Doc War!

vs.

I like the idea of cloud based storage, having the files I want only a internet connection away. While it is frustrating when I cannot connect to them, not having to spend any effort to move them makes up for it. Sharing and having multiple people updating the same document. I wouldn't store sensitive information on it, but I don't like to store that kind of thing electronically at all.

Google Docs is a tool that I have used in the past for collaborating with people on group projects. I've always like the ease of use, I never had any trouble with the UI. One of the real reasons that I use it, and why I am and reluctant to switch, is because it seems like everyone is on it. The amount of users has reached a critical mass, where the technology seems to have become ubiquitous. It like at the web2.0 lecture during staff day, where fax machines only became useful when everyone seemed to have them.


Zoho Writer is the other tool that we were asked to try out. From the beginning, I liked it. I didn't have to make another sign in, I could use my already existing Google account. And the features look great. They had many of the tool I use when collaborating online, all in one place. And the writer had a many more tools then Google Docs. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to make this such a better option that I wanted to move my data to their service. It's good, and if I had discovered this first I might be using it instead of Google Docs, but for now, until I need to use it for something, I probably won't look at it again unless I have too.

If our founding fathers could grasp the implications of being able to freely share and work together on projects with out having to be in the same geographical space, I think they would vandalize Wikipedia.

You've got mail?

iving up email was something that I used to say I could do, all I ever used it for was signing up for things and collecting spam; e-mail was something other people used, not me. But I gave up my Luddite ways, and got a gmail account when I went to college. I thought I would have a hard time remembering to check it, but I suddenly find my self
looking at it compulsively, checking it every couple of hours, what changed?

I guess I started needing it. I rely on email for all of my academic and work related communication, I get updates from it. And I've started to use it for personal use, almost as a text messaging replacer.

As far as other text communication things, the only one I really use is SMS. It's great for when I don't want to leave a message, but want to say something, or when I want to not bother someone with a call, because it's something stupid. I like that I don't have to deal with it right then, I can wait. I don't use a chat client very often, when I do it's iChat. I used to use it more in middle school, but now it seems like a waste of time.

I like using text based communication tools, it gives me all the time I need to compose my thought, and it harder to blab on about inane things. I'll still be using email, it's not going away for me anytime soon. I might make better use of IMs in the future, but for now, it's easier to call or see someone, then wait for them online.

Web 2.0 and me (and libraries)

hen I was prompted to tell why I am working on 23 Things it took me a minute to come up with an answer. These are things that I am exposed to already, I use many of these tools and feel comfortable with many of them. I know circulation is required to work on this, and that I have to do the 9 that were chose, but I wanted to do them, and have a reason for working on them. I want circulation to have better communication, I feel that we could benefit greatly from a shared, collaborative space. I undertook work on our part of the wiki, but quickly realized that without anyone else contributing, I was making it more for my self then anything.

By doing the 23 Things, I want to know, and be at, the same level as my co-workers. If we all start in the same place, this "survival in web2.0 world" training, my co-workers and I might not be so lost with a new communication medium. We might even use it, if we got into the habit. I looking forward to the day when I can have a idea or a question, post it, and get feedback and collaboration on it, with out the need for a committee to meet and survey and get back to us.

I use "web 2.0" tools every day. There a large part of how I get things done, and how I spend my free time. I've got a facebook, I use flickr to share photos. I collaborate on a wiki to do my group projects in school, I always promise to my self to learn yahoo pipes. I put my data on the cloud, I share and keep my bookmarks on del.icio.us. I'm going to school for a field that has this as it's bread and butter. I live, and often work in, a web 2.0 environment.

For this blog post, we were asked to first read 3 articles, and watch a video. The articles* dealt with the changing face of the traditional library. They all pointed to the onslaught of information available for free and at home and asked "What are we going to do about this? How will we stay relevant?" I think that the answer is in looking at what a library is and maybe what a librarian does. To me, one of the things at the core of librarianship, is a librarian organizing and presenting data, information, in a clear, logical way. The internet, and all the information that comes with it, won't change this.

All of that information need people to help organize it and get it too people. Too often I look only to the first dozen hits on a search engine, if even that far, and make a choice of where to go from there. Nine billion hits never helps me. And increasingly, these hits, the results, are the same few websites over many broad categories. Wikipedia, Digg, Amazon, all of these seem to be near the top of all but the most precise searches. With the tunnel vision that occurs, I often don't leave my safety zone online. Lot's of amazing information is out there, everything exists online, but I don't know if I have the tools to find it.

We have a need! This is what libraries need to respond to! In the flood of information online, finding what your looking for can be impossible with the web giants blocking your view. Library 2.0 is about responding to the needs of the community, and librarians are about organizing and presenting information. There's a lot things that need to be categorized.



*I could only read 2 of them, the PDF reader wasn't playing nice in the lab.