Are you an internet addict?

Okay - I feel a little guilty writing a blog post with that title on it.

Do the following apply to you?

1. Excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives
2. Withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible
3. Tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use
4. Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue

Read the whole article on the New Scientist blog, just to be sure you are okay.

Web 3.0 a step backwards?

I was excited to find an article placed on my desk entitled Web 3.0 (New Scientist, 15 March: 42-43). I wondered what exciting new initiatives would proceed the world of web 2.0; having immersed myself in the Library 2.0 Learning course my mind was a raging torrent of possibilities. Alas the article was somewhat pessimistic.



According to the author Annalee Newitz, Web 3.0 will be focused on making access to information more restrictive and we can also expext a lot more intrusive advertisements. The catalyst for these changes centers on the potential fraudulent use of private data that is currently stored on sites such as myspace, flickr, free email (gmail & hotmail) and a host of other popular web 2.0 sites. The scenario espoused is that at some point there will be a major theft of privately stored data, or the fear of such an incident will drive sites such as those listed above to become gated communities where only select people have access to the data.



Compounding the new restrictions on access is the likelihood of more intrusive advertisements that will creep into search results by mirroring the metadata of genuine information sites. This occurs already however the suggestion is it will intensify. Such a change is not viewed entirely as a negative development as some argue that popular authors will derive an income from advertisments and therefore their material will continue to be available for free.

Early days yet, it will be interesting to see how Web 3.0 unfolds and the potential impact this will have on the Library world.

Ross

Digital libraries and library innovations

A new report called The Diverse and exploding digital universe has been released.

Have a look at it to help stretch your imagination. It will also make the current learning 2.0 program seem even more relevant.

Thanks to LibraryTechNZ for this idea.

Coffee

The New Scientist technology blog is a good one to watch for interesting new technologies. A recent blog post higlights that coffee was once a new technology, and provides a useful link to the O'Reilly E tech conference. There are links to the presentation files (a mix of papers and presentations).

Thanks to Michael Stephens

Michael Stephens, as part of his Hyperlinked Library talk at Macquarie University,suggested setting up an emerging technology committee.

As we are working in a range of libraries it seemed an idea to set up an emerging technology blog. On this blog it would be great to see posts about different new technologies. Further discussion about their applications can take place here or on the RISG blog.