Stolen Once Again... the Top 100 Web 2.0 Services

Not precisely Library 2.0 related, but many of these sites and services overlap. Besides, this item was linked from American Libraries Direct - Tech Talk.

Webware.com in its recent survey of supposedly 489,467 votes (probably from 20 unique users with spam bots), found the follow as being the best of the best for 2007. i'm not sure why they didn't decide to wait until the end of the year, but i digress...

"Browsing - Fundamental Web access tools: Browsers, extensions, widgets, and security."

And the winners are: Firefox, Google Reader, Internet Explorer, MyYahoo!, OpenID, Opera, Safari, StumbleUpon and Yourminis.

Umm... something seems screwy already. Google Reader? As a webbrowser or a pdf viewer? Google Reader... beating out Internet Explorer...
>.>
<.<
If you say so.
Glad to see Firefox took first: hands down, the most powerful. Opera has really fallen by the wayside. Too bad so sad. Oh and Safari bites everyone's dust, no surprise there.

"Communications - Person-to-person communications platforms: E-mail, chat, voice"

And the winners are: AIM.com, Gmail, GrandCentral, Meebo, Skype, Trillian, Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger.

Obviously the fact that AIM still has such a ridiculous following is more than a little disappointing. It's nice that Gmail came out 2nd but... Google Talk didn't even place? Google Talk was beat out by... Skype? Gimme a break. Jabber is Jabber so far as I'm aware. i was happy to see Meebo and Trillian place well. Oh yeah, and those of you who voted for Hotmail and Yahoo!, wake up--your decade ended a while back.

"Community - Online gathering places and group-powered content."


And the winners are: Bebo, Deviant Art, digg, Dogster/Catster, facebook, friendster, Gaia Online, Linked In, Me.dium, MySpace.


Wow, this is sad. Of those listed, I only have a Deviant Art and a Facebook account (against my better judgement, for the express purpose of helping my friend with her BFA pottery show). Who the heck are those other people? I thought friendster was a flop? Dogster/Catster? Umm... i don' t know who you are, but your name is utterly retarded and you should be drug out into the street and shot. Fortunately, MySpace came in dead last, there may be hope for the world yet.

"Data - Tools for finding online info, and storing and sharing files."


And the winners are: AllPeers, .Mac, Bittorrent, box, ChaCha, Google, Pando, Windows Live Search, Yahoo! Search, YouSendit.


Fascinating. There's really no excuse for Bittorrent not taking first place. It's apparent to me that this survey was only given to techys who like to try out stuff, not the average end users who actually knows what the heck she or he is doing. Bittorrent is used, oh, i don't know, about a thousand times more than the rest of these people. .MAC beating out Bittorrent. HAHAHA~ *begins to hold stomach and cry from the excess tears* In your wildest dreams Apple. That'll be the day. Oh, and people who voted for Windows Live Search and Yahoo! Search may in fact be living in a cave ten miles beneath Antarctica. In terms of sheer usability and practicality how could Google not stomp them completely off the list?

"Entertainment - Tools for taking time off: Games and contests."

And the winners are: Desktop Tower Defense, Eventful, GameGum, Homestar Runner, Lime Rider, Newgrounds, Revision3, Stardoll, Yahoo! Bix, You Don't know Jack!

I'll be the first to admit, i know nothing about online games. What i do know is that Newgrounds is older than most people who use it. Same goes for You Don't Know Jack! but at least that has some semblance of intelligence behind it. Homestar Runner...? What can I say: people are immature... and they always will be. The rest are of little consequence.

"Media - Places to consume and share videos, photos, and music."

And the winners are: Flickr, Fotki, Last.fm, Netflix, Pandora, Photobucket, uStream.TV, Yahoo! Video, YouTube, Zooomr.

I am beginning to think the couldn't have been real voters for this, perhaps a program was written in VB to generate random votes in all categories. Millions and millions of people use YouTube everyday, both views and posters. In what universe would that not justify it taking first place? Flickr is good, but hardly as recognized. Netflix? You've got to be kidding me; no body really gives them money do they. Please tell me they don't. I will be sad. Photobucket is good. The rest can bite me.

"Mobile - Products that make your mobile phone a Web 2.0 appliance."


And the winners are: Google, 3Jam, Google Gmail Mobile, Mundu Radio, Radar.net, SoonR, ShoZu, TellMe, Yahoo! OneSearch.


Uh-huh. i guess i'm not surprised that Google placed twice. I am disappointed that Palm didn't place, i guess i'm living in the stone ages by still using my Handspring Treo.


"Productivity and Commerce - Sites for getting things done and doing online business."

And the winners are: Amazon, Basecamp, Blinksale, Craigslist, ebay, Google Adwords, Google Calendar, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Microsoft Office Live, PayPal.


Sounds about right. Though, i think PayPal ranks a little higher than DEAD LAST if you ask me. Craigslist is nice but... beating out ebay? Wow. We live in tumultuous times. Google Adwords i can understand, and Google Docs i can accept (without understanding ) but Google Calendar?! Umm... i am standing behind my theory of randomly generated votes.


" Publishing - Tools for producing your own site: Blogging and Web content services"

And the winners are: Adobe Flash, Blogger, Drupal CMS, FeedBurner, Google Analytics, PollDaddy, Silverlight, TypePad, Vox, and WordPress.


W3Schools didn't even rank. It seems like they are only going for sites that offer widgets. Speaking of widgets, seems to me Google ranked a little low this time. i guess you never know who'll come out on top with net tools. WordPress came in dead last. No surprise there. Adobe Flash...

... ADOBE Flash...?

...

i hate my life.


and last but not least, the one that actually maybe pertains to Library 2.0:

"Reference - Fonts of knowledge--from history to movies to maps."

And the winners are: Answers.com, Ask.com, Geni, Google Maps, IMDB, Microsoft Virtual Earth, WebMD, Wikipedia, Wikia, Yahoo! Maps.

*shakes head in disgust* Yet another example of throwing your vote away. It's apart to me now that they must have used chimpanzees in their demographic. This truly hurts my head.

Answers.com? How could that actually yield any valid research?
Ask.com - hahaha
Geni - no comment
Google Maps - should be number 2 in the list if it were to only encompass these 10.
IMDB - lol. You call that research?
MS Virtual Earth - ahem. Excuse me? i'm sorry i don't think i heard you correctly. Did you say Google Earth? Yeah... that's what i thought you said. Idiots.
WebMD - sigh
Wikipedia - how could this not take first place?
Wikia - no comment
Yahoo! Maps - remember what i was saying about those chimpanzees? i take it back, single celled protoplasmic life forms would know to vote for a better web resource.

All in all, i'd say i want to throw out this survey. The fact that Yahoo! made it to so many categories only reinforces the fact that internet users are prone to sitting too close to the monitor and subsequently irradiating themselves. Yahoo! doesn't seem to me to be the sort of dynamic company that's going to lead us into the new millennium. i myself stopped using Yahoo! when i was 15 years old. Obviosly that's about the age-level mentality of the people who voted on this survey.

The only thing that makes me feel like the internet isn't doomed is that AOL only ranked once. Unfortunately, that was only because of the age old bandwagon advertizing slogan which persists to date amongst the unthinking masses: "But all my friends use it..." ^^;;

Do We Pesticide the Arphids?

i am so upset at myself i could just spit for getting my laptop and digital SLR stolen last night. Ironically, they stole it out of my car while my brother and i were at the cinema watching Ocean's 13. Nothing like a little poetic justice to raise your spirits. ^^;;

In other new, Woody Evans, in the June/July 2007 edition of American Libraries wrote an article entitled Arphids in Ascendance which i found of particular interest. Arphids, as he describes them, are the artists (though i believe it would be more accurate to say "architects") of the RFID phenomenon. As Evans sees it, “In the 90s, we dreamed of an RFID future in which we would no longer shelve books—we’d just cram them into shelves and use a mobile gizmo to tell us the location and condition of any volume.” Yet this, seemingly lofty goal, has been plagued by the constant threat of malfeasance from patron hacking, virus susceptibility and the use of library technology to loan themselves to attacking retail computer systems.

Evans would contest these threats by bringing the hackers themselves into the fold and i can only applaud such a solution. Technology systems are constantly improving library service, but they have always had the sinister impetus for doing more harm than good. Although library systems could be the launching point for some insidious malware attack through RFID, like with stem-cell research, many would purport the benefits out way the risks. New technologies are spawning every time we turn around, “keitai [denwa], PDAs, Blackberries, laptops, Semacode Thinglink, arphids” and all seem to have the potential to connect patrons with libraries and information more readily than past systems. Though, if our RFID tags are already being hacked as Evans suggests, it gives us cause to pause. Could we survive without VeriChipped thumbprint IDing and “fulfill our geek dream of knowing where all our stuff is” (props to Warren Ellis)? Probably. Should we hesitate to enact more technology in our libraries simply in fear that it could be abused? i posit that throughout libraries existence, services have been abused: it has happened, it will happen. Let’s encourage those hackers to help better our systems and become invested in a future, rather than having them sing “I wanna be, an anarchy!”

Wiki Wonder

In a May 2007 article in American Libraries entitled Subject Guide 2.0, Meredith Farkas extols the virtues of wikis for the library world. She notes two major wikis that have been successful in the past, the Ohio University Business Librarian's Biz Wiki @ www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki and St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guide. Both have been successful in using Wikis to impart information to their patrons. Staff members are allowed to add and edit information while patrons are allowed to make comments.

i really enjoy wikis as they offer a standardized, intelligent format for browsing. Yet, as Farkas points out, "Many libraries would worry about people adding inappropriate content, but wikis do not have to be open to everyone." The irony is that, many, like Wikipedia, are available for anyone to edit. This allows for anyone and everyone to add content, without being prejudice against people based on age, race, etc. i consider this strategy to be a very enlightened philosophy. The really amusing part is that so few people actually consult those resources, most people wouldn't even consider editing them. Those odd people who do somehow manage to feel important enough to edit a wiki usually are only interested in correcting information they totally cannot live with. Obviously for network security issues, one should use a firewall and the same goes for net traffic on a server. You wouldn't want to inspire a DDOS by making your site less secure. It's also a good idea to have a "write the random letters in the box to confirm" to avoid getting spam bots from destroying your blog.

In the same vein, allowing only registered users to post and edit a wiki can quickly alleviate spamming. Farkas seems to worry about people posting inappropriate or irrelevant material, but if one is worried about registered users posting that sort of thing it means that staff members and Board members can't string two sentences together... obviously that's not happening. So the point is: why not use a real website? What makes this different from putting files on a network drive? If you can't trust your Board and staff to post professional, accurate information, than just don't use a wiki.

Barricades have Become a Familiar Landscape

Hie-jinja (Shrine) in Rain
Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
one of the frontispieces missing from MSU's copy of
Shintô and its architecture
by Akiyama, Aisaburō

Possibly the most cop out way to start or end an essay is with a quote, and yet, interestingly enough, it's almost always the thing that inspires me to write the most...

As stated on Michael Stephen's ALA TechSource Blog, the second principal of Library 2.0 is that:
"The Library has no barriers.What barriers are we putting up that prevent our users from getting the information they need? Are you closing off resources and systems within your building? Make sure your users can get to your stuff no matter where they are—and make the systems easy to get to!"

This resounded for me, i think, because of a very recent experience at the Michigan State University Library. Allow me to highlight a few of the "resources and systems that were closed off" to me today. I had gone to the library after class with some very specific things in mind that i wanted to accomplish. As often happens, i left with more questions than I answered, and they even got me feeling like i should give them money... All right, well maybe the second part doesn't happen that often...

i had wanted to research the published work by a professor of Japanese Lit., Rika Saito, whose presentation i had attended last week. i had the name of one journal she'd published in, and the name of her dissertation... under normal circumstances, that seems like it would be a good start. i had a feeling that MSU wouldn't have any materials, but being a research school i knew they'd have access to a great many databases. i needn't have wasted my time--without a working MSUNet ID, i might as well have been an illiterate person wanting to vote in the 18th Century. Most websites, excluding Google, are blocked, and ProQuest asks for an institutional password. Additionally, the wireless network, which is configured to allow both MSUNet users and Guest users, conveniently wouldn't connect... On top of that WorldCat had never heard of her, or her dissertation. None of the available databases had heard of the one journal i had written down either, the "U.S.-Japan Women's Journal".

It almost makes me think that we were better off back when the only resources were printed resources. Unfortunately, it turns out that her dissertation is only two years old and that the U of Penn simply hasn't released a circulating copy (the MSU Reference Librarian I was working with informed me that their Thesis and Dissertation collection does not circ either), other than in electronic format. Aha! An Electronic Version! Well doesn't that beat all... available for a mere $32. ^^;; (for those of you not familiar with the anime sweat drop smiley, let me summarize it as representing intense stupefication, which is a word i just now coined).

After leaving the library and coming to Panera Bread, i was able to login to ProQuest with my Wayne State account, and download the Full-text dissertation in PDF format. Of course i'm really not interested in reading 338 pages in PDF, but i guess them's da breaks. It also occurred to me after the fact to try searching MelCat for the U.S.-Japan Women's Journal, and low-and-behold Kalamazoo College does own a copy... i never realized just how complex, with how many hidden layers and how many misfiring synapses reference librarianship entails (two terms coined in the same day!).

Unfortunately, that's not quite the end of it. While i was in the library i wanted to borrow a book i had just learned of in class called, A Guide to East Asian Collections in North America, compiled by Thomas H. Lee. I had a feeling this book would come in handy in the future, should i ever get the guts to pursue a career in Asian Library work. It turns out MSU did own a copy, though whereas i had written down the LC no. as being Z 3001. L4 (cuttered correctly for a reference book), MSU had chosen to give it the call number, DS 504.5 .L6 1992. Well, all right then, no harm done. Except... that the only catalog computer in the basement at MSU that non-MSU students can use was not logged in (for some unknown reason even the catalog computers at MSU Libraries requires a password to login to the MAGIC Catalog). Thus, i had to go back up stairs to use a different catalog computer, then to travel up to the 2nd floor East (if you've ever been to the MSU Library, you'll know exactly how absurd it is to have to negotiate two buildings joined at the hip... namely: stupefying, as you can never remember which side is East and which is West).

To attempt to bring an unnecessarily long and pointless drivel of a story to a close, let me say that i have mixed feelings about the MSU Library. Although they DO have a great many resources, and even a Map Library (fancy that), they simultaneously put up barriers all over the place against the non-MSU Student from doing research there. ;\

Now, if you thought this seemed to be going nowhere fast, check this out: i have zero room to complain because when i went to check out my book i was told it wasn't due until November 22nd. The head of circulation at MSU Libraries had done me an incredible favor at the beginning of the year and awarded me graduate-level borrowing privileges when she saw how much time i would spend doing research at MSU (and due to the fact that i'm in a Library Science program and she happened to find that to her liking). So, after all that bitching and moaning... i have zero room to complain about MSU Libraries. They are, in retrospect, an incredible library and very giving. =]

Oh yeah, and I did say something about wanting to give them money, didn't i... Well, while i was walking around aimlessly, doing my "Watch out, I'm an independent researcher non-MSU badboy" routine, i happened to come across a pamphlet for Adobt a Book at MSU Libraries. This reminded me of a book i have often checked out, both at Western Michigan University, and at Michigan State University, Shintô and its architecture by Akiyama, Aisaburō. It occurred to me that MSU's copy is badly beaten up (having been printed in 1955) and many of the gorgeous fontispieces have been stolen. No, not by me: this book is such an incredibly unique resource even i, with my "Pirates for Hire, specializing in Mayhem and Madness" flag in the window of my car, wouldn't sink so low. But damn, they are SOO insanely gorgeous (see above). i'll think about donating some money to get it restored or replaced.

Evoca doesn't Evoke Much

Recently i noted on LibrarianInBlack.net that a new tool has emerged known as Evoca (link borrowed from LibrarianInBlack.net) which enables bloggers to place a widget on their blog to record voice data for the purpose of leaving blog comments...

This is exactly why Library 2.0 is a joke. Don't get me wrong, i am a ALA subscriber (much to my pocketbook's chagrin) and read my monthly Digital Libraries email to stay up to date on current practices and happenings in the field... but this stuff is not in the field. Librarians are not programmers, nor are we paid to sit around and try out new tech tools like some uber-lame Slashdot junky. Librarians--that is, the ones that i look up to--assist users in locating materials, coordinate library programming, work with other organizations in the community to better our living conditions and often take a role in reviewing newly published literature. What does any of that have to do with some new widget for blogging?

As stated on wikiepedia's Library 2.0 definition @ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_2.0, (link borrowed from Catherine's blog) Library 2.0 has this as it's underlying principal: "library services have the ability to evolve and improve on a constant and rapid basis."

No they don't. Asking the user to participate in improving the library is all well and good, but the truth is, most District Libraries are run by a Library Board who calls the shots, and probably doesn't have time to take into account every user's commentary on how things should be run. The very fact that we're in graduate school to learn how a library should be run proves that there are undeniable universalities to how services function. I don't know about you but i wonder about the practiciality of enabling voice recordings on someone's blog as being crucial to improving library service...

Ever since i was in junior high i knew i wanted to be librarian and work with people and books. That was my career goal, and amazingly, it still is. If i am to take that goal seriously, i cannot in good conscience condone Library 2.0 as legitimate. The only instances in which net communication tools come into play in the library world involve email and instant message reference and common place office queries. Anything beyond that feels more like indulging a internet addiction, and less like work. i would say you may quote me on that, but given the stomach-churning political positivism that infests our profession, no one is likely to give credence to my backward conservative ways.

Wi-Fi in Libraries

Recently more and more public libraries are experimenting with hosting wireless internet for their patrons. Having grown up in the country (which is, unfortunately, where i reside once again), where local municipalities never seem to get around to laying cable tv/internet wires, i have been forced to do a great deal of my work in coffee shops and, more recently, in Wendy's. Those environments can become quite stifling when researching for a term paper, as you might imagine. Although i work at Barnes and Noble, their wireles internet is hosted by AT&T and is not free. McDonald's also charges for their wireless internet (though i can't imagine a time when i'd find myself in their establishment anyway).

Thus, i was very happy to discover a few local libraries that offer wireless internet freely. Brighton District Library and Howell Carnegie Library both offer free wireless internet and although wireless printing isn't yet available, both libraries graciously allow guests to login to their computers for printing. i suppose this isn't a very big deal for most people; what percentage of North Americans live in suburbia where cable internet and DSL is readily available? Yet, although many places in the U.S. and Canada now offer free internet (including, believe it or not, many gas stations where there is no place to sit with a laptop), many libraries are still very hesitant. i should think that Brighton and Howell libraries would be glad to have my patronage.

The Capital Area District Library is what i consider to be my home library. i grew up going to a library that was later incorporated into CADL. i worked as a page for CADL for four years there, and although i now have accounts at other libraries, whenever i log into the MelCat union catalog, I always request materials be sent to CADL for convenience sake. However, I'm beginning to wonder if i really want to continue this practice. Although CADL has received endowments from the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation in the form of computers for local libraries, their policies concerning said computers use are quite stifling. Apart from having no wireless internet, computers are set to offer service in thirty minute blocks. i have found it quite difficult to edit my resume in thirty minutes, let alone compose cover letters and take blackboard quizzes in the time allowed.
In addition, many of these computers are overrun in the afternoons by junior high students, an environment not exactly conducive to research or study. I have nothing against the middle schoolers--they're there because they can be, they're just another kind of patron and i'm certain CADL is glad to have them. But computer use by said patrons has risen to the point where reservation computers are necessary to merely sign up for the next available computer. Also, no effort has been made to separate computers (i'm certain it's easier networking wise for them all to be in one location). To say the least, this system is difficult to contest with.

So my question is: why doesn't CADL offer wireless internet? There hasn't been any real documented evidence that radio frequency use has a direct relationship with brain cancer, although interestingly enough use of bluetooth headsets for cellphones has risen lately as well (and for anyone who's walked behind someone who's seemingly carrying on a conversation with herself until you spot the device at her ear, it can be quite distracting... but that's another topic altogether). Do libraries believe that by allowing patrons to use their own computers on their networks they will be unwittingly assisting hackers? This seems unlikely for two reasons: first, any library the size of CADL's thirteen branches has its own systems department, and obviously has the funds to run firewalls, as well as to track system tampering; second, wireless routers are almost always equipped with internal firewalls and an experienced user can readily block the necessary ports. i know because i've used the commercially available models and found it only takes a few minutes to secure them with WEP or WPA.

What troubles me is that with technology increasing to the point where some libraries exist completely in the digital realm, why would public libraries be hesitant to encourage patrons in bringing their own computers to the library? Obviously the half hour time limit is to provide that some patrons do not monopolize computer time, an expensive service for a public library if ever there was one. Are they also thinking perhaps that technology funds being what they are, public library computers can only really afford to undergo upgrades once a millage? If that's the case than the whole question of providing ANOTHER link to the internet for patrons is mute. After all, aren't libraries about books? Shouldn't library funds be allocated more to books and people than cyberspace considering how easy it is for the average patron to get internet at home? I'm playing devil's advocate obviously. After finishing my tour at library school i'm certain i'll have a far better idea why libraries choose to spend money on what they do... and probably an even greater sympathy for them than i already do.

Greetings Fellow 6080 Students...

Although this is a preexisting blog in which i review archaic samurai movies, i have slightly modified it to communicate with my fellow students.

This has been slowly gnawing at me since class yesterday: i dislike being the person who seems to be a know-it-all. When i was a child i determined that i hate television with a passion: to date i have never owned one. Where some people spend time watching tv, i spend time reading and messing around online. On the one hand this has let me learn a great deal and utilize software more easily, but on the other... well, let's just say it can become an addiction: for many an escape (or is that the other way around...). Also you don't necessarily learn that much about other software. For instance, i know next to nothing about excel, powerpoint, access, etc. I would say i'm only really "proficient" in Word and Adobe Photoshop. i don't know if i'd make it in the working world.

Sayonara to oyasuminasai~