Blogging Thing #13, #14 & #15

Del.ici.ous has devised a simple way to categorise and save my ever-growing bookmarks! It is great for getting some order into the world of social bookmarking but the librarian deep inside (who use to catalogue) is a little worried about the lack of control. However it is an easy process for our users who aren't interested in controlled vocab and just want to find stuff. Those users often know their subject well and just have to tease out a few keywords to find a world of resource once closed to them.

And then of course there's Technorati to help out with finding resources discussed and listed in blogs. It looks so slick too. Plus you see it on so many authoritative websites now. I don't think the ATO would use Technorati but the tagging concept will eventually take off. Once our users think of tagging as a normal ordinary tool to use - a little like sms, when it first emerged many people weren't interested, didn't understand it and didn't want to know how to use it ... but now it is just the normal way of life. Even those who were initially disinterested have taken to it. Much of the Web 2 and emerging technologies will be viewed similarly by those reluctant users; if the technology is truly useful.

The posts on Web 2, Library 2 and the future of libraries were interesting especially in noting how Librarianship is inherently collaborative so the "2" phenomenon will be easy for us. ;) Most professions today have to be adaptive and so with librarianship but that is something the profession has know (if a profession can know something) since before I entered it.