Internet Librarian 2008 Conference

Internet Librarian 2008 Conference @ Monterey, CA
Beyond 2.0: User-Focused Tools & Practices


WOW! Beyond 2.0? I didn’t know that existed. Beyond 2.0 makes me think of some kind of mysterious unfamiliar territory one might find in Area 54. Attending my first il2008 (now referring to the Twitter search tag) is exciting, overwhelming, and exciting…again. Gotta love a conference that has a live wiki and blog simultaneously feeding information to attendees with latest conference chat.

Internet Librarian Conference Wiki
Infotoday Blog

Some Highlights...
First highlight was picking up my registration materials stuffed into the standard, and very useful, conference bag. Among the items found inside was a large glossy book containing print versions thirty-five (yes, I counted) presentations taking place over the three days. Attending all of the sessions is never an option, so having this reference book is fabulous!

Here is a sampling of two sessions I attended today...

Opening Keynote: Communities & Communication in a Social & Mobile World – Howard Rheingold
The keynote speaker this morning was Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs and one of the creators of the Social Media Classroom. Howard gave an interesting opening address on merging, existing and yet-to-be merging technologies that he calls the ‘participatory media’. Web 2.0 applications are ‘platforms for participation’, are they not? One statement that he made resonated with me (as it did with many in the audience) and that is “If you want to keep up with technologies you must keep up with the literacies!”

Super Searcher Shares: Search Tips Spectacular! – Mary Ellen Bates
A jam-packed session filled with Internet search tips resulting in a barrage of new websites for my Delicious account. Super Searcher Shares: Search Tips Spectacular websites are posted on Mary Ellen’s website.

Here are a few of my favourites websites from Monday's presentations:
Google Translate
Google Translate allows users to search for articles, research and news beyond the English language. Type in your key ‘translated search’ word or phrase and request Google to search through the language media of your choice. Over 30 languages are ready for translation through translation software.

Google News Timeline
Google’s news archive website where users can search for news events, people, ideas etc and see how they have been discussed over a timeline on the Internet. Click on the ‘Show Timeline’ graphs spikes in the popularity of the archived request.

Yahoo! Glue
The Yahoo! Search engine for India, this version displays your search requests with Wikipedia boxed viewing.

Serph
A Web 2.0 search engine.

Carrot2
A cluster search engine.

Image Chef
A site to customize digital pictures with your own text.


Well, it has been a very busy day. More to come…