This week, my time is quite limited and so I have really only explored Facebook. This is a completely new realm for me, and I find that my personality is such that a social network that does not have a face to face component to it is very foreign for me and somehow awkward. But I think that younger generations are more familiar with this technology and it is something that could be useful if applied in a thoughtful way. I have explore much more, but it could be helpful to have a professional area and a personal area to one's facebook account. I think that the networking is useful however it occurs. But the skills needed to do it on-line are different than in the usual way. One has to be more careful in protecting privacy. It is harder to know what information we are putting out on to the web and how it will be used, either for good or for bad. And the networking that occurs may not be as specific as one would like it since Facebook is now including anyone that wishes to join.

But I think that if MLA is using Facebook or some other website to connect members, then reluctant participatants will learn these skills. And many emerging librarians will have these skills already. I am wondering how email and websites combined differ from the facebook path. I am not sure I see yet how this method is better than using websites and email. Perhaps it is a lack of knowledge about Facebook and MySpace. I feel that I have much more to learn.

How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members?



Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page?



Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites?



What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace.

I am posting these questions in my blog. I will address them after I have explored social networking sites.

How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members
Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page?
Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites.
What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace.

We are asked to describe the difference between a blog and a wiki and think about applications for these two Web 2.0 technologies. I think of the blog as having one source. It is the thoughts recorded from one individual which are then put out on the web for others to comment on. A wiki has a group source. It is intended for several individuals to collaborate and exchange information, and the wiki is the lastest state of this group interacation. I think blogs are great ways for one person to get information out, i.e. a liason librarian letting readers know about new programs or ways to use the libraries services. A wiki would work well in a case where researchers in different locations are working on a paper or a grant together. Each contributor can access the grant and make changes. One draw back to the blog is that your intended readers or target need to receiving the blog feed and reading the blog. A draw back to the wiki would be if changes remove data that one collaborator wanted maintained. I am a novice to these ideas, so perhaps the problems I foresee are not problems at all.

Ups and Downs

I have successfully added page elements to my blog. I feel great about that. I had the sense that I am missing points of the course. It is difficult to keep up with the readings and everyone else's posts. I keep thinking there must be a good way to organize all of the information we are collecting together. Are the blogs searchable? In one way a webpage seems more organized. But I really enjoyed the article on how wikis work and how Mind Hack was created http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/07/07/what-is-a-wiki.html?

I struggle to keep on top of everything I am learning, but it is a great and informative course.

This is a link to the wiki I am creating. I have an interest in creating an on-line resource for research assistants at the University of Cincinnati. In my wiki, I will add information that will facilitate better research and provide access to resources that will help research assistants do their work.

http://researchassistantwiki.wetpaint.com/

Recommended blogs for my Web 2.0 class

Today I asked my practicum mentor for some suggestions for interesting blogs to add to my reader list. There are so many blogs out there that it can be overwhelming to chose. I have added the Krafty Librarian, David Rothman, the Cornflower, http://nnlm.gov/gmr/blog/ and Brainstorm, http://chronicle.com/review/brainstorm/ as recommended by my mentor. I can already see that, even using a reader, keeping up will require an a great effort. But there is much to be learned and I am enjoying the course so far.

Day 1 of Web 2.0 101

Today starts the first class of Web 2.0 101. I have created my blog and the web journey begins.