Finally I resurrected my Library 2.0 blog from blogspot. There is more interest now that the VLA had their workshop on Leaning 2.0. Many of my colleagues are interested in using some of the new features offered on the internet, such as blogging.

blogs

Well, actually I’ve been blogging for 6 years now. In fact, I spent yesterday with three people who belong to one of my blogging communities. Blogging gives people a means to get outside of their physical community and meet people with similar dreams and goals. Still one has to be cautious because you never know WHO might read your blog and how they might USE it.
When I was in third grade I observed the class bully shove another girl and break her necklace. I felt bad for her and wanted to make her feel better so I gathered up the beads and sent gave them to her with a note. Well, that note got passed around the room and I felt humiliated. My personal message was being read by everyone.
Experiences like that one change who you are.

See more progress on: Set up my own blog & add my first post.

Rollyo

Eventually, I’m sure, I will need this, or use it, but now I have many other web 2.0 tools to optimize.

See more progress on: Roll my own search tool with Rollyo.

podcasts

I watched this http://tametheweb.com/2006/09/steal_this_idea_quicker_than_a.html three times, it is really cute and entertaining. I love seeing what other library systems are doing to make this all fun.

See more progress on: Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts and videos.

Download a great audio book!

Listening to an entertaining audio book while driving or doing chores is a great way to accomplish two things at the same time. The cd/cassette format is bulky and prone to disappoinment when you find you are 1000 miles away from home and the last cd/cassette is broken! Imagine downloading 5 books onto a device the size of a bic – and NO LATE FEES!! What’s not to love about this? (Except maybe the libraries that are tallying late fees or in person visits to the library)

See more progress on: Take a look at the audiobook titles available on NetLibrary and download a small title to listen to from the PC.

A Note to the Disillusioned

Want to know WHO is reading your Blog? Or should I say, want to know IF anyone is reading your blog? Put a free Statistic Counter (http://www.statcounter.com/) on it. The general public seems to think that if you post something on the web, then everyone in the world will see it. Well, this is a far cry from what really happens. Actually no one wants to see it. A blog is for the benefit of the blogger.

Another thought I had is that the common hysteria is that the internet is an evil place. The world was much "safer" before World Wide Access. News Flash - the world wasn't that safe 40 years ago either. I have experiences from the "predawn" era known as my youth that would turn my mother's hair grey. It's all a question of learning how to be safe in the world we have.

Flickr, My Space, and WWW are not bad places. Bad people use these places and good kids use these places. Smart kids know how to be safe. The real question is then, are we creating smart kids, or just trying to scare them.

I love watching wikis in action! It's like watching evolution on fast-forward.

Technorati

I spent a couple of hours exploring Technorati last night. I need to spend a couple more hours there. I’ve been meaning to look into this concept for a couple of months now, thanks to the PLCMC learning 2.0 project, I did it.

See more progress on: Explore Technorati and learn how to tags work with blog posts.

Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Learning 2.0
After reviewing some of the information from the South Carolina Public library Tech Day and the articles on the OCLC newsletter I had an idea evolve based on my experience as a budding teacher in the early 70's. This rolling stone, known as 2.0 this and that, reminds me somewhat of the new idea that erupted in the teaching community in the late 60's, early 70's known as "schools without walls". In theory the idea was fantastic and all of the talk was on how the concept would allow students to continually absorb information from a variety of sources. In practice, the teachers went crazy trying to keep the class tuned into the lesson at hand.

So what happened to a great idea that flopped? One problem was that the teachers who had already bought into the "old" method couldn't adapt. And the pressure to "teach to the test" kept mounting on the teaching staff causing riffs. A large part of the problem was the perception, real or not, that the administration was forcing this new concept onto already overtaxed staff.

So how does this relate to 2.0 technology and libraries? Not well, I hope, because I am a strong supporter of incorporating new technology trends into our information structure. What I do worry about, though is how the changes will evolve and what the perceptions will be.

I am very pleased to see library systems like PLCMC working to encourage the staff members to learn about the new technology.
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