Thing 23

I completed the survery.

This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end

Well, as I come to end of my blog I can't help but turn to thoughts of my own mortality. Will my death come sooner or later? Will it be sudden or gradual? Will I stiff the Department of Education with my college loans? That would be sweet!

But now is not the time to mourn; now is the time to celebrate. To those that have joined me on this journey I thank you. When the aliens come to destroy earth I hope your death is quick and painless. To those who did not join us, I hope your death is as slow and painful as the movie Titanic. Just kidding. I hope it's more like the movie The Perfect Storm where there is no hope of rescue.

Anyway...back to me and my mortality.

I often wonder what my last words will be. Will they be an ultimatum like when Oscar Wilde said, “Either this wallpaper goes, or I do!” Or will they be as shrewd as Humphrey Bogart when he declared, “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."

Last words are a luxury. With that in mind, and borrowing from P.J. O’Rourke, I leave you with these last words from my blog: this blog has been free and worth every penny.

TD

Thing 22

Looking back at one of the first things I posted, I can see how 23 things has changed my view of 2.0. Here is what I posted in Thing 2:

1974 Ford Mustang
Microsoft Vista
Caddyshack 2

What do these items have in common? Other than things I own, they are also examples of when the successor is inferior to the predecessor. Version 2.0 if you will…

I originally thought 2.0 referred to a newer and improved version of the previous one. Thanks to Neflin’s 23 things, however, I realize it can also refer to the extra—and often unnecessary—steps that web 2.0 tools and utilities introduce. Subscribing to RSS feeds, creating tags for Delicious, and “rolling” websites together using Rollyo are just a few examples of web 2.0 tools that I believe fall into this category. Give me the internets (sic), Google, and a set of commonly used reference books and you can keep the others. Most of these 2.0 tools are just another username and password to memorize as far as I’m concerned.

I don’t believe, however, that all of the tools we used are unnecessary. Flickr is a great way for libraries to share their images with patrons without hosting them on their servers. Similarly, YouTube is a good public relations tool for libraries to embed video in their websites. But these tools are about promotion and not about helping librarians find accurate information quicker. For that I guess we will have to wait for web 3.0…or for robots to rule the world.

Thing 21

The Assignment Calculator, the Research Project Calculator and the Teacher's Guide to the RPC are perfect for those who are notorious for composing to do lists...and you know who you are. These are the people that create a to do list that includes, among other things, brushing their teeth and breathing.

For those of us that don't compose to do lists (read: procrastinators) these tools are just another thing to put off until the last moment.

Thing 20

What am I observing about books and reading in my library? Well, books and reading are still popular, but free air conditioning and bathrooms have dethroned (pun intended) it from the top five reasons people visit our library. The death of books, like Elvis, has been greatly exaggerated. With the advent of ebook readers, some are claiming it's the end of printed materials. It reminds me of when people said that the series of tubes known as the internets (sic) was the end of libraries. I'm for any device or website—2.0 or otherwise—that encourages reading and literacy.

Thing 19

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of any online community...unless you count email. Being part of the global community is more than enough for me, thank you. Unlike the late comedian Bill Hicks, however, I don't believe people are viruses with shoes. They are more like the plague in pumps or staphylococcus in stilettos: Sure, they will still kill you, but they will look good doing it. With that said, I can see the value of some social networking sites like flixster and last.fm that allow people to share common interests like Gary Busey films and Michael Bolton albums.

Thing 18

Libraries are using MySpace in an attempt to reach kids and teens...and maybe aliens. There’s one small problem, however: kids and teens aren't using MySpace to connect with libraries. And as far as I can tell, the only people listed as “friends” on a library’s MySpace page are authors and musicians attempting to sell their work. The only thing worse than having no friends on MySpace is having friends that only want to use your page as marketing tool. I didn't find anything on a library’s MySpace page that couldn't be posted on their website. Functionality is less important than the appearance of it.

Thing 17

I listened to The Onion Radio News Podcast on Podcast.com about a voice-activated GPS taking a Top Gun soundtrack fan into "The Danger Zone." I've found The Onion to be the only reliable news source other than tarot cards and astrology. I once asked my voice-activated GPS for directions to Alpha Centauri and it took me to an Orange Julius.

http://comedy.podcast.com/episode/36424950/19051/