Sunday, June 24, 2007
From Web 1.0 to Web 2.0
But take a look at KPMG librarian Hope Bell's The Internet: A New Opportunity for Information Specialists written in 1997, and compare it to University of Saskatchewan librarian Darlene Fichter's Seven Strategies for Marketing in a Web 2.0 World written exactly ten years later. Although the Web has changed quite a bit, the importance of the librarian's role in teaching users how to use the technology has not. Let's take a look at just how things have not changed in 10 years.
(1) Learn about social media (2007) Vs. Get started - Get connected (1997)
(2) Create a Web 2.0 marketing plan (2007) Vs. Network with your organization (1997)
(3) Participate! Join the conversation (2007) Vs. Become an expert (1997)
(4) Be remarkable (2007) Vs. Position yourself as an expert (1997)
(5) Help your library content travel (2007) Vs. Educate and Train your users (1997)
(6) Monitor Engagement and Learn as you go (2007) Vs. Don't Stop (1997)
(7) Be part of the multimedia wave (2007) Vs. The Impact (1997)
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The Beauty of Google Scholar
Friday, June 08, 2007
Why Librarianship?
Everywhere I see, job ads are popping up with job descriptions that MLIS degree holders possess. Particularly in non-traditional settings, librarians are suited for positions once limited to business, communications, and computer science graduates. Because of the Internet, librarians are partitioned into positions that require unique and specific needs. Instead of a dying breed, librarians are part of a profession that is expanding into different horizons and possibilities. Indeed, physicals walls are crumbling and replaced by virtual ones. Why will we never disappear? I argue four reasons:
(1) Technology – Not just the internet, but social software, “wireless” technology, etc. Librarians are known to be at the forefront of translating technology to users. First it was the OPAC, then the internet, now Web 2.0.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Introducing the Web 2.0 Ensemble
(1) Wikis - Pbwiki
(2) Blogs - Blogger
(3) Podcasting - Youtube
(4) Social Bookmarking - Del.icio.us
(5) Social Search Engines - Cha Cha
(6) RSS Feeds - Feedburner
(7) Social Networking Services - Friendster
(8) Reputation-Management Systems - Digg
(9) Instant Messaging and Virtual Meetings - Google Talk
(10) Online Social Gaming - Second Life
Sunday, June 03, 2007
The Library as a Conversation
(1) Social Networks - The content of a site should comprise user-provided information that attracts members of an ever-expanding network. (example: Facebook)
(2) Wisdom of Crowds - Group judgments are surprisingly accurate, and the aggregation of input is facilitated by the ready availability of social networking sites. (example: eBay, Wikipedia)
(3) Loosely Coupled API's - Short for "Application Programming Interface," API provides a set of instructions (messages) that a programmer can use to communicate between applications, thus allowing programmers to incorporate one piece of software to directly manipulate (code) into another. (example: Google Maps)
(4) Mashups - They are combinations of APIs and data that result in new information resources and services. (example: Calgary Mapped)
(5) Permanent Betas - The idea is that no software is ever truly complete so long as the user community is still commenting upon it, and thus, improving it. (example: Google Labs)
(6) Software Gets Better the More People Use It - Because all social networking sites seek to capitalize on user input, the true value of each site is definted by the number of people it can bring together. (example: Windows Live Messenger)
(7) Folksonomies - It's a classification system created in a bottom-up fashion and with no central coordination. Entirely differing from the traditional classification schemes such as the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress Classifications, folksonomies allow any user to "social tag" whatever phrase they deem necessary for an object. (example: Flickr and Youtube).