23 things..the 10th: tags and social bookmarking

The best feature of delicious is that you can move to any computer and your bookmarks are accessible. Nice if you would like to access those on your home computer from other locations. If you are working on a research project and simply want to direct others to useful sites you have found, so they skip searching for them, that's efficient. I am sure with some thought, library staff could use them for assignment queries that come up but are ephemeral in nature, so that staff efforts are transparent to all.

Tags are useful but are like personal filing systems in that not everyone files items in the same way. Tags can become as unmanageble and useless as all those physical file folders you made and don't remember what you put in them as in "did I file that in "banks" or "finance"?? In order for tags to be useful, you have to have a clear idea of what they will be used for. For example, photos that are tagged "staff" could number in the thousands, however photos that are tagged "staff" and "children's programs" might make an easier search of it.

What shall we tag this one?? How about "Bear Lodge" which was the Native American name before it became known as "Devil's Tower" and the aliens landed there.

23 things: the Ninth...More Sharing

The tools for slidesharing, etc presuppose a level of familiarity with photosharing, video sharing and other applications such as powerpoint which are necessary to use them efficiently and with the desired results.

They would be most useful in situations where there is little inhouse support or network availability for shared folder, intranets and other inhouse archival options. They would also be useful for those individuals who want to put their creations outside the workrealm and they do allow individuals access to tools that are normally in the province of graphic designers, and/or PR staffers.

Most of these little "explorations" require hours to achieve the most basic result and this blog entry is testimony to that. Instuctions such as "copy this html" the result of which is decidedly not what was promised ....mosaics, slide shows, videos...but rather some undecipherable coding rather than the images one was seduced into thinking would be easily transferable. The level of frustration is keen and the time wasted cannot be recaptured, nor does it lead to enlightenment and subsequent mastery. This, instead of the "mosaic" or"slideshow", is all you get today.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly"

-R. Bach

23 things...IM..best use.

The best use of Instant messaging I have found is its use in talking to deployed soldiers in Iraq in real time. It is so important to their families & loved ones.

There is nothing quite like having someone sign off IM with "Mortars just hit..gotta go find my guys" to end a real time conversation. IM is seductive, and it spoils you, especially if it is the only realtime contact you have with those you care about. But you don't have the body language and nuances of personal contact to let you know how someone is experiencing what you are saying....and without those clues, it is sometimes difficult to judge the effect of your remarks. And in the context of WAR, one wonders what of historical value will be lost when there are no longer real letters to discover and to remember who we were. There's not much time for reflection in IM.

More things...8 and 9

cedar key,
originally uploaded by firerainbow.

So many ways to alter images and present yourself and your messages in the virtual world. Such very public selves. I am a believer in Sanctuary...the sanctuary of silence, of books, of a place alone.

The Art of Disappearing

When they say DOn't I know you?
say no

When they invite you to the party
remember what parties are like
before answering.
Someone telling you in a loud voice
they once wrote a poem.
Greasy sausage balls ona paper plate.
Then reply.

If they say We should get together
say why"

It's not that you don't love them anymore
You're trying to remember something
too important to forget.
Trees. The monastery bell at twilight.
Tell them you have a new project.
It will never be finished.
from Words Under the Words
by Naomi Shihab Nye

Jade's Library Tat....the Seventh Thing

With Image Generators

the Possibilities are Endless

23 Things: The Sixth...Flickr mashups

I chose this word because this is what it takes to do this. Could it be done better and faster with a pre-2.0 tool?? Yes, it could. But the object of the exercise is not efficiency but play. And like magic, words and objects appear....or frustratingly they do not appear, as happened many times in this exercise. And like magic, our time for play has also disappeared as we once again move from the 23 play things to the 43 real things that compete for our library time.

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn

a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.

If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,

this is the best season of your life.

-Wu-Men

23 Things: the Fifth...Flickr

New York Public Library

New York Public Library,
originally uploaded by AdamBaronPhoto.

"Libraries are the memory of humankind, irreplaceable repositories of documents of human thought and action. The New York Public Library is such a memory bank par excellence, one of the great knowledge institutions of the world, its myriad collections ranking with those of the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Virtually all of the Library's many collections and services are freely available to all comers. In fact, the Library has but one criterion for admission: curiosity."
-from the NYPL home page.