that the exchange of information on a listserv is often more accessible and on-target (e.g. responses to an emailed question are in a new email and as easily and accessibly received as any email). A blog might get some good comments; but the percentage of "good" comments seems lower.

If you find a good, on-target blog, I think RSS would be a fantastic tool for keeping up with that blog. As for overall information, I think I would continue my usual methods for searching for information. It seems very similar to what Google Reader is doing: Providing results/lists for me to glance at and determine what might be useful. I feel you could quickly go overboard, though. It seems one of the best lessons we can learn from Web 2.0 (as Web 2.0 increasingly makes our lives more information-packed) is that moderation is key, moderation determined by taking a step back and asking, "Will this fulfill a purpose? Or is it just cool because it's new?"