Luminaries look to the future web

The web has gone worldwide but what does the future hold?

Exactly 15 years ago the directors at the lab where the web was first developed signed a document which said the technology could be used by anyone free of charge.

That decision was instrumental in making the web truly world wide. BBC News talks to some of the leading figures in the web community about their hopes for the future of the web…MORE

They mention some of the more traditional sources of online information on individuals but some unique uses of other sources. At the bottom of the article is a box like graph that tells you how to keep your information private on the serivces listed below.
Amazon.com(Do you really want everyone reading your wishlist?)
Google.com (What can’t people find out about you on Google?)
Pandora.com (You listen to that online?)
Flickr.com (Love those pictures of your kids)
del.icio.us.( Hmmm, I see you have an interesting bookmark there?!?)

Here is a rundown of some of the other search engines mentioned:

ZabaSearch.com—addresses, public records (including criminal history), date of birth

Spock.com—personal pages, social networking profiles

Wink.com—(same as above) personal pages, social networking profiles

Spokeo.com—”let’s users see what friends are doing on other Web sites”

Zillow.com—estimates home values

Jigsaw.com—let’s people share information from business cards they have collected

The Parallel Information Universe
What’s out there and what it means for libraries
By Mike Eisenberg — Library Journal, 5/1/2008

The Web 2.0 “buzz” starts with new technologies such as virtual worlds, cell phones and handheld devices that offer 24/7 web access, tagging, social networks, and blogs and brings together various web capabilities in unique combinations (known as “mashing”—such as maps that also include the latest real estate property assessments). But Web 2.0 is about much more than the technology—it’s about a change in focus to participation, user control, sharing, openness, and networking…MORE

Can you think of others?

“WASHINGTON — Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Thursday he expects the next decade to bring even greater technological leaps than the past 10 years”…MORE

I have always said that my idea of the perfect computer is like the one they have in Star Trek. You know, the one that makes sure the ambient room temperature is just right for you and can make you the perfect cup of your favorite tea. A machine that is always to happy to answer questions like “Computer, tell me about the mating rituals or the Jagadomi?” or “How far from Octuras am I right now?” The computer then responds in a well modulated, pleasant voice providing you with a wealth of knowledge and insights and then make you another cup of tea.

If things progress the way Mr. Gates is suggesting, my ideal is close to being a reality. I always believe that the journey is half the fun of getting “there,” I just hope I can keep up!

Here is a the quote that got me intrigued:

Jerry Sternin, a proponent of the change approach known as “positive deviance,” has been quoted as saying about large scale transformation, “You can’t bring permanent solutions in from outside. Instead, you have to find small, successful but ‘deviant’ practices that are already working in the organization and amplify them. Maybe, just maybe, the answer is already alive in the organization–and change comes when you find it.”

I went to the positive deviance webpage and watched the film about the “Palmer Method” It is interesting how it captures the brilliance of doing something simple in an efficient and effective manner. I am sure Mr. Palmer does this a thousand times a day. How many things do you do that seem simple but are really brilliant? Try to keep track of them and think about how you can build on these successes. What kind of change might it bring to your organization? Tell me what you do?

This posting is dedicated to that person who responded to our survey and said they missed my blog. Whoever you are, Thanks!

“In its 2004 annual report, Google, amending its basic corporate strategy, officially signalled its intent to be more than a search engine. The company announced that seventy per cent of its efforts would continue to be directed to its “core” mission, “our web search engine and our advertising network.” Another twenty per cent of its energies would be devoted to “adjacent areas such as Gmail”—the free e-mail accounts available to just about anyone who wants one—and the range of software that falls under the heading of “apps.” Finally, the report said, “the remaining 10 per cent is saved for anything else, giving us the freedom to innovate.” To other media companies, this sounded suspiciously like declaring, “We are in the search business, but we might be in your business.” …Google has amassed one of the world’s largest databases—a resource that has helped in altering its mission. “We are in the advertising business,” Eric Schmidt, Google’s C.E.O., told me not long ago… MORE“

The Race to the Shelf Continues
The Open Content Alliance and Amazon.com
by Beth Ashmore, Cataloging Librarian, Samford University &
Jill E. Grogg, Electronic Resources Librarian, University of Alabama Libraries

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Internet giants such as Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Amazon are in the middle of nothing short of a modern-day space race: Who can scan the most and the best books in alliance with the biggest and brightest libraries in the U.S. — nay, the world! — while simultaneously providing print on demand, “find in a library,” and “buy the book” links as well? The amount of press and controversy surrounding the Google Book Search Library Project tends to overshadow one detail — while these companies may have begun the race to the shelf, they certainly did not invent book digitization. Look no further than Michael Hart’s Project Gutenberg, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2006...MORE

However, today I read an article about how 13 stars of Mexican country music have been murdered in the past year and a half. This is a mixture of current events, pop culture, and true crime that must be of interest to several people in our community. Yet, we missed it.

Even though libraries try to connect to their non-native English speaking patrons we don’t always hit the mark. What I find most frustrating about this is I clicked on the links to YouTube videos of performances by two of the slain artists (Zayda Pena and Sergio Gomez) I liked their music. This all leads me to the question that is driving me crazy, how can you find out about a culture if you are not of that culture and you do not speak the language. As a citizen, I think I could be a better member of the community if I understood my neighbors. Being a librarian, I view the library as a place for this exploration and understanding to begin.

How are you doing this in your library?