In a Wiki World

                Wikis, finally a topic I have some familiarity with.  I have been using wikis for several years now, from Wikipedia to Wikihow.  Wikis are especially relevant in our increasingly speed driven society.  A wiki is a website that can either focus on a single subject or a broad range of topics.  The most popular being Wikipedia, it has pages on just about anything or anyone, you may have an interest in.  Wikis allow their users to edit and update the information, while this is often not the most accurate source for information gathering, it’s a great way to get a quick overview of a subject.

            I am a frequent user of wikis, if all I need is a quick run-down; often my first choice is to check Wikipedia.  As long as people bear in mind that, since wikis can be edited by anyone, they should not be using them as their chief source of information.  Generally the more popular a topic is, the more accurate the information is.  For example, if I want to find information on the moon landing it is likely that the information will be accurate because there are so many people on the web with an interest in the same topic.  I love using wikis, but I would steer clear of them if I was writing an essay.

            In my multimedia class, we went through 3 different wiki sites; Wikia, Wetpaint, and PBwiki.   I had not heard of any of these before.  My favorite out of the 3 was Wikia, it had any eye pleasing layout and was very easy to navigate.  I had trouble finding what I was looking for with the other 2, but I found the way the topics were sorted on Wikia to be very user friendly.  I think I will be using it in the future.

            I think there is a lot of use libraries could get out of wikis; it just requires thinking outside the box a little bit.  For example, you could index all the books in the libraries catalogue and give people a chance to write reviews.  You could also have recommendations given based on a book you liked.  Libraries can also usewikis to collaborate with one another.  Where I grew up, there were 4 libraries that worked together sharing materials, I’m sure they could make use of a cooperative wiki site.

Sage Francis - "The Best Of Times"

The Almighty RSS

                Before today I had never even heard of RRS feeds. It stands for really simple syndication and from what I gather so far it looks like it could make life on the internet a lot easier.  RSS feeds allow you to “subscribe” to a website or area of the website to get updates without actually having to visit the site.  In a way it’s kind of like getting a newsletter telling you what is going on with the site.  It makes it really simple because you can set all your feeds to be sent to the same destination so you can check all your sites at the same source.

                I’m the type of person that checks a select few websites religiously. There are about 5 sites that I check multiple times a day (all of which are highly educational).  With that being said, I think RSS feeds could really make my viewing quicker by not having to search for all the updates.  This is especially true on days where I only have a couple minutes to see what is going on in my worlds. It may even give me more of an opportunity to find new sites and blogs to add to my list, because it could cut down on the time I spend on each site.  I will definitely be signing up for some feeds to my favorite sites.

                I can’t read the future, not for a lack of trying, but I think RSS feeds are going to be around for a while. Which means librarians need to “get on that”, as the kids would say.  I think feeds are a great tool for all libraries and patrons, but I think they are most useful for massive public libraries.  Big libraries can have trouble tending to everybody’s request, so being able to let people know the latest news without having to inform everyone individually could save librarians and patrons a lot of time.  I’m sure even small libraries could find ways to utilize RSS technology; librarians are only limited by their imagination.