The Librarian's Lounge

More thoughts on the conference

My first day at IL2008 was my favorite in terms of speakers. My favorite presentations that day were the keynote speech by Howard Reingold, Mary Ellen Bates' on 20 tools in 40 minutes, and Steven Cohen's that showcased many of his favorite online tools. Reingold's spoke to me because he's approaching the topic of how web 2.0 technology is changing people's behavior as an anthropologist would. I was sucked into his presentation with his many examples of how people around the world have used things like text messaging to collaborate and create social change. Mary Ellen Bates' presentation was very practical in nature, as was Steven Cohen's - I still need to sit down and explore all that I learned from them. From Bates, I learned about Spokeo, Yahoo's Glue search engine, and Silobreaker. Cohen brought to my attention Watch That Page, ScreenGrab, Cooliris, and Invisible Auctions.

I am so glad that many of the presentation slides have been posted online. There were a lot I wished I could have seen live, like the Pecha Kucha program. 

I gained much from using Twitter both before and during this conference. Before I got there, I was able to find some of the people online who would be attending and do some networking. During the conference itself, I could see what they were doing and what was being discussed in other programs. I used it to meet up with people and as a way of introducing myself. It made the whole experience feel like I was surrounded by friends. In one instance, I was able to say hello in person to one of my tweeps' colleagues who wasn't even on twitter - although the 3 of us had never met physically, this small act was an instant bond. Other uses that came up unexpectedly were being able to ask my tweeps for information I couldn't hear right after it happened, and providing information to the conference's tech support team about the room's internet connectivity in the middle of a presentation without having to disturb anyone. I really didn't understand what the big deal was about Twitter before I started using it. I was convinced it would just be a big time sucker. By the time I left IL2008, I was wishing I had a cell phone plan that could keep me connected to my tweeps all the time. I met some great people with this social networking tool that I probably wouldn't have otherwise.

I also left wanting more gadgets, feeling that most of my own are somewhat outdated. I fell in love with the iPhone, although I fear I can't afford to buy one. I loved many of the things shown to us by Liz Lawley's closing keynote speech, particularly the Nabaztag bunny. I could definitely use a new less-obtrusive camera to snap pictures with during the conference. And I'd like to pick up a digital camera now too, and take a stab at producing some of my own videos.

I was extremely happy to have my ASUS eeepc while I was there. It's so lightweight - it was easy to take it with me everywhere to take notes and connect when the wifi was available and working. It attracted a lot of attention, too, and it was fun to show it to people.

This was my first time in Monterey and I totally loved it. I chose some of the recommended restaurants to try while I was there from the IL2008 wiki. N and I had the best pancake (wheatberry strawberry with whipped cream) and omelette ever at First Awakenings, near the aquarium. We also had a delicious dinner at Passionfish. 

The best part was being surrounded by people who have the same passion for technology as I do and getting to meet some of my virtual colleagues in person. It was exciting to hear about all the projects people are involved in and where they are headed. I even had a chance to meet Puglet Dancer from Second Life, which was great because I've taken an online class from her and learned a lot about SL with her guidance.

I hope very much to attend this conference in the years to come. Next time, though, I'm going to take a few extra days to explore Monterey- there's so much to see and enjoy there!

IL2008 - Day Two

Today has been another interesting adventure at Internet Librarian 2008. The keynote presentation was given by Danny Sullivan from Search Engine Land. He spoke about various specialized search engines that are better than Google for certain kinds of information. Although most of the ones he mentioned were ones I am already tuned into, there were still many I hadn't heard of, such as Trulia for real estate information, Kayak for travel info, Yahoo's Built-Your-Own-Search Engine-Service, or BOSS for short. Sullivan also gave his predictions about where search engines are headed in the future. He believes Google is going to stay the most popular engine for at least another 5 years but said it doesn't seem like the organization has any kind of “master plan” on how to continue its unparalleled success. He expects to see Microsoft continuing to be aggressive in the search engine market, but that the company has many hurdles it still needs to get over, such as its brand name and its tendency to be focused on ads (making money) first, and search quality second. Not a great strategy if you want to have a fantastic search engine.

One thing Sullivan and Stephen Abrams both touched on today was search customization. Sullivan said Google is advertising that it's been doing this now more than ever, although the search engine has actually been doing it for years. Search customization is when a search results page is tailored to the individual user by pulling whatever information is possible (such as one's IP address to signify geographical location, and past searching history) about the person doing the search and giving back results that they deem to be the best fit based on that information. I've always found search customization – when I don't specifically request it – to be rather presumptive, annoying, and a violation of my privacy. But Abrams brought something entirely different to light about this technology today – how search customization changes the type of information voters are receiving around the nation based on where they live. I personally find that detail upsetting. It's like the search engine is coloring the world for us, based on what it thinks it knows about us. I don't appreciate that in a search engine except for very specific things like finding a local restaurant, a local gas station, or others things you used to use the white/yellow pages for. These revelations and a few others along the way about how our privacy is intruded upon online makes me wish IL2008 had given a presentation on how information professionals can work around these tactics to make us more invisible online, so that we can obtain information that isn't skewed by other factors when we need it. I would have loved a session on how to use proxies to mask one's location, how to surf anonymously with recommendations for the best tools, and how to use the built-in privacy options of Google Chrome and the very latest version of Firefox.

Deb Hunt gave an interesting presentation that included 3 case studies of different businesses she has consulted with about getting a more efficient Intranet set up for their staff. It was practical, useful information for information professionals in all kinds of trouble-shooting situations and she is obviously very knowledgeable on the subject. Although her focus was on business libraries, the topic is relevant to all types of libraries that have Intranets needing to progress from a static state to one that allows for easier communication and collaboration between staff. She stressed to the audience that every situation is different and no knowledge management software is going to be a perfect fit, no matter what the vendors say. The most useful resource she mentioned is Capterra's Software Finder. They have a section set aside specifically for Library Automation software. The site has a ton of useful information about the many products out there for different industries, platforms, and functions . I had no idea that there was such a range of products available.

The afternoon session about video-casting has inspired me to think more seriously about getting a video camera and explore the ways videos could be useful in my library system. It was presented by Heidi Schroeder, Emily Alford, and David Lee King. This is one area of the social web that I really haven't delved into from the production side and I think I should get up to speed with it. They were all great speakers and made the process of creating videos look easy and accessible.

It was another beautiful day in Monterey. At lunch, N and I went down to Fisherman's Wharf for seafood. We saw some beautiful sea lions hanging out by the boats there. I admit I've had a crush on sea lions since Syd Hoff's Sammy the Seal was read to me as a kid. I just wanted to pack them up and take them home with me. If only “home” was a place that included an ocean in the backyard. I wish I had given myself a few extra days to just be here on vacation. There is so much to see and do right around here. Hopefully, I'll be able to attend Internet Librarian again soon so I can plan for more downtime to see the area.

IL2008 Day One

My first day at Internet Librarian 2008 has been a great one. I'm afraid I may have to put off the bulk of my blogging  until I get home, due to internet connectivity problems here at the Monterey Marriott. Ironic, huh? If you followed the tweets using "#il2008" today, you likely saw a lot of people complaining about the lack of free wifi here in the hotel and the problems connecting at the conference center next door. I don't quite understand why they can't fix it at the CC, and it kills me to spend $10 a day at a very expensive hotel for an internet connection that is too slow to be usable. I finally called the front desk and asked them to reimburse me. Why is it that expensive hotels charge for internet when cheap hotels, cafes, libraries, and various other places give it away for free? There's something fundamentally wrong with that.

Anyway, it's been really interesting here so far. I've met a bunch of fellow tweeps whom I've become familiar with online, and sat through some very interesting presentations. I have a ton of resources I want to investigate further, and it's only the first day! I attended the opening reception for the exhibit hall, which was fun. I stopped by InMagic - they may be able to help my place of work with our intranet communication issues.

Here's hoping I can at least get this posted...

US Elections and the Economic Crisis - a media digest

I want to take a minute to post some of the resources I've been following over the past couple weeks.

First and most recent is Greg Palast, an independent journalist who was featured on a BBC program last night about voter fraud in America and how it could effect the outcome of this year's election. Here are the clips:

Part One:

Part Two:

You can learn more about this at Steal Back Your Vote. You can read more about the voter purges here:

The Dirty Details of Voter Purges
Voter Database Glitches Could Disenfranchise Thousands

Then there's this article interviewing one of the people who asked a question at the 2nd presidential debate .

Here's NPR's page covering the election. They even have an rss feed available.

Sarah Silverman is cracking me up with her Great Schlep video:

Here she is being interviewed about it by Keith Olbermann:

I was heartened to see this piece about how McCain was somewhat forced into backing down from the hate campaign the Republican party has been operating against Obama:

On the economic crisis, I've been listening to two excellent recordings at This American Life. They explain what's been happening in a way that makes it understandable by a laywoman like me.

1. The Giant Pool of Money
2. Another Frightening Show About the Economy

NPR's new podcast, Planet Money, continues to offer daily coverage about the economic crisis along with explanations of terminology and background information for listeners like me who are feeling a little lost by the regular news coverage. I've also been following the Becker-Posner Blog, Seeking Alpha, and The Baseline Scenario. 

What did Sarah Palin have to say about the Bailout Package?

There are several interesting clips over at the American News Project.

Another video of interest is this one on McCain and the Keating 5:

I've also found the Sourcewatch wiki to be helpful in getting more background information on issues and people in the news.

I'm still waiting for my Obama bumper sticker/magnet to show up in the mail. In the meantime, I stopped by the local Obama headquarters and picked up a tshirt today. The place of a hive of activity - tons of posters were being made, phone calls were being placed, people were signing up to canvas neighborhoods - it was an inspiring site to behold.