Blog Post 4: Computerless = Lifeless?

My computer is dying a slow and untimely death. As a result, I've had to jump onto a roommate’s computer whenever I can find one free, in order to satisfy my obsessive e-mail checking habit and news reading addiction. Yet, though not completely unconnected, due to the limited access still available to me, I am unsatisfied. The loss of my computer has felt like the loss of a limb, a friend, a connection. Am I such a slave to this machine? Who owns who here? Is it the computer itself or what the computer/its capabilities offers me: connection to the world/other worlds, as little or as much as I choose?

I've been struggling with this issue- connectivity- as of late. How much is too much? Can it even be measured? As "connected" librarians/professionals, how do we separate our personal, social connections from our professional ones? (i.e. a personal blog of daily and life reflections and one related to work and professional information?)

Where do you draw the line of separation? Do you draw a line?

Do you leave everything on and open at all times (computer, IM, cell phone, blog, etc.) much like an all night diner, for anyone and everyone to reach you at all times? Do you pick and choose what to use/check and when? Or do you turn it all off every once in a while for a break?

To each their own is the best I can come up with. I didn't find much on a similar or related topic. I'm curious as to how others feel.

I did, however, read an interesting article on Second Life. After which reading, I concluded that at least in such a world, without a computer, one really is lifeless.

Blog Post 3: I did it again

Deadlines certainly aren’t my area of expertise. However, I am becoming quite savvy with MySpace and other social software this summer. I’ve been a little (ok, so a lot) fascinated with such software since I first heard of Friendster but like many, a little paranoid and wary at the same time. One of the things that keeps popping into my head is something Michael said at the very beginning of class almost a month ago on that early Saturday morning: “Be public!” So I’m trying. And I know we’ve all heard time and time again to “go where the users are.” And I agree. Despite what many people might think of such tools, one friend in particular who believes MySpace is (and I quote) “a magical ex-girlfriend and people-I-hate-from-high-school finding machine” if utilized well, I think they can be very beneficial to libraries and librarians- especially when it comes to the teen population. Michael and Rachel Gordon Singer briefly touch on it in their article Online Cool on a Budget . I also found a very interesting and relevant blog post on the same topic (though I know there are many, many more) on Meredith Farkas blog: Information Wants To Be Free. Both comment on the way MySpace, Facebook, etc. can be used to reach out to patrons in unique and creative ways. Farkas goes a little further with actual examples of several libraries that have put these softwares to good use instead of really bad use. Her idea of really bad use is libraries who use these things without a specific goal in mind, who do not update them, and who do not remain active and interactive with the site and ultimately, their potential users and patrons. This post has a great list of links to libraries and other resources specific to this topic and I would highly recommend checking it out. Obviously, the debate of whether to MySpace or not to MySpace (with the rest included) will rage on, but if libraries can do it in a fashion that is easily accessible to the user and more importantly, useful to the user, then let the experimenting continue!