The first time I came across the term Web 2.0 was at a Massachusetts Library Association yearly conference in Sturbridge about 2 years ago. One of the workshops being offered was "Web 2.0" and, though I'd heard the term, I had absolutely no idea what is was.
I got to the workshop a little late. (There's always the temptation at these conferences to try to catch a bit of 3 workshops going on in the same time slot.) The workshop was packed and I joined the people sitting on chairs by the doors. The speaker had a power point presentation and she was talking about MySpace. Okay, so I now knew MySpace was part of Web 2.0. Then she talked about "Second Life" which I'd never heard of. It sounded like the role playing games my son played in high school in the back room of the local gaming store, but this was on the web. Maybe I would have had a better understand of Web 2.0 if I'd gotten to this workshop at the beginning. But at least I knew a couple of things that were included in Web 2.0 though I didn't know why.
So I just googled "Web 2.0" and Wikipedia came up first. Reading this entry, I learned that Web 2.0 isn't a different technology, but is the interactive use of the web. It's about the changing trends in the world wide web involving more information sharing, collaboration, and creativity in the web's use. Okay, this makes sense. I had thought it meant something totally new. But Web2.0 seems to be referring to the new ways the web is being used, where users can add to websites, can "meet" new people, can alter websites to add their own information, and can get new information delivered to their own computers (through something called RSS feeds).
This very blog is part of Web2.0! Now I get it.
So are social networking ,video sharing sites, folksonomies (I have no idea what this is or what collaborative tagging and social indexing are which are part of folksonomies - ah, another blog entry!). I learned that social networking refer to sites that link user generated content to users and users to users. This must be where MySpace fits in.
Wikipedia is itself part of the Web2.0 phenomenon. Users can contribute to this online encyclopedia. Its content changes constantly and grows with users' input. Craigslist, eBay, Skype, dodgeball are all part of this development in the use of the web. I suppose that certain kinds of new software have helped move this Web 2.0 along. Instead of just looking at a website, users can now interact with it, change it, add to it, get feedback from it. It's pretty amazing.
What's even more amazing is that Dixie Foster at GSLIS recently told a group of us who were struggling along with TOR 2 that she keeps hearing about Web 4.0!. I'd better get to that workshop at the very beginning!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
February 17, 2009 - television goes digital
The cable people are going to be busy. All those people with rabbit ears will be out of luck. On February 17, 2009 television goes digital.
I'm trying to figure out what that means. I looked up analog signal which is what we've had all these years for our TVs. Our technology book says that an analog signal is "a signal that continuously fluctuates over time between high and low voltage." Whereas digital signals are "based on numbers." They "exist in one of two possible values" - perhaps as we have learned in class- charged and uncharged, or 1 and 0.
I guess that means digital TV is a different way of broadcasting and receiving signals than the old analog method. I've heard it will give us better quality television with many more channels than we have now. I've also read that the analog channels will be available for emergency use. I'm hoping these terms analog and digital will become clearer to me as the semester progresses. And I guess we already have digital television available. It's just after the above date, no one will have analog. Am I right?
I'm wondering what this changeover will look like in America. Boy scouts running through the snow to help old people set up their converter boxes? (I heard one early plan of the government's was to involve said boy scout troops.) Rabbit ears recycled into modern sculptures and clothes hangers? Old analog TV's made into puppet theaters in preschools all over America? Maybe the changeover will be like Y2K - easy, simple, not even noticeable.
What I do know is that I'm going right over to my TV set right now to check my owner's manual for one of these labels - integrated digital timer, digital receiver, digital tuner, DTV, HDTV, ATSC. (I got this off the pbs.org website.) I'm back. Couldn't find anything in the manual. Guess I'll be one of those people calling up the local boy scout troop leader. Soon.
I'm trying to figure out what that means. I looked up analog signal which is what we've had all these years for our TVs. Our technology book says that an analog signal is "a signal that continuously fluctuates over time between high and low voltage." Whereas digital signals are "based on numbers." They "exist in one of two possible values" - perhaps as we have learned in class- charged and uncharged, or 1 and 0.
I guess that means digital TV is a different way of broadcasting and receiving signals than the old analog method. I've heard it will give us better quality television with many more channels than we have now. I've also read that the analog channels will be available for emergency use. I'm hoping these terms analog and digital will become clearer to me as the semester progresses. And I guess we already have digital television available. It's just after the above date, no one will have analog. Am I right?
I'm wondering what this changeover will look like in America. Boy scouts running through the snow to help old people set up their converter boxes? (I heard one early plan of the government's was to involve said boy scout troops.) Rabbit ears recycled into modern sculptures and clothes hangers? Old analog TV's made into puppet theaters in preschools all over America? Maybe the changeover will be like Y2K - easy, simple, not even noticeable.
What I do know is that I'm going right over to my TV set right now to check my owner's manual for one of these labels - integrated digital timer, digital receiver, digital tuner, DTV, HDTV, ATSC. (I got this off the pbs.org website.) I'm back. Couldn't find anything in the manual. Guess I'll be one of those people calling up the local boy scout troop leader. Soon.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Library Thing
I've been hearing about Library Thing for a while. Then I saw it mentioned at the bottom of books I looked up in the Simmons College Catalog. There were "tags" and info about the book from Library Thing after the "normal" cataloging. How cool! I thought of my daughter who loves to collect autographed children's books and types lists of them up so she can keep track of what she has. She would probably love this site, so I finally decided to check it out - thanks to the impetus of this blog assignment.
The site is www.librarything.com and I signed up tonight. I can see why it's become so popular. If you love books, it's an online haven. It's free for the first 200 books you post. A lifetime membership is only $25. It's a way to organize your library and "meet" other people who love the same kinds of books you do. (Or I suppose you could hang out with people who don't like the kinds of books you do.) There are "chat" groups, lists of books that are recommended, ways for you to post reviews, rate books, see what people on the site are reading, all sorts of things. You can link your list of books to your blog! (Does everyone have a blog?)
I added four books - it was so easy. I just typed out the title or author of the book and the site brought up a photo of the book cover and the title and author plus other info about the book from Amazon (or you can choose Library of Congress). I clicked on the title and there is was - on my list. I didn't take the time to rate my books, write a review of them, or pick tags for them. But I will. This is fun! I found out immediately that 548 other people on LibraryThing have picked "The Sex Lives of Cannibals," too. (It's not really about sex. Just a little. And there's not too much about cannibals either. Just a little. It's a true story about a couple who live on a far away atol in the South Pacific for two years and how they get used to pigs on the airplane runways and getting along without coffee.)
If I keep typing in books I have read and liked, I imagine I'll eventually find the 10 people on Library Thing who have the same taste in books that I do. They'll have names like Ballyman, Lunar, SpongeBobFishPants, and What'sOnMyCamera. (I'm not making these up - they're on the site!)
When I read on the site that one thing among many you can now do once you set up your book catalog is to pull your list of books up while you're in a bookstore on your cell phone and consult it before you make a purchase. LibraryThing can also help you make your next purchase. I think my daughter will really like this site. And me too. (Am I finally going web 2.0?)
The site is www.librarything.com and I signed up tonight. I can see why it's become so popular. If you love books, it's an online haven. It's free for the first 200 books you post. A lifetime membership is only $25. It's a way to organize your library and "meet" other people who love the same kinds of books you do. (Or I suppose you could hang out with people who don't like the kinds of books you do.) There are "chat" groups, lists of books that are recommended, ways for you to post reviews, rate books, see what people on the site are reading, all sorts of things. You can link your list of books to your blog! (Does everyone have a blog?)
I added four books - it was so easy. I just typed out the title or author of the book and the site brought up a photo of the book cover and the title and author plus other info about the book from Amazon (or you can choose Library of Congress). I clicked on the title and there is was - on my list. I didn't take the time to rate my books, write a review of them, or pick tags for them. But I will. This is fun! I found out immediately that 548 other people on LibraryThing have picked "The Sex Lives of Cannibals," too. (It's not really about sex. Just a little. And there's not too much about cannibals either. Just a little. It's a true story about a couple who live on a far away atol in the South Pacific for two years and how they get used to pigs on the airplane runways and getting along without coffee.)
If I keep typing in books I have read and liked, I imagine I'll eventually find the 10 people on Library Thing who have the same taste in books that I do. They'll have names like Ballyman, Lunar, SpongeBobFishPants, and What'sOnMyCamera. (I'm not making these up - they're on the site!)
When I read on the site that one thing among many you can now do once you set up your book catalog is to pull your list of books up while you're in a bookstore on your cell phone and consult it before you make a purchase. LibraryThing can also help you make your next purchase. I think my daughter will really like this site. And me too. (Am I finally going web 2.0?)
Monday, September 15, 2008
e books
In class, when we were discussing Vannevar Bush's article and how some people are so gung ho on new technological advances, I thought about e books. Some authors are jumping on this and their books are posted on line in full.
Recently a friend of mine was approached about having some of her children's books posted online by a company that specializes in children's books. She brought this up in our writing group and we talked about the pros and cons. But many of us are reluctant to do this. We take the "let's wait and see what happens with this new development before we take the leap" attitude.
On the plus side, having your book on this website might bring people to your other books - that's good advertising. And, if people really like the book, they might buy the actual book to read to their children.
I could see picture books on line as a valuable pre-viewing tool for some people. They could check out the text and illustrations and then decide which books they want to buy. It's hard to judge a picture book without seeing the full text and illustrations. I can see posting picture books on line for the above reason.
On the down side, perhaps people wouldn't buy the book it it's available on line.
However, I don't think putting picture books on line will end the physical form of these books. One reason is - it's hard to imagine a parent reading a book on line to a child before bed. Usually the scene is parent cuddling in bed with child and book, looking at the pictures, turning the pages together. It seems to me that the physical book is a big part of this night time ritual. Or will this picture change - parent and child in front of a laptop computer in bed, looking at pictures and reading text.
This makes me wonder about the future of books, children's books, picture books. I'm not like Vannevar Bush and can't see into the future of technology like he did. It's hard for me to imagine technology 10 years down the road. But I do hope that the physical book will still be in the picture. That the night time ritual of a child under the covers and parent beside child will still be a reality, both looking at Good Night Moon together, turning the pages, the smell of paper and a well worn, well loved book in the air, the child pointing at the little mouse on each page, and at the end saying, "Read it again, Mommy!"
Recently a friend of mine was approached about having some of her children's books posted online by a company that specializes in children's books. She brought this up in our writing group and we talked about the pros and cons. But many of us are reluctant to do this. We take the "let's wait and see what happens with this new development before we take the leap" attitude.
On the plus side, having your book on this website might bring people to your other books - that's good advertising. And, if people really like the book, they might buy the actual book to read to their children.
I could see picture books on line as a valuable pre-viewing tool for some people. They could check out the text and illustrations and then decide which books they want to buy. It's hard to judge a picture book without seeing the full text and illustrations. I can see posting picture books on line for the above reason.
On the down side, perhaps people wouldn't buy the book it it's available on line.
However, I don't think putting picture books on line will end the physical form of these books. One reason is - it's hard to imagine a parent reading a book on line to a child before bed. Usually the scene is parent cuddling in bed with child and book, looking at the pictures, turning the pages together. It seems to me that the physical book is a big part of this night time ritual. Or will this picture change - parent and child in front of a laptop computer in bed, looking at pictures and reading text.
This makes me wonder about the future of books, children's books, picture books. I'm not like Vannevar Bush and can't see into the future of technology like he did. It's hard for me to imagine technology 10 years down the road. But I do hope that the physical book will still be in the picture. That the night time ritual of a child under the covers and parent beside child will still be a reality, both looking at Good Night Moon together, turning the pages, the smell of paper and a well worn, well loved book in the air, the child pointing at the little mouse on each page, and at the end saying, "Read it again, Mommy!"
Thursday, September 11, 2008
wireless, cell phones and health questions
These first two posts to my new blog have turned out to be about some concerns I've had about the internet (keeping it free and open) and wireless (does it effect health?).
I was very excited when the library where I work got wireless capabilities. People came in with their laptops and - voila - they could access the internet. It was like magic! My library whose building is over 100 years old had entered the 21st century. We only have 5 public computers, so this increased our ability to serve patrons by quite a lot. I was excited to see more and more places besides the library provide wireless in my area, including local coffee shops.
But then I started to read in newspapers and hear on the radio about health concerns related to exposure to wireless, cell phone use, and cordless phone use. I began to wonder if these new and wonderful technologies had been studied for effects on health or if they had grown like topsy and we are all the guinea pigs.
My local newspaper, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, even had an article on this recently. It quoted the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Dr. Ronald Herberman. He warned his faculty and staff to limit cell phone use due to possible cancer risk. He said we should "err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later." (Also in News & Opinion, August 8, 2008).
I also checked out a website I heard mentioned on a radio show - http://www.safewireless.org.
I brought this subject up with my son, who is an electrical engineer, to see if he'd heard of any of this. This was before the Pittsburgh professor's remarks made the mainstream press. My son didn't think there was much to any of this. Then I asked him again after Dr. Herberman's news splash. My son said maybe kids shouldn't use cell phones so much because their brains were developing, but he thought this technology was safe enough for adults. He figured it was vetted by some government agency and declared safe or it wouldn't be in use. I didn't want to start an argument and let this one go.
So I wonder. I love the new wireless technology, the internet, cell phones. Are the health concerns voiced by a small group of people unfounded, fringe thinking, really out there? Should we be thinking of precautions we could be taking to protect ourselves from exposure to "electromagnetic radiation"? I'm not sure what to think as I go on using my cell phone to call my 89 year old mother who lives in a state across the country, and work in a library that has wireless and cordless phones.
I was very excited when the library where I work got wireless capabilities. People came in with their laptops and - voila - they could access the internet. It was like magic! My library whose building is over 100 years old had entered the 21st century. We only have 5 public computers, so this increased our ability to serve patrons by quite a lot. I was excited to see more and more places besides the library provide wireless in my area, including local coffee shops.
But then I started to read in newspapers and hear on the radio about health concerns related to exposure to wireless, cell phone use, and cordless phone use. I began to wonder if these new and wonderful technologies had been studied for effects on health or if they had grown like topsy and we are all the guinea pigs.
My local newspaper, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, even had an article on this recently. It quoted the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Dr. Ronald Herberman. He warned his faculty and staff to limit cell phone use due to possible cancer risk. He said we should "err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later." (Also in News & Opinion, August 8, 2008).
I also checked out a website I heard mentioned on a radio show - http://www.safewireless.org.
I brought this subject up with my son, who is an electrical engineer, to see if he'd heard of any of this. This was before the Pittsburgh professor's remarks made the mainstream press. My son didn't think there was much to any of this. Then I asked him again after Dr. Herberman's news splash. My son said maybe kids shouldn't use cell phones so much because their brains were developing, but he thought this technology was safe enough for adults. He figured it was vetted by some government agency and declared safe or it wouldn't be in use. I didn't want to start an argument and let this one go.
So I wonder. I love the new wireless technology, the internet, cell phones. Are the health concerns voiced by a small group of people unfounded, fringe thinking, really out there? Should we be thinking of precautions we could be taking to protect ourselves from exposure to "electromagnetic radiation"? I'm not sure what to think as I go on using my cell phone to call my 89 year old mother who lives in a state across the country, and work in a library that has wireless and cordless phones.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
blogs, the internet and censorship
I'm used to a free and open internet. And since I work in a library, I am also used to thinking in terms of choosing, but not censoring, for example, with book selection. But I have been hearing stories about censorship on the web, blocking sites, and fights being organized to keep the web free and open by organizations such as Free Press which is located in nearby Northampton.
One example I read about was a union in Canada whose web site was blocked by the local telecom. They were organizing to fight for better wages, etc. on their website. And there's the story about how a cell phone company blocked text messaging by a pro choice organization.
The thing is, I don't really understand how this works - how sites can be blocked and how traffic can be slowed to certain sites. People have tried to explain this to me using the analogy of a river that's flowing along, but can be blocked by a dam, slowed to a trickle by beavers, rerouted into a side stream, etc. Okay, I understand about rivers, but I don't know how this works with the internet and how this concept translates into the potential for blocking blogs, websites, and emails.
I would like to know more about how the internet works to get a better grasp on this. I think that as someone who works in a library and is dedicated to the free flow of information, I need to know how this can happen. I also want to know what I can do as a member of the library community to prevent this kind of web censorship. Is it even fair to call this web censorship?
I think web users make choices in what they access or don't, just as a librarian does in buying some books and not others. But for users to be limited by a company as to what they can access or not access is very different. I wonder if other people in the library science world are also concerned about this. When I went to an MLA conference two years ago, I didn't hear any mention of this concern.
So is there anything to this? Is it something people who work in libraries need to be aware of? These are some of the thoughts swirling around in my mind as I make my first ever blog entry.
One example I read about was a union in Canada whose web site was blocked by the local telecom. They were organizing to fight for better wages, etc. on their website. And there's the story about how a cell phone company blocked text messaging by a pro choice organization.
The thing is, I don't really understand how this works - how sites can be blocked and how traffic can be slowed to certain sites. People have tried to explain this to me using the analogy of a river that's flowing along, but can be blocked by a dam, slowed to a trickle by beavers, rerouted into a side stream, etc. Okay, I understand about rivers, but I don't know how this works with the internet and how this concept translates into the potential for blocking blogs, websites, and emails.
I would like to know more about how the internet works to get a better grasp on this. I think that as someone who works in a library and is dedicated to the free flow of information, I need to know how this can happen. I also want to know what I can do as a member of the library community to prevent this kind of web censorship. Is it even fair to call this web censorship?
I think web users make choices in what they access or don't, just as a librarian does in buying some books and not others. But for users to be limited by a company as to what they can access or not access is very different. I wonder if other people in the library science world are also concerned about this. When I went to an MLA conference two years ago, I didn't hear any mention of this concern.
So is there anything to this? Is it something people who work in libraries need to be aware of? These are some of the thoughts swirling around in my mind as I make my first ever blog entry.
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