24.9.08

The Webware 100



http://news.cnet.com/html/ww/100/2008/winners.html
I could spend hours...days...weeks....months??? Who knows?

fun search= http://news.cnet.com/webware/?search=embed

Wiki #16

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/72347/july-31-2006/the-word---wikiality
Here we are at the Learn and Play thing again; http://columbusmetropolitanlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/17-playing-around-with-wikis-pbwiki/ and I added some restaurant favorites, a favorite animal, and this favorite blog plus another; http://www.roytanck.com/
Read this guy's welcome statement....LOL. I like informative blogs with a sense of humor.
I wasn't too sure that I got it right when I was adding things to the Wiki, but since the entries seemed to show up right...I am hoping somebody will tell me if I got it wrong so I can do it again.
At the start, there were issues with getting onto the Wiki, but a little patience and viola, I was off and running. This is one of those things I'd like to take some time getting aquainted with so I can have a nice design going. Enough about me, though.
I found something interesting on Wikipedia http://en.wikip
edia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Information_suppression
This page is marked "currently inactive and is retained for historical reference." It discusses how views can slant to a particular side of an issue and thus represent an idea in an unbalanced manner. This can be accomplished through somebody deleting information from a different perspective concerning an idea and filling in a great deal of information to support another perspective.
Since we are heading toward an election, I found this article stimulating to my thought process regarding how complicated issues are handled politically. In addition, it reminds me that aside from basic informative content, there is a danger of information on a Wiki being used in a manner that misrepresents a topic.
I trust you'll read through the page and think about what it is saying.

Wiki #15

I started to do #16 before #15 because it was the first thing I saw for this week's Learn and Play assignment. So I am backtracking. The first link presented is for Wikipedia's Main page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. I had used Wikipedia before to search for specific information, but I hadn't seen this page that offers these services:
Help desk — Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Reference desk — Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Village pump — For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.
Community portal — Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Site news — Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Local embassy — For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
...and lists Wikipedia sister projects, featured article, etc etc. Let's just say the main page is jam packed with information and worth exploration.

This article http://www.webjunction.org/social-software/articles/content/438229 mentions opening up a wiki as a community resource and I feel that putting together several contributor's inputs on a wiki is a perfect use of it's collaborative functionality. In addition, it mentions internal use of a wiki by librarians and I have since discovered that CML already has a task force utilizing a wiki.
Other links for thing #15;
SJCPL: http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page has a clean, easy to understand, easy to use presentation.

Book Lovers Wiki: http://booklovers.pbwiki.com/Princeton%20Public%20Library is a little more dressed up, but also exibits the same ease and functionality. The dates are older, though, which makes me wonder if this is an abandoned project.
I really like how Bull Run Library's Wiki can be linked to delicious, digg, reddit, furl, and spurl. You can also subscribe to it's feed...and that is a real plus since there are continuous updates.
I think a Wiki lends itself very nicely to the constant need for collaboration and presenting updated information as programs change throughout the year at libraries as well as in communities. The down side is when a project is abandoned, but the wiki still exsists and clutters up the landscape when you are searching for information. I feel that if something like this is started that it should be nurtured and supported so that it is ongoing and something that the public will rely on and trust. Even if there are mistakes, those can be addressed, just as long as it keeps on going so that people will keep using it.

Google project 10^100



http://www.project10tothe100.com/

Check this out!