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Category Archives: tech

…On the Way to the Forum

In my other life in the world of tabletop role-playing games, I’ve been participating in online web forums for years. I’ve become a big fan of this form of asynchronous conversation, liking them much more than email lists or Usenet groups (even if they have approximately the same number of idiotic flamewars).
I love the Meebo […]

Reference Twits

Amy Kearns had an idea yesterday. I think it’s an interesting one.
What do you think of some sort of WORLDWIDE, 24/7, 365, volunteer, independent TWITBRARIAN or something like that (name can be something else)?
What I mean is – what I’m thinking is we are all on Twitter all (much) of the time. I know some […]

The News of the Day

The New York Times has released TimesMachine, a specific wayback machine that allows you to browse replicas of past issues, from September 18, 1851 to December 31, 1922. Hovering over an article brings a little box that contains the beginning text of the article and a link to read more, which opens up a PDF […]

World in Motion

Thinking about it some more, I believe my last post was a bit over the top. Yes, I think reading and literacy are important. No, I don’t think playing video games is a substitute for reading. Something pushed my buttons, which prompted me to write that post. I realize now what those buttons were.
If I […]

Et in Arcadia Ego

Steven Cohen links to this piece by Dave Gibson, “Our Public Libraries Are Being Turned Into Video Game Arcades,” in which Gibson laments the increase of video games and movies in public libraries. He sees it as part of the dumbing down of American youth. “It is little wonder that our nation’s literacy rate continues […]

The Definition of Success

I’m quite the fan of Wikipedia. I know, I know, it’s an unreliable source of information because anyone can edit it, filling entries with all kinds of misinformation and outright vandalism. (Except, of course, that while anyone can edit entries, no one can easily skate by Wikipedia’s editors for very long.) Wikipedia isn’t written by […]

Getting Our Game On

When I was given my library’s teen website as part of my web content responsibilities, I was signed up for the library’s Gaming committee. The Gaming committee has already put on one gaming tournament for teens, and the second one is this coming Friday. It will be my first time working at a gaming event […]

Birthday Wishes

Today is my birthday.
I’ve gotten used to having a birthday the day before Christmas. In fact, I rather enjoy it. But one thing that’s always been something of a drag is how cut-off from my friends I generally feel. I’ve never had a birthday party with friends on my actual birthday. My family has always […]

Come Play With Me!

A position in my department has opened up, so if you or anyone you know is qualified and interested in working with a group of buttkickingly cool people in a dynamic library system, get those applications in!

Faraway, So Close!

In my previous post, I said,
I need face-to-face interaction and conversation. I need spontaneous gatherings. I need occurrences of random escapades and shenanigans. I can get some of that online (the LSW Meebo room is great for that), but nothing really replaces in-person socialization.
Some people may see that as saying I think social software is […]