Comments on: Top Technology Trends: Speak to me, oh FRL Readers http://freerangelibrarian.com/2006/06/20/top-technology-trends-speak-to-me-oh-frl-readers/ K.G. Schneider's blog on librarianship, writing, and everything else Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:59:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: Genny Engel http://freerangelibrarian.com/2006/06/20/top-technology-trends-speak-to-me-oh-frl-readers/comment-page-1/#comment-2570 Genny Engel Sat, 24 Jun 2006 02:08:31 +0000 http://www.freerangelibrarian.com/2006/06/20/top-technology-trends-speak-to-me-oh-frl-readers/#comment-2570 Ubiquitous connectedness via cell phone, PDA, MySpace. Municipal wireless, library wireless, and free wi-fi in cafes mean never having to disconnect whatever device you're using at the moment. It also means you never have to disconnect from the friends you are calling, texting, or blogging to. That's in the city, and if you have money. Get 20 miles away or a minimum-wave lifestyle, and it's a whole other story. We're not going to stop providing basic email and word processing services in the library any time soon for the many people who don't have computers. Visualization tools go mainstream. Aquabrowser and tag clouds seem to me like lo-fi versions of visualization tools that have been around in research form for a couple of decades now. Wonder why they're suddenly taking off. ISPs get serious about security and as a result, library patrons can't get onto subscription databases through their ISPs. Good thing they know how to reach Google. Speaking of which, let's drop by code.google.com and, while we're there, notice Google AJAXSLT -- which reminds us, fat clients return! An Ajax application with much, much JavaScript and a well-designed UI can look and feel a lot like a locally-installed program ... well, it is a locally-runnign (JavaScript) program. Gmail, Wetpaint, et al. are changing the rules for what ought to be a local app and what ought to be a web app. Unless you've got JavaScript turned off like Microsoft advises! Enough for now. Ubiquitous connectedness via cell phone, PDA, MySpace. Municipal wireless, library wireless, and free wi-fi in cafes mean never having to disconnect whatever device you’re using at the moment. It also means you never have to disconnect from the friends you are calling, texting, or blogging to.

That’s in the city, and if you have money. Get 20 miles away or a minimum-wave lifestyle, and it’s a whole other story. We’re not going to stop providing basic email and word processing services in the library any time soon for the many people who don’t have computers.

Visualization tools go mainstream. Aquabrowser and tag clouds seem to me like lo-fi versions of visualization tools that have been around in research form for a couple of decades now. Wonder why they’re suddenly taking off.

ISPs get serious about security and as a result, library patrons can’t get onto subscription databases through their ISPs. Good thing they know how to reach Google.

Speaking of which, let’s drop by code.google.com and, while we’re there, notice Google AJAXSLT — which reminds us, fat clients return! An Ajax application with much, much JavaScript and a well-designed UI can look and feel a lot like a locally-installed program … well, it is a locally-runnign (JavaScript) program. Gmail, Wetpaint, et al. are changing the rules for what ought to be a local app and what ought to be a web app. Unless you’ve got JavaScript turned off like Microsoft advises!

Enough for now.

]]> By: Jason Griffey http://freerangelibrarian.com/2006/06/20/top-technology-trends-speak-to-me-oh-frl-readers/comment-page-1/#comment-2569 Jason Griffey Thu, 22 Jun 2006 14:30:05 +0000 http://www.freerangelibrarian.com/2006/06/20/top-technology-trends-speak-to-me-oh-frl-readers/#comment-2569 I've said this in a few places, but I think that a HUGE area that is going to explode this year is related to the "privacy is...a more porous concept.." noted above. That area is: Who are you online, and which You is the You you want to expose? How do you manage multiple online Selves? How do manage your online identity, and how will you manipulate it to present it to the world? The whole concept of the online self, the sociology of that self in relation to both the virtual and real world, and the presentation of that self is going to become more and more central a concern. How do libraries/librarians fit in here? I'm not sure...but it's information, and it's organization, so we've got to start thinking about it. I’ve said this in a few places, but I think that a HUGE area that is going to explode this year is related to the “privacy is…a more porous concept..” noted above. That area is: Who are you online, and which You is the You you want to expose? How do you manage multiple online Selves? How do manage your online identity, and how will you manipulate it to present it to the world? The whole concept of the online self, the sociology of that self in relation to both the virtual and real world, and the presentation of that self is going to become more and more central a concern.

How do libraries/librarians fit in here? I’m not sure…but it’s information, and it’s organization, so we’ve got to start thinking about it.

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