Come On...You Do It Too!

Do you have a name-doppelganger? There was an article in today’s Houston Chronicle about how people find others with the same name and then feel somehow connected to them. And come on...we all do the vanity search, right? A person might even feel a bit angry if the “other” had already grabbed a website with the .com URL for that name, thus sentencing him or her to a lowly .net. Or, you might feel a little put down if the other person was rich or successful, as if somehow YOU should be the best with that name. OK, I thought, and did a Google vanity search for “Mary Ann Bell.” I did find a counterpart, who likes to read and, like me, was less than impressed with the book The Mermaid Chair. The only thing that kept me going through that story was wondering if the old lady would lop off another finger any time soon. Still, I did not feel a particular kinship with Mary Anne beyond that. She is a student in Chicago with an interest in anime, which I do not share. We are generations apart. Next I went for my maiden name. I hit the jackpot! I found another professor who teaches technology classes in a library science program in Georgia. Her name, like my “real” name, is Mary Ann Fitzgerald, and her achievements are quite impressive. She is a very prolific writer and presenter, and I am proud to share her name. Next I checked my daughter’s name, Emily Herring. She is well represented in a Google search. I have done this before, but rediscovered competing postings for two young musicians of about the same age. The “other” Emily is extremely successful in her chosen areas of interest, Broadway musicals and plays. I wonder what she thinks of her name double, a feisty country singer whom she has doubtless encountered on the net. And also, what about you? Is there another “you” out there?

Email? E-mail? Killer app? Has been?

Is email still the killer app? And do you say email or e-mail? And what the heck IS a killer app? Well, first, I say email because it is easier, but I think stylebooks favor e-mail. Picky picky. Second, I don’t know whether email is still considered the killer app or not, and that is the purpose of this entry. Third, according to Wikipedia (yes I DO go there), “A killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is a computer program that is so useful or desirable that it proves the value of some underlying technology, such as a gaming console, operating system, or piece of computer hardware.” For a long time, I believed email was THE way to get a technophobe interested in using computers. For this reason it came to be called a killer app. People who were hanging back in the 80’s often came on board with technology when they realized that they could keep up with friends and family FOR FREE via the Internet and email. At the school where I was librarian for fifteen years, I saw a number of folks tentatively start out with email and then go on to use many other applications and incorporate technology into their teaching tools.

Then a while back I was hearing that email was soooo yesterday. Blogs were the new thing! And wikis! And vlogs and podcasts, etc.! And then there was the problem of spam. Blech, I hate spam myself, both the canned kind and the techhie kind. Lowly email was doomed to the long goodbye which might not be all that long in today’s speedy technology driven world of communication. But, email seems to me to still be going strong. I got to thinking about this because Dr. Carol Simpson pointed out that, while blogs are hard to search, mail programs make email increasingly easy to search. I know that is true for my new favorite, Google Mail. I can find stuff there with either the mail search or with Google Desktop. Further, Dr. Simpson warns that spam is now invading blogs. So will email have the last laugh, thumbing its nose at blogs as they slowly sink into the technological tarpits? Gee I wonder what everybody else thinks…

Am I a Dinosaur and the Blogosphere is a Big Tar Pit?

Did I show up for the party too late? I am hearing that country song in my head, “Turn out the lights, the party’s overrrrrr…” I just started my blog recently and since then I have seen some comments that the blogosphere may be imploding, exploding, or otherwise meeting its demise. I got worried when I heard this opinion being voiced by someone I admire, Dr. Carol Simpson. In a recent LM_NET posting, she stated (and I did get permission to quote): “Frankly, blogs are going to go the way of newsgroups, to which they are related. Newsgroups died because email software got better at filtering and organizing.” Her assessment is based on the facts that blogs are difficult to search. Tagging is supposed to be the solution to this, but so far it has not lived up to the promise, or so say blog critics. Further, a blog is something you have to GO TO, and many ask who has time for that, even with RSS?
I went looking for people who agree with Dr. Simpson and find them I did, as Yoda would say. Many are from the business world and, efficient types that such folks are, they also bemoan the difficulty of searching. Consulting the SHSU periodical databases turned up several articles promoting this view.
BUT THEN, I read a quote from someone else I admire, David Warlick! He is quoted in Steve Hargadon’s blog as saying, “He (Warlick) is still the most excited about blogging of all the technologies, because it is all about "conversation." Teachers keep telling him how excited students get about writing. Assignments stop being "assignments," but become engaged conversations. And it's so simple--get to the conversation quickly without a lot of preparation.”
Can they both be right? Maybe so. I think that in the blog world, there is a lot of chaff and much less wheat. Those people who have important or enjoyable sites will survive. So will some of the sites with limited appeal, that are directed at small audiences, like reading club blogs, family blogs, student blogs for various content discussions, etc. I know that, speaking for myself, I am willing to go to certain blogs, and I am not so much going for a specific topic as I am going to hear what that person has to say, period. For example, I will go to Doug Johnson’s blog without knowing what his current topic may be, just because I am interested in his take on just about anything. The same is true for Teri Lesesne’s blog, and others.
Where does that leave me? The jury is absolutely out on that question. I held off starting a blog until I thought I had some definite ideas and time to make entries at least twice a week. I see my blog as a way to explore in more detail topics of interest from listservs or from my own columns. I know LM_NET sometimes seems to need a place to spill over to when a topic gets a lot of discussion, and tell myself I might be able to assist with that. Right now I am enjoying the experience so will continue as long as I feel it is worth the time and effort. Wonder what everybody else thinks?

Geeky Fun

OK so it is Friday night and I am sitting in front of the TV with my laptop, neatly nested in my lounge chair. On the show Numb3rs one of the victims was wearing a flash watch. So off I go Googling for watches with USB slots. Sure enough I found them! Prices range from $10 to $500 range. Not sure I want one though. And then I went from there, next arriving at The Red Ferret Journal, which is surely an impressive repository of geeky things. For instance, get a load of the USB Retro Lamp! Only $10! Why I could probably get $10 worth of fun with that on one trip. Imagine flying at night and switching on this little honey instead of your overhead lamp. Anyway, while admiring it, I noticed the little scrolling display on the lower right. One after another, lovely geeky toys…GPS sneakers! Glove mounted indicator lights! The ultimate pooper scooper!

A little more looking and I realize that Red Ferret links to Wists. Well that makes sense! What is Wists? Take a look…it is social networking meets shopping! Give it a try at http://www.wists.com/

By the way, when I went to Wists (wish list=wists, get it?) and spent a few minutes gazing at other people’s lists and considering where to click, I noticed an ETSY site. What? You have not visited Etsy? Well here it is:

http://www.etsy.com/

And it is the place to shop for all things homemade! Are we having fun yet? Meanwhile the Numb3rs episode is drawing to a close. I had a bunch of fun!

New Site to Me + Fun Finds Via Vanity Searching!

First off, I happened today upon something new to me, and a nice Web 2.0 tool that bridges the "old" and the new. It is Slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/
Like so many other Web 2.0 environments, it is free to sign up and then you can upload and share your PowerPoint Presentations or Open Office slideshows. The show I viewed was very clever, and informs us about RSS. Take a look at it and the site as a whole. I just signed up. I have been boycotting PowerPoint of late, because everybody uses it and I don't like to be like everybody else. So for my presentations I usually just post some very simple web pages. BUT, with the uploading so easy and something a bit new, I may think again about PPT. The presentation I was talking about is by David Jakes and located here:
http://www.slideshare.net/djakes/rss-the-new-information-pipeline

Now about the fun finds. Last night I was in my easy chair again, with the TV on, and indulging in my usual pre-bedtime vegetative state. I got the idea to do a couple of vanity searches--you know--when you search for yourself. First I Googled my daughter and came across a really super review of her CD. I had seen it before but it has been quite a while and really I do think this is someone who "gets" what it is she is trying to do. The review is here:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/09/07/194137.php
Then I thought what the heck, I will Google myself and did so. As always my SHSU page comes up first, which I am glad to see. But look at what I found out there!
http://www.delenemartin.com/?p=116
Wow, is that nice or what! These kind words really made my day, and I found her blog in general to be one I will follow and recommend to students.

Word Power

All day I have been thinking about two things:

• The power of words
• Julie Amero

Both topics engender sad feelings. The word in particular I have been thinking about is scrotum. Because of this word, the 2007 Newbery Award Winning book is getting tons of publicity, as are librarians. The book may actually profit from the attention, since making public that a book has CERTAIN WORDS or other QUESTIONABLE CONTENT tends to have that effect. The impact on librarians and librarianship seems to be more deleterious. Because of a few unfortunate quotations and a lot of hype, the NYT article about the controversy over this word has grown legs, as news types like to say. They talked about it on “The View,” and bloggers are incensed. Librarians were described in the article as more than ready to BAN the book. Alas, the story may be inaccurate and full of misstatements and overstatements, but it is out of the box now, like Pandora’s suddenly released ills. As librarians, we are going to have to do damage control regarding how we acquire books, starting with a clear description of our SELECTION POLICIES and the standards that we bring to bear on our choices for library materials. Librarians who are putting the book out on the shelves are much more likely to run into challenges due to the wide publicity it has experienced.

All this brings to mind the book I just finished enjoying via audio, The Book Thief. It too is about words, of course. I wonder what Papa would have done if Liesel had asked him about the word in question. Would he have rushed out to call the word police? They were certainly around in those days, as vividly depicted in the book burning scene. But I think not. I think it is just possible he would have given her his gentle smile and explained its meaning with accuracy and without horrified gasps. I find it depressing how close we come at times to the mindset of people in Hans’ and Liesel’s world. Real words offered in books that dare to question and challenge are vilified, and political doublespeak is promoted. So yes, my thoughts about the power of words, for today, have been sad.

And what of Julie Amero? That is another sad story, and one I will treat in another entry. In her case as well, though, the hysteria that can erupt over the thought that children may be exposed to something QUESTIONABLE has led to a sad miscarriage of justice. Her life is irrevocably marred by the extreme reaction of the media police in her community.

NCLB...But TEACHERS in Texas are a different thing

I sent the following letter to The Houston Chronicle this evening. I have not sent them anything in quite a while, and seem to bat around 500 on getting in. Whether or not this one gets printed, I wanted to vent somewhere!

According to Saturday evening TV news, some Ft. Bend area teachers in route to TExES tests (standardized exams required for Texas teacher certification) in Ft. Bend County were delayed in getting there this morning by a wreck on the freeway, which is already under construction. If you have driven this route, you can imagine that they were blocked by barracades as well as other cars. Fittingly their destination was George Bush High School. When they arrived, some were only one minute late. They were locked out. Officials said rules are rules and no excuses for lateness were accepted. Some of the teachers were in tears, because their jobs were on the line. Surely there will be some leeway granted by these educators' employers, but why put TEACHERS AND KIDS thought the terrible stress that is synonymous with standardized testing today? Who benefits?