It's interesting to read that Rick Anderson's UN-Reno library's circ has dropped 50% -- but that's a bit different I think than what public libraries are experiencing. Loudoun's circ isn't dropping, and though population growth plays in, and the very high quality of work that comes from Loudoun's Collection Development efforts in selecting new material for purchase plays in. But there's a more fundamental factor in play too. People still want media (books, dvds, audio) in fixed physical format. Not everyone likes reading on a computer screen, and downloadable audio (and video) take work and time. People like the new things, but they like comfort too. When people stop wanting books, dvd's, and cd's, we'll know -- the manufacturers will stop making money, and stop making them.
The best thing about Library 2.0 is how engaged library people get when it comes up. VLA Region V Committee held it's Spring Program today, Library 2.0: Delivering the Promise. Like Learning 2.0 itself, the focus was primarily on the getting to know the technologies. But what I walked away from was a sense that many of these technologies -- and the responses that libraries undertake -- are no less than (and no more than) new means of continuing a conversation.
So let the conversation continue...
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
YouTube: Don't look back (except those funny commericals)
Back in the day (midnineties), Mr. Khan would drive his Geo Metro to Boston to see Baby Ray, or Bettie Serveert or Mary Lou Lord, or hop SWA at BWI to see Kathy Mattea in Nashville. He'd see friends, swap stories, an' maybe some friends would give him concert AVI files which he'd put on his webpage (by storing them on his CUA VAX account in a folder that allowed sharing with the ftp protocol). Those files moved to a commerical account when CUA was done, and all was well, until someone at the ISP company decided to start charging for storage. A bill for $180 (three months) followed. Bye bye, avi's.
Now, YouTube makes that all better. YouTube stores your videos for you, and in exchange you just have to be willing for the world to see them. Which is the kinda the point all along, really. It's super. And it gives businesses and public institutions a platform for getting content out there in video form like never before.
The question is probably not "What can libraries (in general, or specific) do with YouTube?" It's probably "What could libraries have done with YouTube, for two or three years?" One thing is for sure, spending time regretting that we didn't get on the bus more quickly isn't going to move us. But getting on the bus, now? Then we are rolling.
Now, YouTube makes that all better. YouTube stores your videos for you, and in exchange you just have to be willing for the world to see them. Which is the kinda the point all along, really. It's super. And it gives businesses and public institutions a platform for getting content out there in video form like never before.
The question is probably not "What can libraries (in general, or specific) do with YouTube?" It's probably "What could libraries have done with YouTube, for two or three years?" One thing is for sure, spending time regretting that we didn't get on the bus more quickly isn't going to move us. But getting on the bus, now? Then we are rolling.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Thing 19: I'd like to thank the academy. Or curse it, say the 2.0 gurus...
Thing 19 is the 2006 Web 2.0 awards and the tools revealed therein. I have to admit that one of my best laughs of 2006 was when I read, in the Web 2.0 Awards publicity that "one thing is for sure, these tools will be around a long time." Because of course, that's not how the web works. Things change constantly, and good ideas tend to be quickly adapted by corporate players like Google, Yahoo, Micrsoft, News Corp, etc. This tends to leave the creators of the ideas holding the bag. For the the YouTube folks, the bag was filled with cash, though, but a lot of web 2.0 award winners probably don't go on to web 3.0 quite as rich.
In the Webby listings, I tried out the two "winners" for personal planning, "hippo cal" and "planzo". The idea is that they give you a web-sharable, easily updated and flexible calendaring utility. Since the awards, hippo cal was bought by Yahoo. And not to be critical, but both were pretty weak. Hippo Cal had real user interface problems setting up recurring events... which is not hard to do in outlook, groupwise and other 1.0 resources. Planzo was more or less laughable -- it says to add an event, click the "add event" button. There was no "add event" button. I asked the contact us. They never answered. I think Planzo is a ghost ship at this point.
But hey, you want web 2.0 calendaring? Try Google. Gmail has a calendar feature that is awesome. You can share your calendar with the world, with people (using their email addresses, no google account required). You can color code (wish that was in Groupwise). You can attach documents. You can use an event search and one-click add events to your schedule. (You're thinking, why would I do that? How about seeing when the Nats are going to play the Braves this year? Or concerts? Or professional conferences? How'd you like to get the events you're gonig to on your personal schedule with one click?).
My point, I guess, is that the web has always had plenty of folks trying to break big with new applications. But those innovative ideas are subject to market forces, and those forces tend to concentrate resources. So the useful ideas will eventually (and this is web time -- eventually is months) be integrated (co-opted?) into offering that will enhance the position of the biggest market players. The Long Tail exists, yes. It's true that the web challenges institutions to be innovative and to collaborate and to mash up, and to let go control. But that doesn't mean that major players will not seek more control by glomming on to the good stuff they see. A net plus for users, for innovators (again, rich YouTube guys), for everyone, because it makes the web into a lab, with low R&D costs. If Parmaceuticals or Renewable Energy research could work the same way, think of the possibilities.
In the Webby listings, I tried out the two "winners" for personal planning, "hippo cal" and "planzo". The idea is that they give you a web-sharable, easily updated and flexible calendaring utility. Since the awards, hippo cal was bought by Yahoo. And not to be critical, but both were pretty weak. Hippo Cal had real user interface problems setting up recurring events... which is not hard to do in outlook, groupwise and other 1.0 resources. Planzo was more or less laughable -- it says to add an event, click the "add event" button. There was no "add event" button. I asked the contact us. They never answered. I think Planzo is a ghost ship at this point.
But hey, you want web 2.0 calendaring? Try Google. Gmail has a calendar feature that is awesome. You can share your calendar with the world, with people (using their email addresses, no google account required). You can color code (wish that was in Groupwise). You can attach documents. You can use an event search and one-click add events to your schedule. (You're thinking, why would I do that? How about seeing when the Nats are going to play the Braves this year? Or concerts? Or professional conferences? How'd you like to get the events you're gonig to on your personal schedule with one click?).
My point, I guess, is that the web has always had plenty of folks trying to break big with new applications. But those innovative ideas are subject to market forces, and those forces tend to concentrate resources. So the useful ideas will eventually (and this is web time -- eventually is months) be integrated (co-opted?) into offering that will enhance the position of the biggest market players. The Long Tail exists, yes. It's true that the web challenges institutions to be innovative and to collaborate and to mash up, and to let go control. But that doesn't mean that major players will not seek more control by glomming on to the good stuff they see. A net plus for users, for innovators (again, rich YouTube guys), for everyone, because it makes the web into a lab, with low R&D costs. If Parmaceuticals or Renewable Energy research could work the same way, think of the possibilities.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Google Docs & Zoho Writer
Well, if these catch on, there will be no more computers just for typing (application workstations). And GoogleDocs and Zoho are better than, say, Microsoft Works. Microsoft Works is my nemesis! More users save files in works format and then cannot open them on our computers than read James Patterson! I think the best plus to network productivity tools like these is that one can always open the resulting files.
Always, except when the Internet is down. Or the power is out. Or the company goes away.
I'll be hangin' on to a pencil or two, I think
Always, except when the Internet is down. Or the power is out. Or the company goes away.
I'll be hangin' on to a pencil or two, I think
pbWiki: writing on the wall
PB Wiki is a bit like writing on the wall -- not the bathroom wall (heaven forfend!), but say, the wall of the yearbook office in high school. Or, it's like a forum, but without threads. I think the fact that the pages look entirely inconsistent is coincedental; a half hour in the plcmc pb wiki and we could fix that all up.
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