del.icio.us search
I have heard of del.icio.us, but never actually explored it in earnest. I went to the homepage and played around with adding different terms to ‘web2.0,’ terms such as: Facebook, social network, academic. I then found that on the homepage of del.icio.us, you can type a term on the end of the URL, press enter and it will perform a search, example: http://del.icio.us/library2. The precision of the search was not 100%, but I thought it was an interesting way to start a search. I then used the column on the right hand side of the page to see what others had tagged with ‘library2.’
Our class readings presented both benefits and drawbacks from using folksonomies; using del.icio.us I see some areas for possible frustration from this use. If I include a space in between terms I want to search they are regarded as separate terms, such as web2.0 versus web 2.0, or should I use web2 or web 2. The very benefit of multiple tags in natural language is also a drawback because there are so many terms that could be used, where should you stop? Sometimes I feel like I could come up with more tags than there are words in the actual article I’m tagging. I do love the freedom and power tagging entrusted to each user to contribute what they can to the collective whole.
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I used Google’s Blog Search to initially search around, using varied terms, for a blog that caught my eye. I decided to use simple terms to get large results in my search of the blogosphere. I entered “library technology blog” and the title “Using Technology for Balance Instead of Guilt” caught my eye.
Jenny is the sole author of the site the Shifted Librarian. Jenny explains the overall theme is in the website name, which refers to trend towards people receiving information instead of seeking it, and how libraries will be affected. I agree with her point of view about the increased amount of information coming at you (through cell phones, email, tv, etc). This specific blog was to help share her experience in trying to find balance in staying updated and connected online, while also managing a job, family, and personal life; she shared her personal experience and opinions with such technology as Facebook, Twitter and smart phones.
Jenny’s blog was a mix of professional and personal. This was reflected in her writing style: informative, a teacher-like voice at times, but had a few humorous remarks. The layout was simple with muted tones, and minimal flashy distractions. There were about 12 comments from her latest entry, from yesterday. Her audience seemed to include other librarians, and her honesty got others to comment about their similar likes/dislikes and frustrations with the new technology. Overall, I enjoyed reading her blog, I agreed and disagreed at different points and appreciated the honesty and openness of others comments.
Here’s the link to Jenny’s blog, TheShiftedLibrarian.
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