Thing 4 - Exploring Flickr

Lovecraft
Originally uploaded by jovike

I enjoyed browsing through Flickr. I must admit, I've maintained a Flickr account for a couple of years at this point and have over 1000 pictures posted (only two are public--which should give you an idea of how I feel about privacy), so I spent my Thing-time focusing on features I don't use (like groups). Groups seem to have potential, and I like that they can be public or private. I'm not sure what to think of how the Clemens and Alcuin libraries of the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University are using Notes to highlight books in shots of their displays. Seems like a lot of staff time to spend on something with minimal payback, but I do think Flickr does have PR potential in the public library. If nothing else, it's seems like it'd be a great way to keep track of and organize pictures taken internally. At MCPL, such photos could then be made available to staff on LInt. Just a thought.

I'm also quite insular when it comes to using Flickr, so I don't look at stuff posted by folks other than Friends and Family. As such, I took a little time this time around to explore, but I really struggled to find something I wanted to post to my blog. I've settled on an image of some old editions of works by H.P. Lovecraft. Yes, in case you didn't know, I love Lovecraft's short stories--especially those in the Cthulhu cycle. However, this shot wasn't my first choice. I looked at pictures of famous Diggers (like Emmett Grogan), pics of bands I enjoy (like Stereolab), historic photos of Bloomington, and tried unsuccessfully to find pictures of the Indianapolis Racers before settling on the picture you see.

I didn't go through every option in the challenges section, but I did think there were a lot of cool tools available through Big Huge Labs. I even made a magazine cover. Good times.

Thing 3 - Learn About RSS

I've been using RSS on my own for a while now, so this thing didn't present a lot that was new to me. That said, I still consider myself a relative late-comer to the whole RSS thing. At first, I thought it might be cool for keeping up with news, but I soon found that my Google Reader account was inundated with new stories on an almost minute-by-minute basis. After that, I decided to seek out feeds from sites that were only updated once a day or less.

I did take the time to set up an RSS feed for every weblog in the 23 Things initiative here at MCPL. It might seem like it would take a long time to do, but I got all 50 or so blogs set up in my Google Reader account within 15 minutes. And now I don't have to click through all of those links (although I do if I want to see all of the nifty avatars and such--like the three avatars I have on my blog).

Beyond that, I've actually found RSS feeds quite useful. I set up feeds for the Rory Litwin's Library Juice blog, Jessamyn West's Librarian.net, and Nora Rawlinson's Early Word blog. I also receive the WSJ book reviews as a feed. Going to one spot to check these is great, and I'm getting updates on the issues of relevance to progressive issues in librarianship, heads-up on new books and RA tools, and insight into library technology--including the new programming field of gaming in libraries.

But what I really like is being able to 'star', 'share', and 'tag' items. This allows me to keep track of really interesting posts, share them with the world, and organize them. Right now, I'm starring anything of interest. I have a link to my shared items via my personal blog, but as I use this new account, I may create a link to my feeds in my work blog. And I really like being able to tag the WSJ's recommended reads. Even though I didn't need any more books on my "to read" list, RSS is making the list grow at an exponential rate. Wowzers!

Thing 2 - Reading Up on Stuff

It's seems that 23 Things is off to a great start at MCPL. Today is the last day to register for Round 1 of 23 Things, and as of this posting we have 55 people signed up. Purty awesome.

I just worked through Thing 2, and it really got me to thinking. Each article/video offered a lot to ponder, but I'll limit my comments to a few points from the readings that really struck a proverbial chord:

• Teaching the Machine - Michael Wesch's video was well-done, but what really stuck with me was the idea of "teaching the machine". Being a sci-fi freak, I couldn't help but think of Skynet, the fictional computer system from the Terminator films that goes sentient and then decides humans are passé (HAL 9000, anyone?). Honestly, I'm not that worried about computers going A.I. and deciding to wipe humanity off the face of the planet (should I be). What I am worried about is rogue forces solidifying their grip on power. And that brings me to one thing that really concerns me when it comes to Web 2.0: privacy.
  
  As we rush into the technological wonderland that interactive computing offers, are we failing to consider the consequences of documenting many/all of our thoughts, tastes, preferences, positions, opinions, likes, and dislikes online via text and images? I mean, Google is tracking what searches we make, our email providers are keeping logs of interpersonal communication, our blogs are out there for the whole world to see, there are pictures of us and digital recordings of phone conversation, and voice and facial recognition software, and closed circuit video cameras in buildings and on street corners and, well, the list goes on. How long will this information stay out there? Who or what is collecting this data? Are the companies that possess this data willing to pass it on to other corporations or the government? If not now, will they at a future date when these institutions are under new management/administration? How are these forces using this information and how might it be used for nefarious purposes in the future? Are we setting ourselves up? Are those who shout warnings in the wilderness regarding the emerging surveillance society crackpots or prophets? Should we be embracing Web 2.0 with much, much more caution given what I perceive to be well-founded arguments against trusting corporations and the government? Or am I simply a paranoiac given that participation is not necessarily mandatory?



• Relevancy - John Blyberg's overview of Library 2.0 contained so much information that I wanted to stop after each paragraph and form a discussion group. Alas, I pushed through it instead--though I think it would be great to see a larger discussion of L2 at MCPL either as we all work through these "things" or after Round 1 ends.
  
  One issue that Blyberg brought up that I feel compelled to address is how public libraries will continue to remain relevant. Yes, there will always be persons who simply want to checkout books and DVDs and use our toilets and computers, but I can't help but wonder if there's more we should be doing. Do we really need to provide a balanced and comprehensive print collection when so much information is available online? Should we focus more on making the library a community hub and not place so much emphasis on traditional ideas of what a library is? How can we reach out to demographics who have embraced Web 2.0? Why is the AS readers blog is not open to all staff and the public? Is there a way to allow patrons to leave comments in the PAC like patrons in Hennepin County are able to? Is there room for gaming in libraries programming? Should we shift monetary and staff resources devoted to traditional reference services to tech support and programming and the creation of tools that guide patrons in the use of the "online social library" of the future? Me thinks so.



• (Books + People + Radical Trust) x Participation = Library 2.0 - While Blyberg's blog entry was the meatiest offering, there were a few points from the LTR article "The Ongoing Web Revolution that struck me. Of note is the equation in bold above. Yes, public libraries have books and people, and I don't think there's a single staff member at MCPL that isn't convinced that those two things are of crucial importance, but what about radical trust and participation? I'm not talking about task forces and committees and giving staff a voice in decision-making (regardless of whether its real, drawn only to bolster a pre-determined end, or illusory). I'm talking about Web 2.0 and the need for "radical" trust--allowing patrons to leave comments on the PAC, patron-driven blogs, a library Facebook/Flickr/MySpace page, et cetera. Again, this is why I think it's crucial that the discussion of Library 2.0 extend beyond the 23 Things initiative.



• Perpetual Beta - There were a lot of nifty ideas in the five essays I read on the OCLC.org site, but Michael Stephens' statement about not debating Web 2.0 endlessly before implementation but instead being in "perpetual beta" really resonated with me. I know we haven't gotten to these "things" per se, but why isn't MCPL using Delicious, Facebook, Library Thing, Blogger, IM, et cetera? I know we're very egalitarian and like to move forward from a position of consensus, but there are surely times when management has to prod and push to get tech-reluctant staff to give a new resource a shot. Hell, I'm as guilty of reluctance as the next guy, but I know that I've also learned to value things that it took tangible prodding to get me to use.

Anyway, I'm guessing that Thing 2 will be my favorite thing. I love ideas. For example, my love of science fiction stems directly from the fact that it's not formulaic drivel that sinks or swims on the ability of the author to create likable characters (and, to an even greater extent, on marketing pushes that attempt to convince that something that's total crap is actually the next big thing); it has to do with the fact that it's the genre of ideas and possibilities, of unrestrained conjecture and creativity. Anyway, Thing 2 is full of ideas. I worry that upcoming "things" will be less challenging intellectually and more focused on practical mastery of the tools. Alas!

Thing 1 - Setting Up a Weblog

Well, I'm set up and ready to rumble. I probably had too much fun creating my profile, but then I'm a sucker for that sort of thing. Speaking of tweaking my Blogger settings, I got in and added a few gadgets (listing labels, links, etc), uploaded my avatar from Yahoo!, and explored Feedburner and Sitemeter. I can't say that I'm really interested in adding either Feedburner or Sitemeter analytics to this blog, but I can see the advantage of using the for a library or business blog.

Anyway, just wanted to post a quick note documenting this momentous achievement. Next up, reading up on Web 2.0 and tackling Thing 2.