Ultimate Debate 2009: Web 2.0

I listened to the Ultimate Debate from ALA 2009 this morning. One thing that struck me right away was that this KGB company that has been advertising lately is a text reference service. I had no idea, I had been thinking how strange it is to name your company KGB and then making jokes about the people in the ads getting radiation poisoning. I had no idea what they were actually selling. And then I though, why would you pay for text reference, some libraries are providing text reference for free. Besides many of the new cell phones have internet access, so you can just look up the information on your phone. I don't expect them to be around very long.

Another issue that peaked my interest is that, librarians and libraries are spending a lot of staff time on creating content on Web 2.0, but all of this content is stored on 3rd party websites and servers, and there is no guarantee that the content will be preserved in the long term. If Flicker or Twitter goes out of business tomorrow, much content and discussion would be lost. So maybe libraries need to consider back ups for content that is shared on 2.0 media.

A big issue that was brought up several times is that you have to make time for 2.0. 2.0 demands to be updated on a regular basis. If you are using it for outreach, new events have to be added all the time, and if you are using it for reference, you have to add new content and resources on a regular basis. One librarian has a business resources blog at a university, and when there is a class with a major assignment, he will post answers to some of the most asked questions about the assignment, as well as pertinent resources.

One last thing that I really related to is that it takes awhile to really "get" or understand 2.0 technologies. Some 2.0 is pretty easy, like aggregaters, you get one and you never look back. I don't miss going to 13000 web pages everyday. But other 2.0 stuff takes time to understand. I have been using Twitter for about 4 months now and I'm just now beginning to understand all it has to offer. There is the social aspect and the informational aspect, but there is also networking, debate and discussion, networking and so much other stuff. Also, I have always been a sort of closed off person on the internet, but Twitter is changing that. These people want to be involved in discussion and debate. They welcome followers and messages and sharing, so I've been opening up and engaging in a way that I haven't before, and as a result, I have new blogs and articles and websites to visit on a daily basis. I think Twitter is an excellent way to engage in my profession and I feel a lot more connected right now, which is important as I head into a jobless period.