Monthly Web 2.0 Checkup #2

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Time to re-evaluate my personal outlook on social media (see Dec. 31 New Year’s Resolution post). This month, I traveled to Austin for the Texas Computer Education Association Convention, where the buzz word was Web 2.0. While some teachers are just becoming familiar with the term, others consider it “old hat” and are talking about Web 3.0, 3D web, or the Semantic Web.

Social media and social networking provide many benefits to users, but I have been struggling for the past year or two about how to balance my personal life online with my professional life online. Close friends and family members use social networking only for posting pictures and personal messages. My PLN (professional learning network) uses social networking for sharing new trends and educational content. Although I have numerous social network accounts (Nings, Myspace, Facebook, MyTLA, Linkedin, Googlegroups, Yahoogroups, and ALA Connect come to mind), my goal is to consolidate and simplify the daily barrage of information.

In the past couple of months, both my Library Supervisor and my University Director have suggested utilizing Facebook and requested I befriend their pages. I feel obliged to honor that request, even though I have not come to grips with my own use.

I purchased Laura Solomon’s book, entitled, Doing Social Networking So it Matters in hope of finding a meaningful purpose for FB. While it didn’t take me long to understand the best use of twitter (sharing information with those who have the same interests), I admit to being a reluctant FB “fan” to the point of being obstinate. Solomon’s book points out that social capital is best achieved through a long-term participation in community. Using social media strictly for marketing becomes apparent quickly. I found Doing Social Networking So it Matters a great guide for best practices in libraries. Now that my supervisor suggests using FB, I am rethinking my position, even though I am an elementary school librarian. I think secondary schools, public libraries, and academic libraries would have more reason to utilize FB.

So…have I made progress with my NY resolution?

Two bosses encouraged me to use FB. Laura Solomon’s book encouraged me to understand best practices in libraries. But, I still had this inside battle raging between the personal identity and the professional identity. Facebook does not make it easy to post to limited audiences. I speak in different voices- to nieces, to co-workers, or to distant friends.
Last weekend, during a lovely warm sunset, I brought the subject up to my husband. He has been listening patiently to my rants about FB for months. He has heard me discuss my distaste for the trivial nonsense and my fear of becoming a stuffy old academic who only values educational materials!

So, across the patio table on this lovely weekend evening, I asked, “The whole world seems obsessed with Facebook and I just can’t seem to figure out the point. What do you think I should do?”

His simple answer has given me much thought this week. In fact, it amazed me. He said, “I think you should just be nice!”

The Robotic Moment

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Have you walked into a Starbucks, picked up your coffee, then turned around to see a room full of people who are totally silent and plugged into their digital devices? All of them in a virtual world? Turkle describes, “… new intimacies in solitude and new solitude in intimacies.” We are poised at “the robotic moment”…all of us. I agree, because I have felt it coming, as my school library disintegrates under my feet. I’ve been torn between learning new technology tools (digital content) and promoting literature appreciation (traditional librarianship). Rather than fear this moment, I continue my quest for a positive view for the future. Having witnessed revolutionary changes within the span of my career, I could easily cry, “the sky is falling!” But I’m not gonna.

Turkle’s warning should be heeded. But for my fellow “Pollyannas”– let’s keep smiling and believing in the good part of humanity.

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Oh, but wait! I have kept my use of technology in a professional arena. I am active in a number of virtual worlds, but always as myself. I am still me- Valibrarian. My focus in virtual worlds is educational and, although I am aware of the psychological issues that arise, I do not take the time to address them. We can’t all be experts at everything! Turkle’s latest book gave me an idea. It seems there are three distinct ways to use technology as a personal identity: 1. As myself 2. As someone else and 3. As a non-human (a robot). Actually, there might be a fourth identity: a cyborg. Sherry Turkle has spent her career studying this topic. I haven’t even met a robot! I never had a pet Furby. So, I can agree with Turkle’s discussion of social media, the Internet, and virtual worlds. But, as for the role of robots in the future- well, I am out of my element (Donnie).

Digitally Gracious

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Etiquette, some say, has become less of a priority in our fast-paced society. Table manners are rarely taught, since most families eat on the run. We have microwaves, instant downloads of movies (no more driving to Blockbuster to pick one out), instant music choices (itunes and Pandora), and even instant ebook downloads. Educators are struggling to keep up with the technological world in which students now live. The slower pace of yesteryear (or was that just a decade ago) provided the luxury of thinking before we spoke, of eating together and actually conversing, of revising hand-written notes and letters, and learning how to build relationships through graciousness.

Currently, I am reading Sherry Turkle’s new book entitled Alone Together. Turkle writes, “Technology ties us up as it promises to free us up” (p. 32). Turkle cautions us about the future by describing a generation raised on “virtual pet toys” which often values the virtual as much, or more, than the physical. A virtual pet may require attention but real emotion is absent. Are we teaching young people the importance of thinking about others, not just themselves? Could it be that emphasis on technology applications is overtaking emphasis on human interaction?

In my National Writing Project training, a mentor compared grammar to good manners. The point of using grammar is not correctness– but clarity for the reader. Grammar shows good manners, so the reader does not have to struggle for meaning. Grammar is gracious. Is technology also changing grammar? English teachers tell me that, yes indeed, it is! Students prefer texting to email or talking. Explaining the registers of language and the importance of using good grammar and vocabulary is a huge challenge for teachers. Sometimes, it doesn’t even seem relevent. Will students need to have good penmanship in ten years and will they have the attention span to read the lengthy descriptive passages of a 19th century novel? Patience and perseverence require graciousness.

Times are changing and I am not one to stand in the way of change and hold on to antiquated modes. Language is a living, changing thing. It is inevitable that our words and our grammar change with the times. But consider this question… If we accept the changes in linguistics, the changes in information and communication modes, must we also give up good manners? Whatever technology innovations become widely adopted, can we humans remember that it is people behind them? Can we remember to care more about people than the inanimate tools we create? Can we find a way to be digitally gracious?

Gutenberg versus Google

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Today I am reading an article in the New Yorker, where Adam Gopnik says, “As a technology, a book focuses our attention, isolates us from the myriad distractions that fill our everyday lives. A networked computer does precisely the opposite. It is designed to scatter our attention. . . . Knowing that the depth of our thought is tied directly to the intensity of our attentiveness, it’s hard not to conclude that as we adapt to the intellectual environment of the Net our thinking becomes shallower.”

“…at any given moment, our most complicated machine will be taken as a model of human intelligence, and whatever media kids favor will be identified as the cause of our stupidity.”

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The references to the traditional physical library- the stacks- reminds me that my role as a librarian has been revolutionized within the years of my personal career. If “the Internet is just a loud and unlimited library in which we now live (Gopnik)”- my role can be viewed as undefined and exciting (revolutionary) or irrelevent (dead). Being an optimist, a person of faith, an “ever-was” type thinker, I have no fear of irrelevence and remain hopeful. There is truth in all of Gopnik’s stated perspectives. The more things change, the more they stay the same. There is nothing new under the sun…yet the Internet has changed everything. We live in a world of opposites.

The Stacks

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I used to wander through the library as a child and I remember the  feeling of awe and wonder.  “What is inside those big thick books?”  “What is in this section called Philosophy?”

Of course, I had my favorites- the 800’s literature and poetry and the YA fiction section.

I stumbled onto Edgar Allen Poe and Keats and always walked through the stacks… wondering.

Now…with digital content and online search engines,there are no stacks. I get back wepages that directly correspond to my search terms and keywords. Sure- there are sites like stumbleupon, but I still retrieve hits that relate to my personal search terms. Have we lost serendipity?

Are we evolving into what I termed earlier as “similarization” and narrow mindedness?

Oh, how I will miss the stacks.

Monthly Web 2.0 Checkup

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January is coming to a close, so I decided to reflect on my New Year’s resolution.  A month ago, I set the goal to try not to “bash Facebook” this year!  How am I doing?

Ironically, during the first days of January, several educational groups, including a class at my university and a library honor society, requested I become a fan (or would that be a friend?).  There’s no way to retreat—everyone is already on fb.

Then, I received an invitation to “like” a recycling company that has helped my school earn money (through sending in old cell phones and ink cartridges).  Helping earn money for badly needed books and materials is wonderful, but is it my responsibility to advertise for the companies in which I do business?

On TV each morning as I was getting dressed, I heard news broadcasters suggesting listeners post opinions. (They really care about what the public thinks.)  I am trying to remain calm and not let my blood pressure rise, as I contemplate the fact that the news is no longer the news, but a popularity contest for ratings or a friendly chat over a cup of coffee.

A young high school English teacher I know was talking about her students’ writing abilities.  She proposed the idea that students may be writing more than ever with texting and fb status updates.   She proposed an increase in the perception that every tidbit that comes out of one’s mouth (or fingertips) is perceived as golden.  Rather than striving for high quality in writing (through painful revision), students fling personal messages and photos to an “awaiting” world.  The perpetuation of self-centeredness may be growing exponentially.  Which reminds me of a joke I heard from one of my favorite professors (a philosphical mathematician who made statistics fun).  He liked to state repeatedly (try saying it outloud), “Enough about me.  Let’s talk about you.  What do you think of me?”  Say it three times in a row!

Back to my monthly Web 2.0 checkup.  I really did try to work on my goal of understanding the fb phenomenon.  I created a custom group and posted a status update to only one person as a test for meaningful conversation.  Email would have been more efficient.   However, I have learned that many people check fb much more often than email.  To date, I still have learned nothing on facebook.  My sister reminded me that it is a “social” network and asked me why I feel it necessary to learn something.  If it is only for the purpose of casual conversation, why do I feel obligated, as an information professional, to associate myself with my university’s page?

I am not giving up, I have eleven months to go!  I certainly hope, dear reader, that this post is not misconstrued as bashing.  I have every intention of forging on through 2011 with an open mind.

But wait, for those who are compelled to check fb first thing in the morning, before they rise from bed– here’s a site that will help you limit yourself by saying “Keep Me Out!”

Human-power or Algorithms?

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A recent article suggests that human-powered searches may be on the increase due to social network sites.  The author argues that human beings can provide better search strings (more relevant or meaningful) than searching by keyword algorithms and lead information seekers to the best websites.  That seems logical, especially with the move toward user-generated content and a “push” instead of “pull” attitude toward information.  I repeat what I have said before, “the hierarchy of information has changed.”  But what, I wonder, about authority?  As a librarian, I have always valued the best in literature, the best in reference sources- the most accurate and reliable–not necessarily the most popular.  Will human-powered searches and social networks lead us to the best?  Does the cream rise to the top?  I am hopeful, but not sold on the idea that it will happen.  I guess my doubt springs from the observation that most social sites value entertainment over education.

This week, in my school library, I had a student hold up a World Book encyclopedia.  I told the class to take a look because I will never be ordering an encyclopedia again.  The words came out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying.  I am working inside a beautiful space that is dissolving and changing right before my eyes.  As fascinating as it is to watch, I am left with a question about librarianship in the future.  I wonder if Google would offer me a job.

Augmented reality popping up everywhere

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Each new technology trend I have found seems to begin as simply a novelty.  The real long-term purpose is not always clear upfront.  I downloaded the layar app to my phone and all I saw were silly random notes and tons of pizza locations!  Think about how this could have real benefits.  Sharing “post-it notes” on top of reality could archive our history and provide a trail for those who share common interests.  But, won’t we still have the problem of huge clutter to sort through (just like the web)?

A couple of examples:
http://vimeo.com/14878323

http://vimeo.com/8569187

I had fun trying out several AR demos at Metaio, including the virtual dressing room.  What’s kind of ironic in posting about technology trends in a blog is that it is old news as soon as you hit the “publish” button!  I imagine there are teenagers everywhere who have been checking this out before I even heard of it.  They are all rushing around the mall gathering virtual items for goldrun and posting on facebook.  Well, there’s an example of the novelty first arriving- which is a good way to learn any new concept.  I hope a meaningful long-term purpose is apparent soon.

Similarization: Toward a Narrow Mind

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I remember the first time I realized that Amazon knew my interests (If you like this book, you may like…).    Wow! I thought, Amazon knows me!  As time moved on, I found other online sites that recognized my interests.  I have found twitter a great tool for creating a personal learning network.  Lately, I have seen many people similar to me pop up, along with the suggestion of “who to follow.”  What a great way to share ideas and build a community across distance.

And the same idea leads me to consider RSS newsfeeds and blogs.  But, consider this-  if each of us continues to click on the follow button when something is similar to our way of thinking, don’t we move more and more toward narrowmindedness?  One of my favorite child developmental psychologists, Lev Vygotsky, believed that we learn in collision with others.  We learn best by meeting a challenging point of view, not by narrowing our outlooks and surrounding ourselves with our own point of view.

Where will this lead?  Who knows?!  But- please- disagree with me and teach me something.  The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.