Carissa 2.0

Some people think Microcenter or the Cheesecake factory or the art museum is a little slice of heaven…for me it is Web 2.0. It appeals to me because of the highly social aspects, the sharing, the conversations and the openness of being part of virtual community that has a connectedness not so much different from being connected in the real world. The sharing of information and ideas, the willingness to learn from one another, it simply amazes me.

I hope that one day our library can afford to implement a discovery layer in order to go from an OPAC to a SOPAC, to allow patron participation (tagging, commenting, recommending), it’s just not in the cards for now. I would love to be able to engage our patrons at that level, one day, perhaps.

I have to say this by far was my favorite lecture because I am an admitted Web 2.0 feind, a Facebook-alochic, Pinterest addict, Linkedin hound, and overall information junkie your mother warned you about. I think learning new things about new people/places/subjects is simply fascinating and gives me something to do between the release of books in the Songs of Fire and Ice series (George R. R. Martin please don’t die before you finish book 6). I prefer virtual meetings, I like taking online classes, I like connecting to my library in this way as well. Being connected to so many different people/places/things all the time actually allows me to get more things accomplished simultaneously, which is important to a procrastinator like myself. It also allows me to be more things at one time, it allows me to be a professional, a mom, a wife, a student, and a friend without having to physically be all those places at once. I truly believe that I’m not the only one that feels that way, and I think that is an important factor with Web 2.0.

With Web 2.0 enabling Library 2.0 the patrons can be many “places” at one time and still have a direct impact on their library. They can tag materials for locating later, they can request items to be picked up a convenient location, they make recommendations and comments about material the library is offering, they can interact directly with library staff through social networks, and virtually connect with groups of similar interest. Library 2.0 allows patrons to be at the library without leaving their living room.

Dr. Roland challenged us to share a Web 2.0 application in this entry, well, everyone knows the biggies, so I thought I’d look for something a little unique and something that I would enjoy as well. I found it…Bake Space. While Bake Space really isn’t that unique, you can share recipes, checkout other members “kitchens”, follow those with similar cooking tastes; to me, it takes the best of Facebook (socializing) and the best of Pinterest (recipes) and condenses it to one place. I can “cook” with people all over the world or right down the street with a “cooking party”, I can even create an d-cookbook to sell for profit, charity or just put it out for the fun of it. People can comment, give advice and encourage each other and they also have special quest celebrity chefs that do online demonstrations followed by question and answer sessions.

Have I said how much I love Web 2.0? You can be a socialite, a foodie, AND a social-foodie! It just doesn’t get any better. Now if I can just keep focused on my classwork and not think about Bake Space I think I’ll be okay, but that may be nothing short of a miracle.