This class has opened up a huge box of tools for me. Creating my own blog, photostream, and wiki have given me more confidence in my web skills . . . and has certainly increased any clout I have with my daughter and her friends! In my future library career, I will suggest the use of wikis to decrease the amount of paper used in document preparation. I would like to establish new ways to serve the library patrons, whether they are the entire public or the students at a school, depending on where I find employment. A blog would probably be my first choice for communication because of its ability to be independent of the organization's main website (leaving the main site safe from hacking). A facebook page is great way to connect with youth, so I would encourage establishing a facebook page if I am hired to work in an academic or school library, or with Youth Services in a public library.
Useful things
It was good for me to see that sites like YouTube and Flickr can be used for serious, practical goals instead of pointless entertainment, advertising, or self-aggrandizement.
Zoho will be an asset if I am developing a project and I want some sort of program but don't have the software (like project management or invoicing).
Also useful for me was learning that sites like LibraryThing and Delicious can be social networks instead of solely a file cabinet, which is how I had been using them.
Fun:
WooHoo, I'll use Hulu to watch all those episodes of The Simpsons I have missed over the past eight years without TV reception!
Establishing my blog on the first day of class was the most fun I've had in my recent classwork. It gave me a great sense of accomplishment and increased the confidence with which I approach computer work.
Regular Use:
It is difficult to say what information I will be using regularly because I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing. Most likely when I have more time I will develop my own search engines on Rollyo in order to avoid wading through myriad useless search results. I'll maintain my blog, keeping its present content for a while as a job-hunting reference.
The whole idea of tagging presents an overwhelming number of possibilities that will take me weeks to begin to comprehend. I don't feel like I will really understand tagging until I have used it for a while; this is something I'll continue to work on.
The main advantage I see from this class is the sort of gestalt view of Web 2.0 I have gained. I know now that if I need information, support, encouragement or help with anything in my career, I can probably find it out there. I have sources and tools to help me find and organize just about anything.
02 March 2009
Library Applications for Online Collaboration Tools (Library Media Class: Week 5, Session 2)
1. Wikis and online collaboration tools both allow for multiple people or parties to collaborate. What would be some reasons to collaborate on Google Docs, Zoho, or OpenOffice rather than a wiki?
Google Docs worked well for my son and daughter-in-law to compile their wedding guest list. They sent the list to the few of us who would have addresses, we filled in what we could, and sent the updated document back to them. Since only a few people were involved and not everyone needed all the information, the email format of Google Docs worked well.
Zoho provides more comprehensive service for document creation. It would take time to surf around Zoho and discover all they make available, but from a preliminary tour through the site, it looks like a wonderful source for creating a more formal document than, for example, a wedding guest list. It would be helpful for a project where everyone involved would need to read all the entries. By-laws updating is a particularly grueling process which could be made less painful by using Zoho as opposed to a series of long and boring meetings.
Google Docs worked well for my son and daughter-in-law to compile their wedding guest list. They sent the list to the few of us who would have addresses, we filled in what we could, and sent the updated document back to them. Since only a few people were involved and not everyone needed all the information, the email format of Google Docs worked well.
Zoho provides more comprehensive service for document creation. It would take time to surf around Zoho and discover all they make available, but from a preliminary tour through the site, it looks like a wonderful source for creating a more formal document than, for example, a wedding guest list. It would be helpful for a project where everyone involved would need to read all the entries. By-laws updating is a particularly grueling process which could be made less painful by using Zoho as opposed to a series of long and boring meetings.
I would not use OpenOffice because the software must be downloaded and, besides the process driving me crazy, the program would not be usable on a public computer in a library where a traveling businessperson would be likely to need it.
2. Describe the benefits for libraries in using these applications.
Our local public library is under the governance of a county-sponsored Public Library Board. This type of board or a "friends of the library" group could use Zoho to update their by-laws, incorporation documents, and other items.
Google docs would be a quick and effective way for a library homework tutor to help a student who is homebound, lives in a rural area, or is without transportation before an important assignment is due. The student could send the uncompleted assignment to the HW tutor attached to an email with specific questions. The tutor could add suggestions into the document and email it back.
If all necessary software were already included on a library staff's computers, OpenOffice could be used to develop reading lists, collection development procedures, or any number of other collaborative projects.
25 February 2009
Wikis, Authorship, and Library Uses for Wikis (Library Media Class: Week 5, Session 1)
21 February 2009
The Memphis Public Library maintains a wiki for the statistics they track. I think this might be helpful for any mid-size to large library. Instead of each department having to publish statistics separately and then someone taking another entire step to combine the stats, all would be available immediately, and easily accessible, on the wiki.
I am very impressed by the "Biz Wiki" maintained by Chad Boeninger at Ohio U. in Athens Ohio. He has created a very comprehensive alternative source of information for business research. As he points out, traditional business information resources are not always reliable because the business world changes so quickly and because the sources are difficult to update. Especially for investors, information required is sometimes difficult to locate and is out of date by the time the investor has found it. Biz Wiki , all in one site, combines FAQ, step-by-step instructions, and sources for researching business information. Chad is available to help, in fact when I was researching this question, he was online. He has several videos embedded in the web site and seems really to know his subject. The page would be helpful to the library patrons interested in investing or job searches, but is mainly directed to students investigating questions about general business, international business, or marketing.
A public library in South Bend, Indiana keeps a subject guide wiki. A creative use of this wiki is the subject heading "Local Authors." This link takes us to a list of authors who live or used to live in the area, a short bio, a link to the author's website and blog if available, and the books by this author in the library's collection. I think any public library could use this idea to good advantage. An academic library or special could use the same idea for easy access to a list of faculty authors or employee/member authors.
2. Wikis, beyond any other technology, has us rethinking the word authorship. Describe why wikis are having us rethink authorship (the example of wikipedia is not allowed, but the links on the right are).
How can our traditional concept of the word "author" be applied to a document that is open to additions, deletions, changes, truths, and falsehoods by almost anyone who knows how to use the computer technology of a wiki? Obviously, it can't. Our idea of Herman Melville, sitting at a small table in the light of a window, scratching away with a turkey feather & bottle of ink, and eventually coming up with Moby Dick is outdated. Even Raymond Chandler on his typewriter, Barbara Kingsolver recording her own books for audiobooks listeners, and Stephen King publishing a story exclusively for Kindle are images of our traditional understanding of "author." Corporate authorship, an understood concept in library cataloging, can be confirmed by allowing limited access to a document within an organization. If an individual decided to run away with a collaboratively created document within a community, legal issues would be fairly clear.
The whole idea of authorship takes on a completely different level of uncertainty when the document or artwork uses any of the profusion of images, sounds, and writings available through modern technology. A perfect example of this is a lawsuit between the artist Shepard Fairey, the AP, and Mannie Garcia. Garcia photographed Barack Obama at a public event as a free-lance photojournalist. The AP published the photo online. Fairey used the photo, assuming it was in the public domain, to create his iconic red, white and blue "Hope" poster for the Obama presidential campaign. One of the things that makes this case different from most copyright/ownership/authorship cases is that money and profit are not the central point of the suit. Fairey donated his work to the campaign and did not earn truckloads of money from his work. The issue is ownership, credit, and authorship in and of itself.
For a comprehensive report on the situation, listen to Terry Gross's coverage of the situation on her radio show "Fresh Air" broadcast on Thursday February 26:
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=02-26-2009&view=storyview
3. Describe either how you may use a wiki in your own personal or professional life or how a non-library business may use one.
The first idea I had was a way to streamline a slew of about 20 emails my husband & his family have been exchanging this week. We are all worried about his mother and everyone has something to say, but keeping track of all these emails is a real pain. Thus the wiki page, "GrandmaBetty."
For library applications, I especially like the idea of using a wiki to track statistics. A wiki could also be used for book groups. An idea I had that I didn't find in use so far (in my limited searching. . .I'm sure someone else has thought of this, too) is to use a wiki as a forum for a library-sponsored book group formed for patrons who are homebound or otherwise unable to get to book club meetings.
A non-library business application could be implemented even at a place like The Wildlife Center, where I am a volunteer. Last fall, several of us who are regular volunteers there took a weekend "Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation" course. Since then, we have tried to keep in contact and work out the best ways to present suggestions to the veterinary staff at the Center. A wiki would be a better way to develop these plans and documents than the proliferation of emails we have been generating!
18 February 2009
The Future of Books (Library Media Class: The Future of Libraries and Reading)
I guess I'm not the only person who is very concerned about students being able to differentiate between real and not-so-real:
School Librarian prepares students for online research
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/books/16libr.html?_r=2
**********************************************************************************
Electronic readers are a sort of thorn in the side of those of us who love books for books' sake. We love the feel, the weight, the smell, the fact that they may have been held, touched and read by other people, the color of the paper and ink. We love the sticky-notes we can place in them, the comments we can add, revisit, and pass on to future readers, the loving dedications inscribed in books received as gifts. Do electronic readers like the Sony Digital Reader and the Amazon Kindle threaten to make obsolete the comforting atmosphere and insulative properties of a cherished home library? What a sad thought! I believe that digital books and readers are another of the unstoppable changes being swept in by "wired" progress. But I will keep my books, I will read Austen, Dickens and Proust curled up in the sunlight while surrounded by my precious shelves of printed material. And I'll will them to my children and grandchildren, hopeful that they will derive feelings of safety and comfort from them, as well as a palpable connection to their past heritage.
Kindle from Business Week and Wired
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/books/16libr.html?_r=2
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2008/08/portfolio_0805
http://www.thewrap.com/article/1322
Kindle's possible effect on libraries
http://colldevsnoisle.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/the-kindle2-and-ebooks/
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/400387_paulyonline18.html
Reviews of Kindle
http://ireaderreview.com/
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the-honeymoon-is-over/
School Librarian prepares students for online research
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/books/16libr.html?_r=2
**********************************************************************************
Electronic readers are a sort of thorn in the side of those of us who love books for books' sake. We love the feel, the weight, the smell, the fact that they may have been held, touched and read by other people, the color of the paper and ink. We love the sticky-notes we can place in them, the comments we can add, revisit, and pass on to future readers, the loving dedications inscribed in books received as gifts. Do electronic readers like the Sony Digital Reader and the Amazon Kindle threaten to make obsolete the comforting atmosphere and insulative properties of a cherished home library? What a sad thought! I believe that digital books and readers are another of the unstoppable changes being swept in by "wired" progress. But I will keep my books, I will read Austen, Dickens and Proust curled up in the sunlight while surrounded by my precious shelves of printed material. And I'll will them to my children and grandchildren, hopeful that they will derive feelings of safety and comfort from them, as well as a palpable connection to their past heritage.
Kindle from Business Week and Wired
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/books/16libr.html?_r=2
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2008/08/portfolio_0805
http://www.thewrap.com/article/1322
Kindle's possible effect on libraries
http://colldevsnoisle.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/the-kindle2-and-ebooks/
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/400387_paulyonline18.html
Reviews of Kindle
http://ireaderreview.com/
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the-honeymoon-is-over/
15 February 2009
14 February 2009
delicious.com as a Research Tool (Library Media Class: Week 4, Session 2)
1. How might a librarian use del.icio.us? Answer the question describing scenarios for school, public, and academic. How might a large organization use del.icio.us?
Librarians could use delicious.com for a number of different goals; these goals might be different not only for various types of libraries, but also for different librarians. Acquisitions librarians could tag sites such as Baker & Taylor and Amazon, and also less well-known sites that may carry books specific to a library's interests. These sources could be shared easily between acquisitions librarians working in similar types of libraries. Tech Services/mending departments might include sites that have information about bookbinding and DVD repair. Reference librarians would probably have more sites for searching, bibliographies, or lists of other sources of information. School libraries could have a unique tag for students to add sites for their favorite books; more specific tags could be created for sites that were beneficial for a particular assignment (same for academic libraries)--these could be started by an instructor and added to by students. Public library patrons could make use of a delicious.com list to find a book group or to see what other patrons are reading or finding interesting. Professional development can be enhanced by subscribing to a tag pertaining to one's career, for example the tag "librarian."
2. What might be some potential uses for classes and for you as students?
As mentioned above, the instructor of a class could create a delicious list to help students get a start in researching a topic. Students who find other helpful sites for the same research could add to the list in order to help classmates. This would also be a way for the instructor to evaluate the integrity of a website before a student depends on it for completion of the project; it would be really helpful to coach students who can't tell the difference between Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research and Wikipedia. Also, students could create a delicious.com list based on a future career interest.
LibraryThing, Hulu, and Rollyo (Library Media Class: Week 4, Session 1)
1. What might be some possible uses, besides Readers Advisory, of LibraryThing for the library profession?
Acquisitions librarians and collection development committees might make use of LibraryThing to refine or initiate the decision process about what items to purchase. Librarians might be able to get hints about their profession by joining groups, for example "Librarians who LibraryThing." If patrons have requested more books about a certain topic, LibraryThing might be helpful in finding items to add to the collection.
There are now 19 books in my library at LibraryThing. I have found several groups formed around some of my books. There are many groups that include discussion of Le Morte D'Arthur but they include Arthurian legend in general or are Celtic fantasy discussions. In Search of Lost Time does not have a group by that title, but since that is the work by which everyone know Marcel Proust, the group "Proust" is equivalent; there are 72 members of this group. In looking up a Dickens title, the results are too numerous and various to make much sense, but looking for groups under the author I found "What the Dickens...?" which sounds like a fun discussion of any of his works. There is a discussion group with eight members that includes works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Peruvian literature), but chances are I won't join it because the title and all topics are in Spanish and my Spanish isn't that great. The group "Children's Literature" is the most active one I looked at with 589 members; when the semester is over I'll probably join that one.
Acquisitions librarians and collection development committees might make use of LibraryThing to refine or initiate the decision process about what items to purchase. Librarians might be able to get hints about their profession by joining groups, for example "Librarians who LibraryThing." If patrons have requested more books about a certain topic, LibraryThing might be helpful in finding items to add to the collection.
There are now 19 books in my library at LibraryThing. I have found several groups formed around some of my books. There are many groups that include discussion of Le Morte D'Arthur but they include Arthurian legend in general or are Celtic fantasy discussions. In Search of Lost Time does not have a group by that title, but since that is the work by which everyone know Marcel Proust, the group "Proust" is equivalent; there are 72 members of this group. In looking up a Dickens title, the results are too numerous and various to make much sense, but looking for groups under the author I found "What the Dickens...?" which sounds like a fun discussion of any of his works. There is a discussion group with eight members that includes works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Peruvian literature), but chances are I won't join it because the title and all topics are in Spanish and my Spanish isn't that great. The group "Children's Literature" is the most active one I looked at with 589 members; when the semester is over I'll probably join that one.
2. What might be a possible use for The Generator Blog, Hulu, and Rollyo in libraries.
The Generator Blog is entertaining, but within the time constraints of this assignment, I can't come up with any practical uses for a library (or any other serious pursuits). After further exploration, maybe I'll have some ideas. OK, I came up with one idea: decorating for displays could be enhanced using this site. For example, there is a "Candy Hearts" link to a site where you can create your own message on a conversation heart. In putting together a Valentine's Day display, pictures of candy hearts with book titles, authors, or other ideas could be printed out to decorate the display.
Hulu is a great source for people like me who do not have TV reception at home. Wow! I can still catch episodes of Nature and my favorites from Animal Planet. Uses for educational purposes in libraries seem almost unlimited. Library programs are the most obvious place to use Hulu. For example, a short film made from a children's book might be included in a storytime program. A literature series could use the clip of John Steinbeck accepting his Nobel Prize in their Steinbeck Night.
Rollyo! What a great idea; I'm so happy to know about it. Just as Matthew Fisher ("What Will the Library of the Future Look Like?" LATimes Blog) found it frustrating to sift through many irrelevant search results to get to the primary source, being able to restrict a search to known and trusted sites would be a great time saver. A library could make its own search engine through rollyo. The advantages of this are especially evident for school, academic, and research libraries. School libraries could allow students to get results from sites trusted not to soil the students' innocent little brains (and keep parents happy). Academic and research libraries could help researchers reduce the amount of time sifting through google results by including only relevant sites in certain searches. The disadvantage of the idea is the time it would take to create the Rollyo search engine. Possibly using someone else's or collaborating would make this more practical.
3. Name a site that you found through Best of Web 2.0 2008 that a library (in any form) may use.
The best of Web 2.0 is a little--truthfully a lot--overwhelming. It seems like each site I go to opens a whole new realm of possibilities (and technology I'd have to learn to employ the possibility). I feel like I'll never catch up. Anyway, one thing I found that could be helpful for libraries is "Office Live Workspace." Especially in big-city library systems, the opportunity to hold system-wide meetings without the disadvantage of traveling across town would be a huge time saver. In large metropolitan areas like Los Angeles or Seattle where traveling within the city is very time consuming, holding a meeting online would be great for administrators.
Embedding Pirates for Practice
What kind of pirate am I? You decide!
You can also view a breakdown of results or put one of these on your own page!
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey
08 February 2009
Tech Generation Gap and Quality of Embedded Material (Library Media Class: Session 3, Additional Readings)
1. The Shifted Librarian: Dispatch From the GenX Bridge
Once I finally got through this whole article, I appreciate what she was saying. Yes, I often feel in need of someone to explain online communication to me. My daughter (19 years old) assumes that I have more background and understanding than I have; this makes it difficult for her to help me and for me to explain to her what help I need. My son (26 years old) is better at helping with questions relating to online experience because he has a bit of a clue of what the world was like when we communicated with letters and corded phones. He can anticipate some of the questions I might have because he is more aware of the distance traveled (the technological advances which occurred too quickly for me to keep up with them) since the home computer.
The problem with the article, for me, is that the Shifted Librarian assumed some knowledge on my part that I didn't have. Before I could understand the article, I had to figure out what Twitter, FriendFeed, FF, and MPOW were and to discover who Jason Griffey is and why I care about whatever his problem was!
2. The pianolibrarian's youtube video "Library Dragon"
This video is a perfect (bad) example of a couple of the points I discussed under Discussion Question 2 in my "Week 3, Session 2" blog entry. The activity (the puppet show) was probably fun and enjoyable at the time it took place; the children seem engaged and we can hear them laughing. But the video's quality is exceedingly poor. For Heaven's sake, why didn't they use a tripod? The audience scans are particularly horrible...unless the viewer actually enjoys getting seasick. The audio quality is just as bad; microphones are available, people! The mouse-puppet's voice is unintelligible because of the screechy tone, the dragon-puppet's voice is often at too low a volume to hear. The voice of the person holding the camera is the only one that is consistently understandable and his comments are just distracting! The video is much too long at seven minutes...I suffered through about four or five minutes before I gave up. The paper cup and plate under the chair near the "stage" were another annoyance to me...it made the whole thing look slipshod and completely unprofessional. Now, to be fair, I'm sure this video was not posted for the general public--people like me. Possibly it is on youtube.com because the puppeteer wanted her grandma to be able to see her performance. Let's hope.
Once I finally got through this whole article, I appreciate what she was saying. Yes, I often feel in need of someone to explain online communication to me. My daughter (19 years old) assumes that I have more background and understanding than I have; this makes it difficult for her to help me and for me to explain to her what help I need. My son (26 years old) is better at helping with questions relating to online experience because he has a bit of a clue of what the world was like when we communicated with letters and corded phones. He can anticipate some of the questions I might have because he is more aware of the distance traveled (the technological advances which occurred too quickly for me to keep up with them) since the home computer.
The problem with the article, for me, is that the Shifted Librarian assumed some knowledge on my part that I didn't have. Before I could understand the article, I had to figure out what Twitter, FriendFeed, FF, and MPOW were and to discover who Jason Griffey is and why I care about whatever his problem was!
2. The pianolibrarian's youtube video "Library Dragon"
This video is a perfect (bad) example of a couple of the points I discussed under Discussion Question 2 in my "Week 3, Session 2" blog entry. The activity (the puppet show) was probably fun and enjoyable at the time it took place; the children seem engaged and we can hear them laughing. But the video's quality is exceedingly poor. For Heaven's sake, why didn't they use a tripod? The audience scans are particularly horrible...unless the viewer actually enjoys getting seasick. The audio quality is just as bad; microphones are available, people! The mouse-puppet's voice is unintelligible because of the screechy tone, the dragon-puppet's voice is often at too low a volume to hear. The voice of the person holding the camera is the only one that is consistently understandable and his comments are just distracting! The video is much too long at seven minutes...I suffered through about four or five minutes before I gave up. The paper cup and plate under the chair near the "stage" were another annoyance to me...it made the whole thing look slipshod and completely unprofessional. Now, to be fair, I'm sure this video was not posted for the general public--people like me. Possibly it is on youtube.com because the puppeteer wanted her grandma to be able to see her performance. Let's hope.
07 February 2009
Library Applications of YouTube (Library Media Class: Week 3, Session 2)
1. Give some examples of how library institutions may use YouTube?
Youtube can be used in many ways by libraries, but I think the most common way is to introduce new users to the facility. Tours and directions are easily given for people interested in familiarizing themselves with the library before their first visit. Programs and services can be promoted through short videos. These are especially effective for children and youth programs because kids from ages 10-16 are most likely to watch them. These tour videos can be straight, serious tours of the building or can be part of a story that makes the tour much more entertaining.
2. Give some examples of libraries using YouTube and how they are using it?
Williams College (Williamstown, Massachusetts) has posted a youtube video introducing new students to the library and its services through a two-minute "mystery tour" narrated by two reference librarians. Montana State University's Renne Library offers a no-nonsense five-minute tour (BORing). The Salt Lake City Draper Library takes the prize with its two-minute "Wizard of Oz" tour. Other examples, this time of a program promotion instead of a tour, is the "Denver Public Library Summer of Reading" which is embedded in another entry on this blog, and "Teen Summer Reading @ Birmingham Public Library," a very short mystery-style promo.
3. What would be some of the things to consider when uploading a video onto YouTube?
Important things to consider when posting on youtube are:
. Permission of participants, especially parents' permission for their children appearing in the video;
. Incidental bystanders who may be in the recording;
. Copyrighted material, like artwork on the walls, background music, etc.;
. Your video's length: two minutes seems to be a good length for youtube;
. Your video's quality (people will not watch a whole segment if it is out of focus, has bad sound or is confusing);
. Is the video interesting? (Again, people will not watch the whole thing if it is boring. For an example of a video that is too long and too dry, see the MSU Renne Library video referenced above.)
Youtube can be used in many ways by libraries, but I think the most common way is to introduce new users to the facility. Tours and directions are easily given for people interested in familiarizing themselves with the library before their first visit. Programs and services can be promoted through short videos. These are especially effective for children and youth programs because kids from ages 10-16 are most likely to watch them. These tour videos can be straight, serious tours of the building or can be part of a story that makes the tour much more entertaining.
2. Give some examples of libraries using YouTube and how they are using it?
Williams College (Williamstown, Massachusetts) has posted a youtube video introducing new students to the library and its services through a two-minute "mystery tour" narrated by two reference librarians. Montana State University's Renne Library offers a no-nonsense five-minute tour (BORing). The Salt Lake City Draper Library takes the prize with its two-minute "Wizard of Oz" tour. Other examples, this time of a program promotion instead of a tour, is the "Denver Public Library Summer of Reading" which is embedded in another entry on this blog, and "Teen Summer Reading @ Birmingham Public Library," a very short mystery-style promo.
3. What would be some of the things to consider when uploading a video onto YouTube?
Important things to consider when posting on youtube are:
. Permission of participants, especially parents' permission for their children appearing in the video;
. Incidental bystanders who may be in the recording;
. Copyrighted material, like artwork on the walls, background music, etc.;
. Your video's length: two minutes seems to be a good length for youtube;
. Your video's quality (people will not watch a whole segment if it is out of focus, has bad sound or is confusing);
. Is the video interesting? (Again, people will not watch the whole thing if it is boring. For an example of a video that is too long and too dry, see the MSU Renne Library video referenced above.)
Blogrolls (Library Media Class: Session Three: Success!)
I finally figured out how to post a blogroll from Google Reader!
Go to Reader.
Click on "Settings" in the menu at the top (right side) of the screen.
Click on "Folders and Tags" on the orange bar.
Create folders if desired, I don't think this process works without setting up folders.
To the right of the Folder name, there is a list of actions. Click "Add a Blogroll to your site."
Another window will pop up; click the "+ add to Blogger" icon.
Yet another Blogger window will appear, asking if you trust the site. Click "Add Widget."
The "Add Widget" page should change to another Blogger page where a highlighted bar just under the toolbar menu will say "My 'Whatever' Blogroll has been added to your page."
View blog to make sure the blogroll is there.
I hope this helps; it worked for me after a week of trying to figure out how to do it!
Go to Reader.
Click on "Settings" in the menu at the top (right side) of the screen.
Click on "Folders and Tags" on the orange bar.
Create folders if desired, I don't think this process works without setting up folders.
To the right of the Folder name, there is a list of actions. Click "Add a Blogroll to your site."
Another window will pop up; click the "+ add to Blogger" icon.
Yet another Blogger window will appear, asking if you trust the site. Click "Add Widget."
The "Add Widget" page should change to another Blogger page where a highlighted bar just under the toolbar menu will say "My 'Whatever' Blogroll has been added to your page."
View blog to make sure the blogroll is there.
I hope this helps; it worked for me after a week of trying to figure out how to do it!
Flickr.com and Tagging (Library Media Class: Week 3, Session 1)
1. How might a Public Library institute use flickr to promote their summer reading program?
Flickr.com could be very useful to a public library's summer reading program in allowing members of the reading program pictures of recommended book covers for quick identification. Photos of the incentives or prizes, the librarians, the previous year's activities might also be included. Shots of the interior of the library could also be helpful for those who have never visited the library before. Knowing what a place looks like before actually visiting makes the location more familiar and less scary. This may help increase attendance. Posting pictures of SRP activities would be interesting, inviting and helpful, but privacy issues need to be carefully assessed before posting photos of library patrons, especially children. Libraries may find that a server like youtube.com is better suited to promoting the summer reading program. Watch this four-minute video from the Denver Public Library to see what their librarians did with this video technology.
2. What are some ways that an Academic and a School library might use Flickr?
The college and university libraries with accounts on flickr.com seem to use their accounts to familiarize viewers with the library facilities. This could be beneficial for new students. Exterior shots would help them recognize the building when they arrive on campus. Interior shots would help them be familiar with the facility, and they would be able to regocnize a space within the building visually or look for a sign they had seen among the photos. For instance, if a student needs to speak with a reference librarian and knows that the reference desk is blue from a flickr photo, the desk might be easily located on the student's first visit by just looking for a big blue desk. Special exhibits and events could be posted so that viewers could see if they wanted to make a trip to the campus to see an art exhibit, or people who missed an event could enjoy photos of the event.
The same issue of familiarizing the surroundings before the first visit might be useful for school libraries. Photos of the librarian would be especially helpful so that the new student doesn't think that the librarian will be from the Black Lagoon! Photos of new items or exhibits might be fun for students to view over the weekend to help them decide what they may want to borrow on their next classroom visit.
3. How might an organization use flickr's ability to tag photos? What are the pluses and negatives of the tags?
The tags are very useful for students doing research on subjects such as architecture. I can look up the tag "architecture" or even a more specific one such as "Frank Lloyd Wright," and view photos of famous and not-so-famous buildings as well as some uncopyrighted photos.
The advantage of the ability to tag is that connections may be made that may not be made with authority-based subject categorization. But exactly that same aspect can be a disadvantage. Because any word can be used as a tag, the number of tags is overwhelming and complicated. Words often have more than one meaning, making a tag's meaning equivocal. In other cases, although the word has only one meaning, its meaning is reframed with each user. The tag "me," for example, is almost useless because it occurs on so many people's photostreams and indicates a different person on each user's account.
Flickr.com could be very useful to a public library's summer reading program in allowing members of the reading program pictures of recommended book covers for quick identification. Photos of the incentives or prizes, the librarians, the previous year's activities might also be included. Shots of the interior of the library could also be helpful for those who have never visited the library before. Knowing what a place looks like before actually visiting makes the location more familiar and less scary. This may help increase attendance. Posting pictures of SRP activities would be interesting, inviting and helpful, but privacy issues need to be carefully assessed before posting photos of library patrons, especially children. Libraries may find that a server like youtube.com is better suited to promoting the summer reading program. Watch this four-minute video from the Denver Public Library to see what their librarians did with this video technology.
2. What are some ways that an Academic and a School library might use Flickr?
The college and university libraries with accounts on flickr.com seem to use their accounts to familiarize viewers with the library facilities. This could be beneficial for new students. Exterior shots would help them recognize the building when they arrive on campus. Interior shots would help them be familiar with the facility, and they would be able to regocnize a space within the building visually or look for a sign they had seen among the photos. For instance, if a student needs to speak with a reference librarian and knows that the reference desk is blue from a flickr photo, the desk might be easily located on the student's first visit by just looking for a big blue desk. Special exhibits and events could be posted so that viewers could see if they wanted to make a trip to the campus to see an art exhibit, or people who missed an event could enjoy photos of the event.
The same issue of familiarizing the surroundings before the first visit might be useful for school libraries. Photos of the librarian would be especially helpful so that the new student doesn't think that the librarian will be from the Black Lagoon! Photos of new items or exhibits might be fun for students to view over the weekend to help them decide what they may want to borrow on their next classroom visit.
3. How might an organization use flickr's ability to tag photos? What are the pluses and negatives of the tags?
The tags are very useful for students doing research on subjects such as architecture. I can look up the tag "architecture" or even a more specific one such as "Frank Lloyd Wright," and view photos of famous and not-so-famous buildings as well as some uncopyrighted photos.
The advantage of the ability to tag is that connections may be made that may not be made with authority-based subject categorization. But exactly that same aspect can be a disadvantage. Because any word can be used as a tag, the number of tags is overwhelming and complicated. Words often have more than one meaning, making a tag's meaning equivocal. In other cases, although the word has only one meaning, its meaning is reframed with each user. The tag "me," for example, is almost useless because it occurs on so many people's photostreams and indicates a different person on each user's account.
Embedding a Slide Show (Library Media Class: Week 3, Learning to Embed Photos)
Enjoy this slideshow of famous libraries around the world.
To see the captions, go to my page on the flickr website at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91719414@N00/sets/72157614276277392/
To see the captions, go to my page on the flickr website at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91719414@N00/sets/72157614276277392/
31 January 2009
Using Blogs for Library Work (Library Media Class: Week 2)
Discussion Question 1: How might libraries (public, academic, and school) use blogs in their professions? Can you think of other examples in which other professions might use blogs and readers?
Libraries could use blogs in a number of ways, but the one way that I keep thinking about is to let patrons know about new additions to the collection. Having worked in the circulation department of a public library influences my ideas and this is a perfect example. Ten to fifteen years ago in the library where I worked, the Tech Services department would have a list printed of each week's new items that were ready for circulation. Our department would receive a copy of this list and post it on a bulletin board for the circulation staff. Patrons had to ask for it in order to see it, but first they had to know about it! For patrons who are avid and voracious readers, having this list available would be a wonderful service. Having it available as an RSS feed would be wonderful and convenient. The next job I get in a circulation department, I will suggest this and volunteer to set it up--now that I know what questions to ask to implement it. It would be valuable in any type of library.
Professional blogs for librarians help share information from conferences and other pointers about career development. Librarians can share ways of updating their collections and especially their services to patrons. Important legal and legislative information pertaining to libraries can be disseminated this way as well.
I imagine pretty much every profession has a blog of some type available. Even piano tuners can share information. The Piano Technicians Guild has not progressed to the point where I can subscribe by RSS feed, but several independent tuners have a blog where they share experiences with customers, business development ideas, and technical pointers.
"Readers" save time by letting the subscriber know when there is new information available. As the information glut grows, we get in more of a time crunch. Not having to go from site to site saves time online and allows other work to get done while still keeping up with news and information. With newsletters, I find that I would forget that I was subscribed and neglect checking for updates. With a "reader" I have a nice compact list and if my interests change, I can just click good-bye to a subscription.
Question 2: What are the benefits of subscribing to a professional blog? What are the benefits of writing a professional blog?
Subscribing to a professional blog gives people another way of staying up to date with changes in their career. It can give insights into dealing with problems, especially unusual problems that coworkers may not have faced. If a certain type of business has a legal issue or some legislative development, the information can be shared easily through the blog.
Writing a blog helps the blogger to reinforce the learning gained. As a teacher learns from teaching, writing helps reinforce our ideas and make speaking about them, as well as developing them further, easier and more fluent. It may also help the blogger feel useful to others which is an important aspect of our lives that often goes unexamined.
Question 3: In what way is blogging and readers different from how information was created and received in the past? Does this allow for a greater democratization of information? How can the quality of information received through readers be less than the quality of information received in the past?
Blogging is different from earlier information sharing in that it is available almost at the touch of a button. In addition, a comment made by a casually interested layperson gets as much space and emphasis as a critique by a degree-holding certified professional. This has the potential to make the medium more democratic. On the other hand, this exact same situation allows for misinformation to proliferate because any-old-body can comment on anything. This possibility makes the availability and access to peer-reviewed journal articles, through subscription databases or other sources, essential.
A less important issue than the content of the information, but one that seems to offer no end of frustration for people like me--people who are called "grammar snobs" by their Linguistics professor--is the decline of grammar, spelling and punctuation in these blogs. This diminishes the quality because it makes the information appear unprofessional, unpolished, and shows a low level of attention to detail on the part of the author. It also leads the reader to question the level of all-round education and expertise of the author if the author seems not to know, for example, the difference between its and it's, or generally seems to be lacking in language skills.
Libraries could use blogs in a number of ways, but the one way that I keep thinking about is to let patrons know about new additions to the collection. Having worked in the circulation department of a public library influences my ideas and this is a perfect example. Ten to fifteen years ago in the library where I worked, the Tech Services department would have a list printed of each week's new items that were ready for circulation. Our department would receive a copy of this list and post it on a bulletin board for the circulation staff. Patrons had to ask for it in order to see it, but first they had to know about it! For patrons who are avid and voracious readers, having this list available would be a wonderful service. Having it available as an RSS feed would be wonderful and convenient. The next job I get in a circulation department, I will suggest this and volunteer to set it up--now that I know what questions to ask to implement it. It would be valuable in any type of library.
Professional blogs for librarians help share information from conferences and other pointers about career development. Librarians can share ways of updating their collections and especially their services to patrons. Important legal and legislative information pertaining to libraries can be disseminated this way as well.
I imagine pretty much every profession has a blog of some type available. Even piano tuners can share information. The Piano Technicians Guild has not progressed to the point where I can subscribe by RSS feed, but several independent tuners have a blog where they share experiences with customers, business development ideas, and technical pointers.
"Readers" save time by letting the subscriber know when there is new information available. As the information glut grows, we get in more of a time crunch. Not having to go from site to site saves time online and allows other work to get done while still keeping up with news and information. With newsletters, I find that I would forget that I was subscribed and neglect checking for updates. With a "reader" I have a nice compact list and if my interests change, I can just click good-bye to a subscription.
Question 2: What are the benefits of subscribing to a professional blog? What are the benefits of writing a professional blog?
Subscribing to a professional blog gives people another way of staying up to date with changes in their career. It can give insights into dealing with problems, especially unusual problems that coworkers may not have faced. If a certain type of business has a legal issue or some legislative development, the information can be shared easily through the blog.
Writing a blog helps the blogger to reinforce the learning gained. As a teacher learns from teaching, writing helps reinforce our ideas and make speaking about them, as well as developing them further, easier and more fluent. It may also help the blogger feel useful to others which is an important aspect of our lives that often goes unexamined.
Question 3: In what way is blogging and readers different from how information was created and received in the past? Does this allow for a greater democratization of information? How can the quality of information received through readers be less than the quality of information received in the past?
Blogging is different from earlier information sharing in that it is available almost at the touch of a button. In addition, a comment made by a casually interested layperson gets as much space and emphasis as a critique by a degree-holding certified professional. This has the potential to make the medium more democratic. On the other hand, this exact same situation allows for misinformation to proliferate because any-old-body can comment on anything. This possibility makes the availability and access to peer-reviewed journal articles, through subscription databases or other sources, essential.
A less important issue than the content of the information, but one that seems to offer no end of frustration for people like me--people who are called "grammar snobs" by their Linguistics professor--is the decline of grammar, spelling and punctuation in these blogs. This diminishes the quality because it makes the information appear unprofessional, unpolished, and shows a low level of attention to detail on the part of the author. It also leads the reader to question the level of all-round education and expertise of the author if the author seems not to know, for example, the difference between its and it's, or generally seems to be lacking in language skills.
28 January 2009
RSS Feeds (Library Media Class: Week 1, Additional Assignment)
Task: Find about five websites that offer RSS feeds.
My list includes six sites from widely differing organizations.
1. news.bbc.co.uk/hi/default.stm
The RSS icon link is in a box near the bottom of the BBC's home news page.
Subscribing allows feeds, alerts to email or mobile phone, subscription to podcasts, articles or newsletters. Subscribers can choose by subject or region and to receive text or video.
2. netflix.com
Members can get an RSS feed to their personal queue, past rental activity, to recommendations from other members or reviews from members or professional critics. The feed can be limited to public information such as the top 100 rentals or new releases, or it can be personalized.
3. uua.org/rss/index/shtml
The website home for Unitarian Universalists is updated regularly with news of interest to Unitarians and friends. UUA also publishes a magazine called the UUWorld which is available digitally by FeedBurner.
4. lanl.gov
Los Alamos National Laboratory's extensive website offers interested readers the chance to "create a custom RSS feed" from LANL's public relations department. On the "News Media Home," there is an RSS icon near the bottom of the page. Subscriptions can be customized per specific organizations within the Lab, by topic, by number and frequency of stories, the source of the news, and by the format of the news story. (See www.lanl.gov/news/index.php/fuseaction/syndicate.main)
5. sierratradingpost.com
Sierra Trading Post is a discount retail active wear clothing and outdoor equipment supplier. Atwww.sierratradingpost.com there is a box toward the bottom of the page on the left where you can click on "Sierra Blogging Post." Clicking there takes you to blog.sierratradingpost.com where the blog entries are posted. You can drop by and read or subscribe. Subscribers can choose to get feeds of the blog's posts and subsequent comments, or just the posts.
6. Knitters Anonymous
Knitters and yarn enthusiasts might be interested enough to read about other knitters' experiences on the knitanon blog at www.knitanon.com/blog/. The subscription can be streamlined by interest or by a limited number of regions. The creators and most of those involved are in the Bay area. The photos from the website, plus more photos, are archived on flickr.com.
My list includes six sites from widely differing organizations.
1. news.bbc.co.uk/hi/default.stm
The RSS icon link is in a box near the bottom of the BBC's home news page.
Subscribing allows feeds, alerts to email or mobile phone, subscription to podcasts, articles or newsletters. Subscribers can choose by subject or region and to receive text or video.
2. netflix.com
Members can get an RSS feed to their personal queue, past rental activity, to recommendations from other members or reviews from members or professional critics. The feed can be limited to public information such as the top 100 rentals or new releases, or it can be personalized.
3. uua.org/rss/index/shtml
The website home for Unitarian Universalists is updated regularly with news of interest to Unitarians and friends. UUA also publishes a magazine called the UUWorld which is available digitally by FeedBurner.
4. lanl.gov
Los Alamos National Laboratory's extensive website offers interested readers the chance to "create a custom RSS feed" from LANL's public relations department. On the "News Media Home," there is an RSS icon near the bottom of the page. Subscriptions can be customized per specific organizations within the Lab, by topic, by number and frequency of stories, the source of the news, and by the format of the news story. (See www.lanl.gov/news/index.php/fuseaction/syndicate.main)
5. sierratradingpost.com
Sierra Trading Post is a discount retail active wear clothing and outdoor equipment supplier. At
6. Knitters Anonymous
Knitters and yarn enthusiasts might be interested enough to read about other knitters' experiences on the knitanon blog at www.knitanon.com/blog/
26 January 2009
Censorship, Authorship, and Identity (Library Media Class: Week 1, Session 2)
Discussion Question 1
Web 2.0 technology has allowed a whole new level of social interaction with networks such as MySpace and Facebook. I joined Facebook about two years ago to have another option for my daughter, then still in high school, to communicate with me. A wonderful example of the expanded opportunities that Web 2.0 has created via these websites is something that happened just yesterday because of this class. Checking into Facebook, I changed my status because I was gratified at having succeeded in creating this blog. The status change said, "Morgan may be an old dog, but she has a new trick." Within the hour, my daughter responded, "Oooo, what is it?" and I replied, "This dog can blog!" No visit, letter, phone call or other intentional message needed to be relayed.
But the results did not stop there: a friend of my daughter commented that I wasn't a dog, and two friends in my generation posted congratulatory comments. Before the 2.0 technology, I would have had to announce a minor accomplishment like this in at least three conversation, emails or a holiday letter in order to get these reactions, and it would have taken weeks, not hours. In fact, because it was a rather small feat, I probably would not have mentioned it.
Collaborative projects are easier than ever because people can get their ideas to one another via words, pictures and even videos--all without knowing much at all about computer code or hiring a programmer. From planning an international conference to developing a knitting pattern, the transfer of information is substantially easier because the correspondents need worry only about the content of the message, and don't need to know anything about formatting or coding the message.
Question 2
It is inevitable that copyright and authorship will take on new meaning with the development of new technologies. This has been demonstrated clearly in the past few years by changes in the perception of those involved in the recorded music business. The creators, owners, regulators and users of copyrighted materials have differing and evolving understanding of what it means to own recorded music, and what profits are due to the various parties involved. Gone are the days when a producer could be sure of buying rights to a song or recording and being assured that anyone who could play the music at home would have to buy a product, generating profits that would be funneled through the producer's corporation. The music industry fought tooth and nail to retain its control through technology evolutions such as Napster, but continuing development forced changes in the whole industry as well as its legal regulation.
Where I noticed this in my library work was mostly in recorded books, where one element of the book had been lost or damaged. If the recording was a bit dated, it was sometimes not possible to replace the tape or CD from the publisher because it had gone out of print. But even if we had two copies of the item, according to copyright law it was illegal for us to reproduce the damaged element for replacement purposes. Often the entire book (or opera or video series) had to be withdrawn. Now, because much of this type of information is digitally stored, it can be accessed and replaced through subscription services.
Authorship can also be an issue for libraries. The sheer volume of information and the speed with which it is disseminated make it impossible for an author--or a library--to keep track of where a body of writing has gone or how it is being used. In libraries, there are usually copy machines available for patron use. The machine will have copyright warning posted, so someone copying pages at least has been offered the relevant legal information. As more and more information is digitized and available online, the opportunity to shove copyright information in front of a user diminishes. Cut-and-paste functions, and now links or embedding, make it so easy to transfer information, it can be done with very little thought. Sometimes, in reading Internet postings, it is hard to find the original source, so that authorship can be difficult to determine. In these cases, present copyright law would have little impact on illegal behavior or legal restitution.
Question 3
Commerce, while not always directly pertinent to libraries, is another concept undergoing a change due to Web 2.0. My shopping habits are very different than they were even five years ago. We have traditionally relied on Consumer Reports and similar publications for product information. We rarely needed it the past several years, and now I never access it in the library or online. The customer reviews on commercial websites such as amazon.com, made possible by Web 2.0 technology, usually give plenty of information to make a decision about a purchase. A further effect has been a decline in the number of physical retail businesses relative to their online counterparts. Internet shopping has developed into an easy, expedient and reliable alternative to retail stores. This ability to post ratings may affect the choices I make at the library as well; it could influence which items I decide to borrow.
Identity has become a more nebulous concept with the development of the technology. With sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and VibrantNation, as well as the proliferation of blogs, people can develop identities that are true to their personalities, that are based on only part of their personalities, or are a complete fabrication. I have an account with Facebook and also one on VibrantNation. (VN is a social network for women over 40.) While there is no intention on my part to deceive or wear a sort of virtual mask, I think my perceived identity on each of these could be a little bit different just because of the type of information and social support I seek or share from the two sites. Does this mean I have three distinct identities or simply that I wear different "hats," as we used to say? The change in "identity" is a result of differing goals and completely innocent.
The incidence of identity fraud and identity theft have increased enough to alarm us all. The ease with which these, especially the fraud, are perpetrated is astounding. Even I, with my limited computer knowledge, could fabricate a fraudulent identity quickly and seamlessly by creating a Facebook page for a fictional person, and then to communicate and forge relationships with others who might or might not be real people. The possibilities for this type of activity are so numerous that there are even terms for subclasses of the fraud, such as "identity cloning" and "identity concealment." A person's signature used to be a keystone for identity validation, but handwritten signatures are moot for online commerce.
The cartoon at the top of this post describes beautifully one of these problems with Internet identity. (By Peter Steiner, published in The New Yorker July 5, 1993.)
On the other hand, some critics point out that with expanded storage capabilities and tracking, our Internet activity leaves traceable evidence that can be followed, and cannot be erased, to verify our true identities. See http://jackatcet.blogspot.com/2008/07/on-internet-everybody-knows-youre-dog.html.
Web 2.0 technology has allowed a whole new level of social interaction with networks such as MySpace and Facebook. I joined Facebook about two years ago to have another option for my daughter, then still in high school, to communicate with me. A wonderful example of the expanded opportunities that Web 2.0 has created via these websites is something that happened just yesterday because of this class. Checking into Facebook, I changed my status because I was gratified at having succeeded in creating this blog. The status change said, "Morgan may be an old dog, but she has a new trick." Within the hour, my daughter responded, "Oooo, what is it?" and I replied, "This dog can blog!" No visit, letter, phone call or other intentional message needed to be relayed.
But the results did not stop there: a friend of my daughter commented that I wasn't a dog, and two friends in my generation posted congratulatory comments. Before the 2.0 technology, I would have had to announce a minor accomplishment like this in at least three conversation, emails or a holiday letter in order to get these reactions, and it would have taken weeks, not hours. In fact, because it was a rather small feat, I probably would not have mentioned it.
Collaborative projects are easier than ever because people can get their ideas to one another via words, pictures and even videos--all without knowing much at all about computer code or hiring a programmer. From planning an international conference to developing a knitting pattern, the transfer of information is substantially easier because the correspondents need worry only about the content of the message, and don't need to know anything about formatting or coding the message.
Question 2
It is inevitable that copyright and authorship will take on new meaning with the development of new technologies. This has been demonstrated clearly in the past few years by changes in the perception of those involved in the recorded music business. The creators, owners, regulators and users of copyrighted materials have differing and evolving understanding of what it means to own recorded music, and what profits are due to the various parties involved. Gone are the days when a producer could be sure of buying rights to a song or recording and being assured that anyone who could play the music at home would have to buy a product, generating profits that would be funneled through the producer's corporation. The music industry fought tooth and nail to retain its control through technology evolutions such as Napster, but continuing development forced changes in the whole industry as well as its legal regulation.
Where I noticed this in my library work was mostly in recorded books, where one element of the book had been lost or damaged. If the recording was a bit dated, it was sometimes not possible to replace the tape or CD from the publisher because it had gone out of print. But even if we had two copies of the item, according to copyright law it was illegal for us to reproduce the damaged element for replacement purposes. Often the entire book (or opera or video series) had to be withdrawn. Now, because much of this type of information is digitally stored, it can be accessed and replaced through subscription services.
Authorship can also be an issue for libraries. The sheer volume of information and the speed with which it is disseminated make it impossible for an author--or a library--to keep track of where a body of writing has gone or how it is being used. In libraries, there are usually copy machines available for patron use. The machine will have copyright warning posted, so someone copying pages at least has been offered the relevant legal information. As more and more information is digitized and available online, the opportunity to shove copyright information in front of a user diminishes. Cut-and-paste functions, and now links or embedding, make it so easy to transfer information, it can be done with very little thought. Sometimes, in reading Internet postings, it is hard to find the original source, so that authorship can be difficult to determine. In these cases, present copyright law would have little impact on illegal behavior or legal restitution.
Question 3
Commerce, while not always directly pertinent to libraries, is another concept undergoing a change due to Web 2.0. My shopping habits are very different than they were even five years ago. We have traditionally relied on Consumer Reports and similar publications for product information. We rarely needed it the past several years, and now I never access it in the library or online. The customer reviews on commercial websites such as amazon.com, made possible by Web 2.0 technology, usually give plenty of information to make a decision about a purchase. A further effect has been a decline in the number of physical retail businesses relative to their online counterparts. Internet shopping has developed into an easy, expedient and reliable alternative to retail stores. This ability to post ratings may affect the choices I make at the library as well; it could influence which items I decide to borrow.
Identity has become a more nebulous concept with the development of the technology. With sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and VibrantNation, as well as the proliferation of blogs, people can develop identities that are true to their personalities, that are based on only part of their personalities, or are a complete fabrication. I have an account with Facebook and also one on VibrantNation. (VN is a social network for women over 40.) While there is no intention on my part to deceive or wear a sort of virtual mask, I think my perceived identity on each of these could be a little bit different just because of the type of information and social support I seek or share from the two sites. Does this mean I have three distinct identities or simply that I wear different "hats," as we used to say? The change in "identity" is a result of differing goals and completely innocent.
The incidence of identity fraud and identity theft have increased enough to alarm us all. The ease with which these, especially the fraud, are perpetrated is astounding. Even I, with my limited computer knowledge, could fabricate a fraudulent identity quickly and seamlessly by creating a Facebook page for a fictional person, and then to communicate and forge relationships with others who might or might not be real people. The possibilities for this type of activity are so numerous that there are even terms for subclasses of the fraud, such as "identity cloning" and "identity concealment." A person's signature used to be a keystone for identity validation, but handwritten signatures are moot for online commerce.
The cartoon at the top of this post describes beautifully one of these problems with Internet identity. (By Peter Steiner, published in The New Yorker July 5, 1993.)
On the other hand, some critics point out that with expanded storage capabilities and tracking, our Internet activity leaves traceable evidence that can be followed, and cannot be erased, to verify our true identities. See http://jackatcet.blogspot.com/2008/07/on-internet-everybody-knows-youre-dog.html.
24 January 2009
Woof! (Library Media, Week 1)
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Look at me creating the first entry in my very own blog. This class, Media Services, promises to be much more interesting than I had anticipated. I was under the impression we would be practicing outdated skills such as using a slide projector or instructing patrons on the use and care of film strips. Web 2.0 is not only new and interesting for me, but will prove much more useful. I'm looking forward to the sessions.
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