Social tagging

The catalog is dead.  Long live social tagging.

For those of us who thought our jobs were secure as catalogers,  think again.  We now have social tagging.  Anyone can tag.  All those lovely rules for when to use what subject heading? GONE.  Today we have what is important to me.

Why does the world need catalogers?  Everyone has their own point of view.  How many times have you seen that people just want to express and view the world from their personal point of view?    And that doesn't include a uniform title for things like the Bible.

In a world we never invented, we are now asked to justify all that we do, how we do it, and why it's important.  Why is an infrastructure such as cataloging or taxonomy important?  

Visualization and me

Today I found a site on technology, entertainment, and design   -- TED.  It really made me rethink presentations and what skill level I need.  I really like the presentation by Hans Rosling. 

Here is what TED says about this video:

"You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called "developing world."

And for all the Anime and cartoon lovers out there, you must check this one out by Scott McCloud.

"In this unmissable look at the magic of comics, Scott McCloud bends the presentation format into a cartoon-like experience, where colorful diversions whiz through childhood fascinations and imagined futures that our eyes can hear and touch."

Flickr and Flat Stanley

My niece has sent me her Flat Stanley.  I admit I knew nothing about the Flat Stanley project before Katie sent me hers.  I quickly looked it up.  

Who knew that Flat Stanley knew so many people and so many celebrities?  My favorite is Spiderman.

As part of my Flickr assignment I looked up Flat Stanley.  Here is a slideshow of the Flat Stanley group.  Warning it is a long slideshow.

RSS --a way of life

Four years ago  RSS saved my work life.  I was quickly going insane for lack of sleep trying to keep up with all the news web sites I have to follow.  Today I have over 200 news feeds or blogs I follow on Bloglines.  

I most like that all I have to do is log on to Bloglines and there are all my feeds, and they update constantly.  I can quickly peruse the Wall Street Journal,  move to the Miami Herald, and polish off the morning news with Florida Trends daily facts about Florida.

I keep up with jobs from Indeed, Monster, and the Ladders because you never know when they will come in handy.  I have used them to write job descriptions, compare emerging titles,  wording of new positions, and always keeping a sharp eye out for the perfect job. 

Whenever I have a moment, I try to go to Bloglines as there is always something to read  including my one frivolous blog... PopGadget.

So Thing 3 & 4  Done.

Bottom of the Blogs

Social networking.  

Social networking... in the work place.  Here's what the industry analyst say about blogging in corporate America.

"Corporate blogs rank at the bottom of the trust scale with only 16% of online consumers who read them saying that they trust them. Furthermore, the consumers who say they trust these blogs are the most likely to trust all other sources of information. . . . "Forrester, 2008

The first part is no surprise.  Would you trust P&G to tell you the truth about a product or read about it without an incentive? The second part-- that they trust all other sources of information is what we need to work on.  

Here's a question, how do you move information literacy programs into social networks?  Is social networking the right vehicle for information literacy?

Comments welcome.

Age and the CAPTCHA

Who would have thought that the hardest thing I had to do would be to set up an account.  It was a case of the killer CAPTCHA.

I blush to number the times I had to type in a new word --- and it was still wrong.  My eyesight and the CAPTCHA.  It was a standoff.

What's a CAPTCHA?

 

A CAPTCHA is a program that protects websites against bots by generating and grading tests that humans can pass but current computer programs cannot.  For example, humans can read distorted text but current computer programs can't.  

Ok,  so I am more like a computer program than I am a human being.  Now that is a train of thought I am not going to follow.

What I do like about CAPTCHA is some of the words come from old manuscripts and by actually completing the CAPTCHA you are helping digitize some old manuscript.

While I may grouse about a CAPTCHA,  my librarian side says "Way to preserve!"