Week 14 - Social networking...over and out

Yes the meaning of life is relationships and the explosion of social networking on the net is evidence of that. Social networking is in the human dna, and I see Facebook, MySpace etc as the humanisation of IT, creating cyber-space for human interaction, engagement and collaboration around a shared interest. This is a very popular, powerful but often trivial pursuit. And strangely cerebral and remote. In essence, it is not that far removed from a yarn around the campfire. But for mine, a whole lot less 'real'. The social networking of information has been the role of the physical library for centuries, but no longer. Like just about every other human network, the information network has been re-purposed on THE net. The totally virtual library is coming. The effect of the coming of THE net and the vastly empowered access to information it brings will ultimately be determined by its effect upon human relationships. And that may be "too much information". Over and out friends.

Week 13 - Lucky for some

With the finish line in sight, Im streaking ahead. I uploaded a document on Googledocs and shared it with my collaborators here at Library central. I think the idea is that it can be edited in real time by a number of collaborators thus saving the two and fro. It is interesting to see the number of helpful sites providing free applications to help connect people and their documents. The meaning of life is relationships. You heard it here first. And the net is an amazing expression of this desire to relate. End of story...nearly.