A few thoughts about Flickr:
I first heard about it about a year ago while preparing for a conference. I started using it shortly after, at first just to play with it and see what it is and then to find pictures for the many, many displays I create at the library on a regular basis. Before, I use to have to find Microsoft graphics, now I can just type in a word into Flickr and get so many more different photos (and a whole bunch of things that I don't need too). Then, I played with Flickr again to get photos to decorate a space in my house and then I discovered Fd's Flickr Toys , now that was fun..... If you have time, just try it out: you can create anything with pictures from Flickr (and not only). Some features are only possible if the pictures you take are from Flickr, some can be done with pictures from anywhere. You can make things like CD covers, various art pieces, your own magazine cover and even a calendar. I really found this site neat and I have been playing with it for a while, when I have some free time.
Now, on another note, I really liked Andrea Mercado's article on Flickr . I think that she really hits some real life things that one should consider if Flickr is to be used for a library:
1. First, she discusses the whole concept of putting up photos of people (especially children). This is a major concern and in Mississauga particularly, we can never take pictures of a child without written permission from the parents. One has to consider this and ensure that the child's privacy and safety is protected and also, that senior management is aware of using this tool to share photos.
2. She then talks about the fact that "librarians need to pay close attention to the next step in patron evolution, where the patrons become the source coders of the next generation of taxonomies, and Flickr is a prime example of that". I liked this quote from her, but I have to say that sometimes we think that our customers (especially the young people) know a lot more about technology than we do and that's not always the case. I recently started paying very much attention to how much about all of these new social software tools the customers I am helping on a daily basis know. Since I work in a joint public-school library facility it's quite easy to do that. Well, I found that many young people never heard of Flickr and del.icio.us , however Youtube seems to be really hot with highschool students. So, although we sometimes worry that we as librarians don't always know what the newest toys are out there, I don't think we should be so concerned. I think many of us are actually quite on top of these latest technologies, however we should share that with other staff. We should not forget that just because we like technology more and even took this course, every other librarian out there knows it too. It's all about sharing knowledge with other colleagues so that we can help our customers better.....
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Week 10: a few thoughts
Two of the articles I read for this week really caught my attention:
First of all the article Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace made some really valid points I probably either did not realize before or was not aware how important they are to teens:
- Teens just don't have public places to hang out away from adults. The author mentions that all or majority of their space is controlled by adults: at school, at home of maybe even at a job they have. This also makes me realize that we control these kids everywhere. They come to the library and we say they are too loud and they better stay here only if they have something to do, not just hanging around. They go to the mall or to a coffee shop and chances are there is a no loitering sign and most likely some adults to control them. And so, they use IM or MySpace or some other networking site that is going to come along, to socialize with their friends or other teens in a public place. The concept is pretty simple I think: teens always socialized and liked to hang around, now they just have technology available to replace the fact that there are very few public places where they can do that.
- Although the article describes in great detail MySpace, I really think that this happens to be the thing that is in right now. It's just a medium of communication and there are other alternatives and probably others will emerge. We don't have to worry so much about the site, we are better off understanding the concept.
The second article MySpace and Facebook: What higher-ed can leardn from social computing takes a different perspective and discusses more the way in which older kids (undergrads) are using these two networking tools:
- The author points out that some academics criticize the fact that students are on the MySpace site or listen to ipods in class and blame all this on the technology itself. They don't realize that kids have always sat in class without paying attention or tried to talk to each other, it's just that back then there was no internet: they just exchanged notes instead.
- He also mentions that academics should be more concerned with a way of teaching that would offer students more input and interaction, so they would be intrinsically motivated to do a good job. I think that some academics have figured some ways of doing that, but majority are still teaching the old fashion way. Why wonder then that the kids are not paying attention in class?
Overall, I think that the networking tools we are looking at are exactly what we call them: tools. People always communicated and teens always wanted to socialize, the internet and these sites just provide them with a way of doing that.
First of all the article Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace made some really valid points I probably either did not realize before or was not aware how important they are to teens:
- Teens just don't have public places to hang out away from adults. The author mentions that all or majority of their space is controlled by adults: at school, at home of maybe even at a job they have. This also makes me realize that we control these kids everywhere. They come to the library and we say they are too loud and they better stay here only if they have something to do, not just hanging around. They go to the mall or to a coffee shop and chances are there is a no loitering sign and most likely some adults to control them. And so, they use IM or MySpace or some other networking site that is going to come along, to socialize with their friends or other teens in a public place. The concept is pretty simple I think: teens always socialized and liked to hang around, now they just have technology available to replace the fact that there are very few public places where they can do that.
- Although the article describes in great detail MySpace, I really think that this happens to be the thing that is in right now. It's just a medium of communication and there are other alternatives and probably others will emerge. We don't have to worry so much about the site, we are better off understanding the concept.
The second article MySpace and Facebook: What higher-ed can leardn from social computing takes a different perspective and discusses more the way in which older kids (undergrads) are using these two networking tools:
- The author points out that some academics criticize the fact that students are on the MySpace site or listen to ipods in class and blame all this on the technology itself. They don't realize that kids have always sat in class without paying attention or tried to talk to each other, it's just that back then there was no internet: they just exchanged notes instead.
- He also mentions that academics should be more concerned with a way of teaching that would offer students more input and interaction, so they would be intrinsically motivated to do a good job. I think that some academics have figured some ways of doing that, but majority are still teaching the old fashion way. Why wonder then that the kids are not paying attention in class?
Overall, I think that the networking tools we are looking at are exactly what we call them: tools. People always communicated and teens always wanted to socialize, the internet and these sites just provide them with a way of doing that.
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