Week 1: Rantings and Ravings

Reading through the articles for Week 1
I found myself thinking about the implications of a web 2.0 world.

First.

It is a critical time for L2 to emerge and take precedence
in the library world.

RSS feeds should be utilized to alert patrons of new
arrivals. Chat forums should be available for school children (password
protected) to discuss homework and projects or hear about up and coming events
at the library. Web 2.0 software would solidify a stronger library
presence within the virtual community (let's face it; this is where we spend
half of our lives).

Other articles awakened my less enthusiastic side.

MECA's InterOp feature used to combine IM services seems all
too convenient. One product to unify all products. Sure it's free. For now.

I began questioning the life span of free software. Consumer
gain depends upon consumption. Social software seems doomed to fall into a
monopoly. Before you know it we will be buying again. Water in bottles.

Perhaps the beauty of social software is that it's still in its
infancy stage. We haven't perfected it yet. Even though the premise behind it
is to expand and flourish with information sharing, it is hard to believe that
eventually, it won't be capitalized upon.

We don't own our internet connections.
Fruit of the land sold to back to the cultivators you might say.

Maybe the trick is imperfection.

Other issues I grappled with stemmed from the jarring
reality that space and time have come apart. While this seems like a scientific
breakthrough, I hesitate to jump on my wagon (which isn't really a wagon, but a
virtual wagon I bought in Second life). You no longer need to ‘get
conversations going'. Everything is (nearly) edited. Bodies detached from
social gatherings. The implications are astronomical.

To use a dusty term, the ID is now free. Free to log on,
create and bask in the perfection that is Facebook. There is no need to live
life outside the body. The body is the only thing keeping us from the perfect
projection of self. Social software has allowed us to by-pass our failings and
tailor to our every desire.

My doomsday rant aside, the idea of a post-google world
gives me shivers.
Movements of language have turned into movements of technological
access and exchange. Radical shifts in cultural perspectives have moved beyond
the page and onto to the screen. Is there a difference? Yes and no. I couldn't
come to a definite conclusion. I feel post-Google isn't necessarily a movement
or new framework, but rather,  an apparatus attached to the human
experience, an
extension of our history. Is it the social consciousnesses come to
light?

Perhaps as long as we remain perfect, and our social software
imperfect, both will live on forever.