LIS 9763

This week’s readings point to several important ways that social software has changed the web landscape, and thus the best practices we must incorporate into library services. To me, Shirky's (2008) video in which he discusses society’s current form of “cognitive surplus” is all about potential.

This week’s readings and video highlight that social software can be used as a method of encouraging transparency, approachability, inclusivity, innovation, and participation among both library staff and users. Therefore, as I see it, one of the greatest lessons derived from Web 2.0 is that as librarians and information professionals, we can explore, play with, implement and evaluate these technologies as a means of learning about and fostering exemplary service provision and staff relations both online and off.
 

Welcome to week 13! We have just 2 weeks of class left -- I can't believe how fast this term has gone! Last week, you all inspired me with your insightful and thoughtful posts on marketing and evaluation. This week, we're moving into looking at and thinking about what libraries can & have learned from web 2.0.

I love RSS feeds because now everyone has the ability to be completely up to date on whatever it is they are interested in! I'm inclined to agree when Amanda states that RSS feeds and content aggregators are the backbone of web 2.0 technology. Instead of the user having to go to each information source individually, the information now feeds itself to the users. Yes, users have to find the initial feeds and websites, but they can build what is essentially a personalized resource centre of content directly tailored to their user needs. We're streamlining access to information!

New to the world of 2.0? This video by Michael Wesch at Kansas State University is a great place to start! It's called "The Machine is Us/ing Us". Click the image below to play the video.