Week 12 - Mashups

Mashups creatively combine text and graphic - kind of digital scrapbooking. Mashup sites enable the import of graphics into templates which can overlay image with text so as to create interesting products like posters or badges. It is one expression of sharing information and repackaging it that is such a powerful aspect of the web. My mashup was created in Big huge labs on a poster template - it aims to encourage initiative and self esteem in the workplace.

Week 11 - Podcasts

Podcasts offer great convenience for the viewer or listener to access them at their leisure rather than at the programmed time of delivery. They also offer potential to be archived into a series for later reference. Meetings, seminars, talks, lectures etc. held in libraries may be podcast on the libraries website - enhancing the reach of the event far beyond its initial delivery. Often library communities are spead over great distances, so podcasts offer a very economical option for disseminating group information.

Week 10 - Questions and Answer boards

Have you ever considered that our library is part of the knowledge market? Absolutely. Libraries have lost their monopoly on information. Now Libraries are trying to join the new international democratic republic of information enabled by the net. Web forums - answer boards provide a space for the transfer of knowledge and for librarians to show their wares. Again Libraries and librarians are putting up their hand and saying 'hello' information professional here...but its gettin kind of desperate.

Week 8 - LibraryThang - it's a beautiful thang

Who needs librarians? the inner librarian has been unleashed. go forth and tag my children...

Week 7 - embedding video

rss feeding frenzy

Ok rss feeds. Access to too much information is now easily with reach. By establishing connections to live feeds, your own email or blog can be the host of streamed info on your chosen subject. This is particularly useful for information that is regularly and rapidly updated like news, weather or stock market movements. It is also a time saving mechanism - making you the centre of your own information universe. Moo ha ha...(evil laugh)

'Wookiepeedia'

The idea of wikies is very powerful. Empowering the individual to edit and contribute information to a shared encyclopedia. 'Two heads are better than one' as they say. I have used Wikipedia for years and perhaps erroneously, accepted most of what is posted to be factual truth. But who is to say? Im guessing people dedicated enough to register and contribute have something worth sharing. Of course they may be just professional propogandists disseminating mis-information. I checked out 'Wookiepedia', a shared knowledge bank for 'Star Wars' fans, and it's cool that nerds have there own space to impress each other with their esoteric knowledge. I suppose there are applications for the library community - for those so inclined to contribute to the professions knowledge in this way.

Pondering Flickr

Its not all beer and skittles on Flickr. I have a friend who created her own space on Flickr and uploaded hundreds of photographs. But she said it was a lot of work to maintain and last time I looked her images were gone. I guess its all about the gratification of sharing images you have created and getting recognition and feedback on them. But I have doubts about the whole pseudomyn thing - and virtual relationships through these shared sites. Its a bit like the 15 seconds of fame thing. Is it real? Is it worth it?

Flickr

Flickr is really interesting, a great pictorial resource harnessing the photographic power of the people. This is more than voyeurism and exhibitionism. It provides searchable images that can satisfy very particular reference inquiries. For example, I was interested in images of an old childhood holiday location, and easily found shots of the exact location. Its '6 degrees of seperation' kind of stuff. But obviously Libraries have seen the potential of the Flickr platform to generate collections sourced directly from the public. This is collaborative collecting, and builds upon the spirit of donation that has made our own collection so strong and representative.

1st post

I guess you gotta start somewhere...more to come (hopefully)
c~