Signing Off

Well this has been a marvellous experience and I would recommend everyone work through the Web 2.0 program.

This program has helped to reinforce my knowledge of many application and it has introduced me to new sites and applications that I would otherwise have not come across.

Internet technology is developing and changing at a rapid pace and even those of us who are tech-savy can often miss new developments or not know the full scope of these applications that we do use. The Web 2.0 format enables everyone, at their own pace, to develop and reinforce their knowledge.

This has been great, thanks to the State Library NSW for running the program and until next time, Cheers!

Social Networking

Ah the wonders of MySpace and Facebook. I personally am a Facebook person and have a nice little Facebook page. In saying that I am a Facebook person please do not assume I am one of those people who documents my entire days activities via this site. No I am a Facebook person who created a page to link up with a friend and view a few photos and from there I have gained a few friends along the way. (As a note these are actual friends who I see and speak with on a regular basis, they are not these cyber friends that seem to have appeared all over the place and I certainly do not have 100's of them)

In relation to the library environment there is an opportunity for us to use these tools to perhaps connect with the younger demographic, which otherwise seem to slip through the cracks in library partnerships. As this is the section of the community that is so connected with these social networking sites, libraries could harness these sites to promote directly to this demographic library activities that are of interest to them.

Whilst I am an avid Internet and gadget geek (yes I can admit it), the social networking side of things is for me a little too impersonal. Whilst you could have 100 friends list in your Facebook, how many of them are actual friends?
There is also an intrusion into what are personal aspects of our lives through these pages, which have become a real issue.
I still like to write an email and send a txt directly to one person in a personal way. That person knows that I am thinking about them when I write and when I write it is styled specifically for them and not the masses.

For now Cheers!

Online Applications

It is truly amazing how much the Internet has altered the way in which we approach tasks. No longer are you limited to one computer, one disk, one opportunity to create, share and experience information, the Internet has made these experience timeless. Or perhaps more to the point Google has completely transformed the computer experience in ever facet possible.

Google.docs is the perfect example of the freeing nature of the Internet. The flexibility it provides people in publishing documents is enormous. It creates a new world where people are now no longer bound to purchase high cost software, which in reality they may only use in a limited capacity.

The only draw back to these applications is the limited formatting available and insert file limits. In other words they don't have all the bells and whistles of Microsoft applications. This can limit the creativity for people in when developing documents, but this again must be held in contrast to the amazing flexibility Google.docs and other online applications provide to the general public.

I personally have never been in a position where I haven't had access to various Microsoft application and conversion software, so I can not understand the frustration that exists for people when trying to complete projects. These new online applications now mean that if you can access the Internet you can complete documents with little fuss.

I am still unsure about the applications of these tools in the library environment. At the Tumut Library we provide people with access to a variety of desktop publishing products, however if these were not available for any reason these online publishing products could easily fill the void.

For now, Cheers!