Social Networking, Wrap-up & Big Wrap

Social Networking
My reaction to libraries on MySpace and Facebook is why would you bother? Although it's a great idea to take the Library message to the (mostly) young people on these networks, I wonder if the libraries get a return for their efforts. When you look at their pages, most of their 'friends' are other libraries, librarians or people who were already associated with the organisation.

I did see authors joining libraries as 'friends' (saying thank you when their books are featured!), so there would be some social networking between the authors' fans, the authors and libraries. Another benefit would be to the library's image. Rotorua Public Library on Bebo is impressive; it sells the Library as up-to-date and in touch with youth culture. It also works for something specific like an Animanga Club, because fans will search for anime.

I haven't been on Second Life but I've looked at demo sites and seen similar 3D games. Personally I'd rather concentrate on creating a brilliant and welcoming physical library in real-time (that includes remote access). Who knows, Second Life might work for people who live where the weather is so dreadful they can't go outside (Arctic Circle perhaps?) or in remote isolation!

I once scared the daylights out of my kids by joining MySpace and sending them messages as a joke. I'm not sure what freaked them out most - the thought that I was 'out there' in MySpace, or the fact that I could see their photos and their friends' candid messages! And, no, they didn't block me; they just moved over to Facebook.

Which brings up an important point about social networking, online apps, and technology in general...

Wrap-up
Technology evolves, and so does popular culture. Facebook takes over from MySpace, and one trend supplants another. Or they may co-exist. The passing of time sorts out the survivors/winners; Google and Wikipedia are good examples.

The reason that rapidly changing technologies are a problem for libraries, or certainly for local public libraries, is because we don't have enough staff, time, or funding to do it all. We have to keep an eye on our core business and put our energies into things that are relevant, and will give us good returns. The internet is littered with good intentions that weren't sustainable.

But still we can't ignore what's going on or we'll be irrelevant! We need to find the balance between what we already do and what is developing on the Internet.

Big Wrap for SLNSW
So this is where Web2.0 Learning comes in. Programs like this help us monitor developments and see what will work for us, even with limited staff and time. I've learned a lot. I hope we can use some of it. One easy idea we should consider would be librarians promoting their skills by Slamming the Boards on Yahoo7ANSWERS even just for one day a year (such as in LIW).

Apps

Each week I discover how little I know. Scary. Like the feeling you get when you look at the night sky and realise that it goes on forever. The Net's like that; we will never get to the end.

My huge learning leap into the unknown for this week was into free applications online: word processing, spreadsheet, slideshow, email, chat, wiki, the list goes on. Sometimes I already knew the name ( like Google Docs ) but I hadn't used it.

So now I've had a go at converting files with Zamzar, and will try it again the next time a customer at our public pcs brings in a file in a version or software different from ours.

I Google doc'd (new verb) a file to share with the Learning 2.0 team and found Google Docs easy to use. I saw that Zoho writer had more word-processing options, and the documents looked better to me. Then I looked at several comments and blogs comparing Zoho suite and Google Docs. The word seemed to be that Zoho had more features in each application and had more applications altogether ( such as a applications for databases, project management, and a personal organiser), and was aimed more at business while Google Docs was aimed at Google consumers. But Google Docs has the advantage of its relationship with Gmail and other Google products, and has the resources to keep adding products so its competitors don't get too far ahead.

I can see the benefits of online file storage -the portability and ease of sharing. Is it only a matter of time before we use online files with the same ease we use Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo for email? When I opened my first Hotmail account it was so I could use it when travelling overseas, and my Outlook account was my 'real' email. Today most young people use their Hotmail/Yahoo/Gmail by choice, and wouldn't think of buying software if there is a free version on the Net. In fact they don't think of buying software at all.