Final impressions of Web 2.0 exercises 26 and 27 "mash-up"

This project has opened my eyes, my ears and my computer to more information (and viruses) than I ever thought possible! The sky is the limit with what a person can find and indulge in on the internet. Tagging, aggregators, wiki’s, url, HTML became everyday vocabulary for me. I’ve signed up for so many accounts and have so many ID’s and passwords, I feel schizophrenic!

Having to create a Flickr account was probably the best exercise of the entire 27 things project for me. Flicker is a web site for avid photographers to share their images and make comments, share ideas, tips and blog about what you see. Basic membership is free although if you are like many members who are professional or have lots of pictures, you can upgrade for a fee. I am just starting out so I still have the basic membership but when this project is over, I will be upgrading my membership. You can see my collection at http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzyqmurdoch . Or slide over to the left side of my blog and clik on a pic!

It’s been an enlightening trip thru the internet world of web 2.0. I can happily say I am still hanging tough with “KCLS 27 Things Web 2.0 Project”! I have “surfed” the web more in the past couple of months than I have since the conception of the web!!!

The libraries of the future, KCLS in particular will be incorporating web 2.0 and will need to look even further (web 3.0, 4.0, etc.) into the future in order to keep up with today’s savvy patrons. The future of libraries as we know it today is in the hands of a new generation that thinks in high speed, high definition and high impact. Libraries as they were 5, 6, 10 years ago just wouldn’t, won’t make it in today’s world of technology. Don’t get me wrong, libraries are not going to become obsolete, there is always going to be a need to touch a book, open it’s cover, leaf thru it’s pages, get lost amongst the rows and rows of bookshelves, interface with those “Gods” of infinite wisdom, the ones who know and speak the language of the “Dewey system”, the “librarian”. Libraries are and will always be “community” oriented havens. Computers have integrated very nicely with books, and it’s been proven that they can and do work well together. Just walk into your local library and see how many people are on computers and have books at their side.

Personally, I love my books, I love the smell, and I love the weight of a book in my hands. It’s a security blanket that I curl up with and escape into my imaginary world (what ever that might be, depending on the book). Computers are cold, impersonal and so vast and infinite like the universe and the billions of stars we see in the sky at night. I wonder if we can lose a little bit of our souls every time we venture out into that vast wilderness…hmmm, might make an interesting horror story…